Responses of soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization to nitrogen deposition in tundra zone of the Changbai Mountain, China.

doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.201905.013

Abstract

Abstract: The alpine tundra ecosystem, with low soil inorganic nitrogen (N) availability, has a weak buffer against nitrogen and is susceptible to exogenous N enrichment. Here, with a laboratory incubation experiment, we investigated the response of soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization to N deposition with soil samples from the tundra zone on the northern slope of the Changbai Mountain. We set three N levels, control (CK, 0 kg·hm^-2), low N (N₁, 25 kg·hm^-2), and high N (N₂, 50 kg·hm^-2), with N being added as NH₄NO₃. The results showed that N addition had no significant effect on soil C mineralization rate, but significantly affected the accumulation of soil C minera-lization. The N₂ treatment inhibited soil C mineralization. After the 40 d incubation, soil inorganic N content increased with increasing N addition. After the 80 d incubation, soil inorganic N content in the N₂ and N₁ was similar and significantly higher than that of CK. Those results indicated that N addition promoted soil N mineralization. The soil microbial biomass C and N in the N₁ was higher than that in the N₂ and CK, indicating that low N input had stronger effects on soil microbial activity. Increasing N deposition might accelerate C and N turnover in the tundra soils and enhance the soil inorganic N content. While it could provide more N for plants, it may increase the risk of N loss.

CHEN Hong, TANG Yang, TONG Yue-wei, ZHU Qi, ZHOU Wang-ming, ZHOU Li, YU Da-pao, DAI Li-min. Responses of soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization to nitrogen deposition in tundra zone of the Changbai Mountain, China.[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2019, 30(5): 1536-1542.

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