Fast Moving Fronts Comments by Alf Ekblad

ESI Special Topics, March 2006
Citing URL: http://www.esi-topics.com/fmf/2006/march06-AlfEkblad.html

From •>>March 2006

Alf Ekblad answers a few questions about this month's fast moving front in the field of Plant & Animal Science.

Field: Plant & Animal Science
Article: Natural abundance of C-13 in CO2 respired from forest soils reveals speed of link between tree photosynthesis and root respiration
Authors: Ekblad, A;Hogberg, P
OECOLOGIA 59 2001, 127 (3): 305-308, MAY 2001
SLU, Dept Forest Ecol, Sect Soil Sci, S-90183 Umea, Sweden.
SLU, Dept Forest Ecol, Sect Soil Sci, S-90183 Umea, Sweden.
Univ Orebro, Dept Nat Sci, Biol Sect, S-70182 Orebro, Sweden.

   Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

“...we were the first to use natural variations in the abundance of stable carbon isotopes to show that there is a fast flux of photosynthates from the canopy to root respiration and that a large proportion of soil respiration is fuelled from these recently produced carbohydrates.”

I believe this paper is highly cited because of several reasons: (i) There is much research today on carbon cycling in forests because of these ecosystems large importance for the global carbon cycle, atmospheric CO2 concentration, and climate change.

This paper is highly relevant in this context since (ii) we were the first to use natural variations in the abundance of stable carbon isotopes to show that there is a fast flux of photosynthates from the canopy to root respiration and that a large proportion of soil respiration is fuelled from these recently produced carbohydrates.

   Does it describe a new discovery or a new methodology that’s useful to others?

Several papers have applied our technique and have used natural variations in the occurrence of stable carbon isotopes to model the fluxes of carbon to soil respiration and ecosystem respiration in various ecosystems.

   Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman’s terms?

The carbon cycling in forest ecosystems is a significant component of the global carbon cycle and hence highly important to changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate change. Whether forest ecosystems will be a sink or a source for atmospheric CO2, is determined by the net flux of two large fluxes, photosynthesis and respiration, of which soil respiration is the most important component.

It is essential in this context to be able to distinguish between the two components of soil respiration, root respiration and respiration from decomposers. This paper is highly relevant in this context.

   How did you become involved in this research?

I became interested in natural variations of stable isotopes when I was working together with Professor Peter Högberg at the Department of Forest Ecology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå.

Dr. Alf Ekblad
Department of Natural Sciences
Örebro University
Örebro, Sweden

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ESI Special Topics, March 2006
Citing URL: http://www.esi-topics.com/fmf/2006/march06-AlfEkblad.html