Namyi Chae

A chamber system with automatic opening and closing for continuously measuring soil respiration based on an open-flow dynamic method

We developed an automatic opening and closing chamber system (AOCC) based on an open-flow dynamic method (open-flow AOCC). The AOCC can be used during all four seasons, even at the surface of relatively deep snow. We compared the open-flow AOCC with two closed dynamic methods [the AOCC configured as a closed dynamic system (closed dynamic AOCC) and the LI-6400 system] under field conditions. The closed dynamic-AOCC and LI-6400 measurements were about 15.4% and 5.2% lower, respectively, than the values obtained with the open-flow AOCC. There was a significant difference in soil respiration rate between the open-flow AOCC and the closed dynamic AOCC system. In contrast, no significant difference in soil respiration rate was detected between the open-flow AOCC and the LI-6400 system. In the field, the open-flow AOCC permitted continuous long-term measurements under a range of temperature conditions and did a good job of reflecting the marked daily and seasonal variations in soil respiration as a function of soil temperature.

Organic Layer Serves as a Hotspot of Microbial Activity and Abundance in Arctic Tundra Soils

Tundra ecosystem is of importance for its high accumulation of organic carbon and vulnerability to future climate change. Microorganisms play a key role in carbon dynamics of the tundra ecosystem by mineralizing organic carbon. We assessed both ecosystem process rates and community structure of Bacteria, Archaea, and Fungi in different soil layers (surface organic layer and subsurface mineral soil) in an Arctic soil ecosystem located at Spitsbergen, Svalbard during the summer of 2008 by using biochemical and molecular analyses, such as enzymatic assay, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and pyrosequencing. Activity of hydrolytic enzymes showed difference according to soil type. For all three microbial communities, the average gene copy number did not significantly differ between soil types. However, archaeal diversities appeared to differ according to soil type, whereas bacterial and fungal diversity indices did not show any variation. Correlation analysis between biogeochemical and microbial parameters exhibited a discriminating pattern according to microbial or soil types. Analysis of the microbial community structure showed that bacterial and archaeal communities have different profiles with unique phylotypes in terms of soil types. Water content and hydrolytic enzymes were found to be related with the structure of bacterial and archaeal communities, whereas soil organic matter (SOM) and total organic carbon (TOC) were related with bacterial communities. The overall results of this study indicate that microbial enzyme activity were generally higher in the organic layer than in mineral soils and that bacterial and archaeal communities differed between the organic layer and mineral soils in the Arctic region. Compared to mineral soil, peat-covered organic layer may represent a hotspot for secondary productivity and nutrient cycling in this ecosystem.

Bacterial diversity in ornithogenic soils compared to mineral soils on King George Island, Antarctica

In the Narębski Point area of King George Island of Antarctica, ornithogenic soils form on land under Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguin rookeries. The purpose of this study was to compare the bacterial community compositions in the gradient of contamination by penguin feces; mineral soil with no contamination, and soils with medium or high contamination. The discrimination between mineral soils and ornithogenic soils by characterization of physicochemical properties and bacterial communities was notable. Physicochemical analyses of soil properties showed enrichment of carbon and nitrogen in ornithogenic soils. Firmicutes were present abundantly in active ornithogenic soils, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria in a formerly active one, and several diverse phyla such as Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Acidobacteria in mineral soils. Some predominant species belonging to the Firmicutes and Gammaproteobacteria may play an important role for the mineralization of nutrients in ornithogenic soils. Results of this study indicate that dominant species may play an important role in mineralization of nutrients in these ecosystems.

A Sensitivity Analysis of JULES Land Surface Model for Two Major Ecosystems in Korea: Influence of Biophysical Parameters on the Simulation of Gross Primary Productivity and Ecosystem Respiration

We conducted a sensitivity test of Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES), in which the influence of biophysical parameters on the simulation of gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (RE) was investigated for two typical ecosystems in Korea. For this test, we employed the whole-year observation of eddy-covariance fluxes measured in 2006 at two KoFlux sites: (1) a deciduous forest in complex terrain in Gwangneung and (2) a farmland with heterogeneous mosaic patches in Haenam. Our analysis showed that the simulated GPP was most sensitive to the maximum rate of RuBP carboxylation and leaf nitrogen concentration for both ecosystems. RE was sensitive to wood biomass parameter for the deciduous forest in Gwangneung. For the mixed farmland in Haenam, however, RE was most sensitive to the maximum rate of RuBP carboxylation and leaf nitrogen concentration like the simulated GPP. For both sites, the JULES model overestimated both GPP and RE when the default values of input parameters were adopted. Considering the fact that the leaf nitrogen concentration observed at the deciduous forest site was only about 60% of its default value, the significant portion of the model`s overestimation can be attributed to such a discrepancy in the input parameters. Our finding demonstrates that the abovementioned key biophysical parameters of the two ecosystems should be evaluated carefully prior to any simulation and interpretation of ecosystem carbon exchange in Korea.