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 Soil respiration can be defined as the net CO production and O consumption
of a soil. The amount of gas exchange taking place is frequently used as an
indicator of microbial soil activity. Because micro-organisms are the driving
force for many biochemical processes (decomposition, humification etc.) their
activity in the soil is sometimes used to characterise the “health” of that soil.
In practice soil respiration is produced by many organisms within the soil including roots, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, fungi and animals. The rate of soil respiration, or flux, can be influenced by many parameters including organic matter content, soil moisture and soil temperature. Interest in the relationship between soil respiration and environmental parameters has increased in recent years as global warming and increasing atmospheric CO levels have risen up the international political agenda.
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