Soil respiration across a disturbance gradient in sclerophyllous ecosystems in Central Chile

This research paper examines soil respiration (Rs) across four levels of disturbance in the sclerophyllous ecosystems of the National Reserve Roblería del Cobre de Loncha in Central Chile, finding that higher disturbance levels significantly reduce carbon output and increase vulnerability to predicted climate change.

• Soil respiration (Rs) varies significantly across a disturbance gradient, with the least disturbed sclerophyllous forest (D1) producing annual Rs values 4.4-fold greater (1,735 g C m-2 yr-1) than the most disturbed A. caven savanna (D4), which produced 392 g C m-2 yr-1.
• Soil respiration increases linearly with volumetric water content (&thetav) and soil temperature (Ts), though the intercepts for these relationships vary based on the level of disturbance. Exchangeable nitrogen (Ns) showed no correlation with Rs.
• Under a climate change scenario for the year 2100 involving a 4°C increase in air temperature and a 40% decrease in rainfall, annual soil respiration is projected to decrease by an average of 28%, with more disturbed conditions showing a more pronounced reduction.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Soil respiration across a disturbance gradient in sclerophyllous ecosystems in Central Chile. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/soil-respiration-across-a-disturbance-gradient-in-sclerophyllous-ecosystems-in-central-chile/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Soil respiration across a disturbance gradient in sclerophyllous ecosystems in Central Chile. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/soil-respiration-across-a-disturbance-gradient-in-sclerophyllous-ecosystems-in-central-chile/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Soil respiration across a disturbance gradient in sclerophyllous ecosystems in Central Chile |date=16 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/soil-respiration-across-a-disturbance-gradient-in-sclerophyllous-ecosystems-in-central-chile/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025soil, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Soil respiration across a disturbance gradient in sclerophyllous ecosystems in Central Chile}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/soil-respiration-across-a-disturbance-gradient-in-sclerophyllous-ecosystems-in-central-chile/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }