Abstract
BACKGROUND: Soil respiration (R (S) ) plays an important role in the concentration of atmospheric CO(2) and thus in global climate patterns. Due to the feedback between R (S) and climate, it is important to investigate R (S) responses to climate warming. METHODS: A soil warming experiment was conducted to explore R (S) responses and temperature sensitivity (Q (10)) to climate warming in subtropical forests in Southwestern China, and infrared radiators were used to simulate climate warming. RESULTS: Warming treatment increased the soil temperature and R (S) value by 1.4 °C and 7.3%, respectively, and decreased the soil water level by 4.2% (%/%). Both one- and two-factor regressions showed that warming increased the Q (10) values by 89.1% and 67.4%, respectively. The effects of water on Q (10)show a parabolic relationship to the soil water sensitivity coefficient. Both R (S) and Q (10) show no acclimation to climate warming, suggesting that global warming will accelerate soil carbon release.