Soil Respiration of Middle Taiga Spruce Forests of the Mezensko-Vychegodskaya Plain (Komi Republic)

Soil respiration (Rs) was studied in mid-taiga herb-blueberry and sphagnum spruce forests. The dynamics of Rs from May to October is shown. Soil temperature had a positive effect on Rs, while soil moisture had a negative effect. A reliable relationship was observed between Rs and air temperature, while there was no relationship with precipitation. The amount of carbon entering the atmosphere with Rs (C–CO2) was calculated based on the dynamics of soil temperature of the studied phytocenoses and air temperature at the weather station. Using air temperature as a predictor in a mathematical model describing the time-dependent change in respiration led to an overestimation of the C–CO2 flux. A conclusion is made about the applicability of data sets obtained at the weather station for assessing soil respiration in the warm period of the year.