Effect of ant nesting on soil respiration in a tropical forest of Syzygium oblatum community

Ant nesting induces a significant change of soil microbial and physicochemical properties,which can exert a significant effect on the temporal dynamics of soil respiration in tropical forests. The Li-6400-09 portable soil respiration chamber was used to measure respiration from ant nests and the reference soils in a Syzygium oblatum community of tropical Xishuangbanna,Yunnan. The results were as following:（1） Soil respiration rates had obvious temporal variation,showing a single peak curve trend. They were higher in ant nests( 4.96 μmol CO2m-2s-1) than in reference soils( 4.42 μmol CO2 m-2s-1).（ 2） The temporal variation of soil respiration was affected by soil temperature and soil water（ P