| Abstract: | Mean growing season soil PCO2 data were obtained for 19 regions of the world in nine countries. Bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis with soil log(PCO2) as the dependent variable and TEMP, PRECIP, log(AET), and log(PET) as the four climatic independent variables demonstrated that AET was the best independent predictor of soil PCO2. An improved soil PCO2-AET model was developed by assuming (1) that as AET approaches zero, soil PCO2 approaches the atmospheric value and (2) that there is an upper limit to soil PCO2 at very high AET. This model has the form log(PCO2) = ?3·47 + 2·09 (1 ?e?0·0172 AET) where AET is in mm. It explains 67 per cent of the initial variation in the soil PCO2 data, predicts a soil log(PCO2) of ? 3·47 at AET = 0, and an upper limit of 3·5 per cent (log(PCO2) = ? 1·45) for mean growing season soil PCO2 at AET values of 2000 mm and above. The results of this study suggest that soil PCO2 levels in tropical areas are, on average, higher than those in temperate, alpine, and arctic regions. |
