[The relationship between soil respiration and the temperature at different soil depths in subalpine coniferous forest of western Sichuan Province].

By using closed chamber IRGA technique, a continuous measurement of soil respiration rate was conducted in the subalpine natural coniferous forest mainly composed of Abies faxoniana in the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with the temperature at different soil depths (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm) measured simultaneously. Base on the measurements, the quantitative relationships between soil respiration rate and the temperature at different soil depths were explored, and the results showed that the soil respiration rate in the forest had remarkable diurnal and seasonal changes, being the highest at 12:00-14:00 and in August, and the lowest at 8:00-10:00 and in November, which were accorded with the dynamics of soil temperature. Soil respiration rate had a significant exponential correlation with the temperature at different soil depths, and the highest correlation occurred at the soil depth of 15 cm (R2 =0.82, P <0.01). The Q10, value at soil depths of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm was 2. 36, 4.75, 4.90, 6.27 and 5.46, respectively, indicating that the Q10 value of soil respiration tended to be larger at high elevation with low temperature.