A study on Methods of Separating Soil Respiration by Source

We review three methods of separating soil respirat ion into root and soil microbial contribution: (1) component integration, (2) root exclusion, and (3) isotopic method. Among these methods, component integration and root exclusion are most commonly used. Root respiration contribution to soil respiration estimated by the root exclusion method is higher than those by other two methods. Trenching has little environmental disturbances in soil or on surface of site compared to other methods in root exclusion such as root removal and gap formation. Isotopic method has an advantage over other methods because of minimal soil and root disturbances, but this method is costly and requires techniques for the complex analysis. Trenching seems to be an appropriate in situ method for calculating component contributions to soil respiration with minimum disturbances in site. However, the method overestimates the contribution of microbial respiration because of root decay, and realistic results could be obtained by estimating root decay or avoiding large roots in trenched plots.