Interannual variations in natural abundance of nitrogen stable isotopes in soil and plant and their implications in a meadow steppe

doi:10.13287/j.1001-9332.202208.016

Abstract

Abstract: Nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient for ecosystems. The natural abundance of δ¹⁵N (¹⁵N/¹⁴N) can efficiently indicate ecosystem nitrogen cycling processes. We investigated the interannual variations in natural abundance of δ¹⁵N in soil-plant system and soil net nitrogen mineralization in a meadow steppe of Inner Mongolia. Results across the four sampling years (2017-2020) showed that the content of soil NO₃^--N (9.83-14.79 mg·kg^-1) was significantly higher than that of NH₄⁺-N (3.92-5.00 mg·kg^-1) and that δ¹⁵N value of soil NH₄⁺ (13.3‰-18.3‰) was significantly higher than that of NO₃^-(3.76‰-6.14‰). The δ¹⁵N value of soil NO₃^- was negatively correlated with soil NO₃^- content. The δ¹⁵N value of soil NH₄⁺was relatively higher in the dry years, while the δ¹⁵N value of soil NO₃^- significantly decreased in the wetter and drier years. Soil net mineralization and ammonification rates were significantly higher in the dry years than that of the wet years, while soil nitrification rates showed no correlation with annual precipitation. The δ¹⁵N values of plants were not related to that of soils, but nega-tively correlated with plant nitrogen content. Both δ¹⁵N values and nitrogen contents were significantly and positively correlated between the leguminous and non-leguminous plants, suggesting that legume could facilitate nitrogen uptake of non-leguminous plants. These results could provide supporting data for nitrogen cycling and their responses to changes in precipitation in grassland soil-plant systems.

Key words: nitrogen stable isotope, nitrogen cycling, nitrogen mineralization, grassland ecosystem, precipitation change

WANG Bin, WANG Ru-zhen, ZHANG Ying, GU Bai-tao, LI Tian, ZHANG Yu-ge, JIANG Yong. Interannual variations in natural abundance of nitrogen stable isotopes in soil and plant and their implications in a meadow steppe[J]. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2022, 33(8): 2161-2170.

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