Global Environmental Change and Soil Processes

One area of our research is about the impact of global environmental changes on terrestrial ecosystems, especially the change of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. We have been investigating the effects of elevated CO2 on belowground processes, including soil microbial activities/biomass, rhizosphere carbon fluxes, nutrient cycling, and soil carbon sequestration both at Oak Ridge FACE (Free-air CO2 Enrichment) site and at the EcoCELLs facility of the Desert Research Institute. Currently, we are investigating sensitivities of rhizosphere CO2 efflux to global change factors (e.g., elevated CO2, soil warming, nitrogen deposition, etc.) in an environmental controlled greenhouse and a plant growth chamber.

Relevant publications

• Gershenson, A., N.E. Bader, W. Cheng. 2009. Effects of substrate availability on the temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition. Global Change Biology 15:176-183. PDF
• Dijkstra, F.A., W. Cheng. 2008. Increased soil moisture content increases plant N uptake and the abundance of ¹⁵N in plant biomass. Plant and Soil 302:263-271. PDF
• Johnson, D.W., W. Cheng, J.D. Joslin, R.J. Norby, N.T. Edwards, D.E. Todd, Jr. 2004. Effects of elevated CO₂ on nutrient cycling in a sweetgum plantation. Biogeochemistry 69:379-403. PDF
• Verburg, P.S.J., W. Cheng, D.W. Johnson, D.E. Schorran. 2004. Nonsymbiotic nitrogen fixation in three-year-old Jeffrey pines and the role of elevated CO₂. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 34:1979-1984. PDF
• Hui, D., D.A. Sims, D.W. Johnson, W. Cheng, Y. Luo. 2002. Effects of gradual versus step increases in carbon dioxide on Plantago photosynthesis and growth in a microcosm study. Environmental and Experimental Botany 47:51-66. PDF
• Norby, R.J., P.J. Hanson, E.G. O'Neill, T.J. Tschaplinski, J.F. Welztin, R.T. Hansen, W. Cheng, S.D. Wullschleger, C.A. Gunderson, N.T. Edwards, D.W. Johnson. 2002. Net primary productivity of a CO₂-enriched deciduous forest and the implications for carbon storage. Ecological Applications 12:1261-1266. PDF
• Hui, D., Y. Luo, W. Cheng, J.S. Coleman, D.W. Johnson, D.A. Sims. 2001. Canopy radiation- and water-use efficiencies as affected by elevated [CO2]. Global Change Biology 7:75-91. PDF
• Cheng, W., D.A. Sims, Y. Luo, D.W. Johnson, J.T. Ball, J.S. Coleman. 2000. Carbon budgeting in plant-soil mesocosms under elevated CO₂: locally missing carbon? Global Change Biology 6:99-110. PDF
• Cheng, W., D.A. Sims, Y. Luo, J. S. Coleman, D.W. Johnson. 2000. Photosynthesis, respiration, and net primary production of sunflower stands in ambient and elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations: an invariant NPP:GPP ratio? Global Change Biology 6:931-942. PDF
• Haile-Mariam, S., W. Cheng, D.W. Johnson, E.A. Paul. 2000. Use of carbon-13 and carbon-14 to measure effects of carbon dioxide and nitrogen fertilization on carbon dynamics in ponderosa pine. Soil Science Society of America Journal 64:1984-1992. PDF
• Johnson, D.W., W. Cheng, J.T. Ball. 2000. Effects of [CO₂] and N fertilization on soils planted with ponderosa pine. Plant and Soil 224:99-113. PDF
• Johnson, D.W., W. Cheng, J.T. Ball. 2000. Effects of CO₂ and N fertilization on decomposition and N immobilization in ponderosa pine litter. Plant and Soil 224:115-122. PDF
• Johnson, D.W., W. Cheng, I.C. Burke. 2000. Biotic and abiotic nitrogen retention in a variety of forest soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 64:1503-1514. PDF
• Luo, Y., D. Hui, W. Cheng, J.S. Coleman, D.W. Johnson, D.A. Sims. 2000. Canopy quantum yield in a mesocosm study. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 100:35-48. PDF
• Sims, D.A., W. Cheng, Y. Luo, J.R. Seemann. 1999. Photosynthetic acclimation to elevated CO₂ in a sunflower canopy. Journal of Experimental Botany 50:645-653. PDF
• Cheng, W. 1999. Rhizosphere processes under elevated CO2. In Luo, Y., H.A. Mooney (eds.) Carbon Dioxide and Environmental Stress, pp. 245-263, Academic Press, San Diego, CA, USA..

Back to Research

Home