Forests have the ability to sequester carbon from our atmosphere. Soil respiration (Rs) plays a role in a forest's ability to do so as it is a significant source of carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere. Therefore, understanding the process of Rs under varying conditions is gaining more attention. As of now we have a relatively good understanding of Rs under managed forest ecosystems such as pine plantations. This particular study examined Rs under different overstories and understories in a high elevation Southern Appalachian forest in order to get a better understanding of Rs under a natural hardwood system. The four vegetation types under consideration were an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carriere) dominated overstory, a hardwood overstory with little to no understory, a mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.) dominated understory, and a cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (L.) C.Presl) dominated understory. Differing temporal variations of Rs were observed under the vegetation types. We found monthly differences in rates among vegetation type however, an overall annual difference in Rs rates between vegetation types was not observed. This simply indicates the importance of observing Rs under different time scales to get a better understanding of its variation. We also calculated vegetation indices from remotely-sensed data to explore any relationships to Rs as well as if the indices themselves could improve out model. A vegetation index is a number that is calculated for every pixel in a remotely sensed image and represents plant vigor or abundance. Few significant relationships were found between the indices and Rs. Future work may want to better understand vegetation indices' spatial extent and accuracy in order to find whether they may be beneficial in Rs estimation. Understanding the influence of varying vegetation type and soil temperature and moisture on Rs will ultimately improve our ability to predict what drives changes in carbon fluxes. / Master of Science / Forests have the ability to sequester carbon from our atmosphere. Soil respiration (Rs) plays a role in a forest’s ability to do so as it is a significant source of carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere. Therefore, understanding the process of Rs under varying conditions is gaining more attention. As of now we have a relatively good understanding of Rs under managed forest ecosystems such as pine plantations. This particular study examined Rs under different overstories and understories in a high elevation Southern Appalachian forest in order to get a better understanding of Rs under a natural hardwood system. The four vegetation types under consideration were an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carriere) dominated overstory, a hardwood overstory with little to no understory, a mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia L.) dominated understory, and a cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (L.) C.Presl) dominated understory. Differing temporal variations of Rs were observed under the vegetation types. We found monthly differences in rates among vegetation type however, an overall annual difference in Rs rates between vegetation types was not observed. This simply indicates the importance of observing Rs under different time scales to get a better understanding of its variation. We also calculated vegetation indices from remotely-sensed data to explore any relationships to Rs as well as if the indices themselves could improve out model. A vegetation index is a number that is calculated for every pixel in a remotely sensed image and represents plant vigor or abundance. Few significant relationships were found between the indices and Rs. Future work may want to better understand vegetation indices’ spatial extent and accuracy in order to find whether they may be beneficial in Rs estimation. Understanding the influence of varying vegetation type and soil temperature and moisture on Rs will ultimately improve our ability to predict what drives changes in carbon fluxes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/93272 |
| Date | 27 August 2019 |
| Creators | Hammer, Rachel Lynn |
| Contributors | Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, Seiler, John R., Thomas, Valerie A., Strahm, Brian D. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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