Edinburgh Napier University

  Soil carbon dioxide (CO2) flux or soil respiration includes respiration from roots (autotrophic respiration) and soil micro-organisms (heterotrophic respiration) and is a major component of the forest carbon cycle (Law et al. 2002; Tüfekçioğlu & Küçük 2004). Measurements of soil CO2 flux have a great potential as an
indicator of ecosystem processes including metabolic activity in soil, persistence and decomposition of plant residue in soil and conversion of soil organic carbon to atmospheric CO2 (Rochette et al. 1997; Ryan & Law 2005). Integrated measurements can be used to estimate below-ground carbon allocation (Giardina & Ryan 2002) and can be tied with the estimates of canopy photosynthesis to enhance our understanding of carbon allocation (Ryan & Law 2005). Frequent measurements of soil CO2 flux can help uncover environmental controls over decomposition (Irvine & Law 2002) and aid with the understanding of the links between above and below-ground processes.