Effect of wetting intensity on soil GHG fluxes and microbial biomass under a temperate forest floor during dry season

The increasing frequency of periodic droughts followed by heavy rainfalls is expected for this current century, but little is known about the effects of wetting intensity on the in situ biogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes of forest soils and soil microbial biomass. To gain new insights into the underlying mechanisms responsible for wetting-induced GHG fluxes in situ, rain simulation field experiments during a natural prolonged drought period were done under a temperate forest in northeast China. The intensity of rainfall-induced CO2 pulses increased from 0.84 to 2.08 g CO2–C m− 2 d− 1 with the intensity of wetting up to ca. 80% water-filled pore space, which coincided with an increase in soil microbial biomass and with a decrease in soil labile organic C following wetting. Methane uptake rates decreased from 1.76 to 0.87 mg CH4–C m− 2 d− 1 with the intensity of wetting. Wetting dry forest floor increased N2O fluxes from 6.2 to 25.9 μg N2O–N m− 2 d− 1, but there was no significant difference between all experimental wetted plots. The rainfall-induced N2O pulses with increasing wetting intensity were opposite to that of the CO2 pulses, showing a maximum response at the lowest wetting intensity. An analysis of the temperature sensitivity of GHG fluxes indicated that temperature had an increased effect on the in situ CO2 flux and CH4 uptake, respectively, under wetted and dry conditions. The global warming potential of GHG fluxes and Q10 value of the temperature response of CO2 fluxes increased linearly with wetting intensity. The results indicate that the rainfall-induced soil CO2 pulse is mainly due to enhanced microbial consumption on substrates and highlight the complex nature of belowground C-cycling responses to climate change in northeast China forests that normally experience periodic droughts followed by heavy rainfalls over the year.