Soil 13C–15N dynamics in an N2-fixing clover system under long-term exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2 |
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Authors: | Kees-Jan Van Groenigen Johan Six David Harris‡ Herbert Blum§ Chris Van Kessel |
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Institution: | Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA;, Laboratory for Soil Science and Geology, Wageningen University, PO Box 37, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands;, Stable Isotope Facility, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA;, Institute of Plant Sciences, ETH- Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | Reduced soil N availability under elevated CO2 may limit the plant's capacity to increase photosynthesis and thus the potential for increased soil C input. Plant productivity and soil C input should be less constrained by available soil N in an N2‐fixing system. We studied the effects of Trifolium repens (an N2‐fixing legume) and Lolium perenne on soil N and C sequestration in response to 9 years of elevated CO2 under FACE conditions. 15N‐labeled fertilizer was applied at a rate of 140 and 560 kg N ha?1 yr?1 and the CO2 concentration was increased to 60 Pa pCO2 using 13C‐depleted CO2. The total soil C content was unaffected by elevated CO2, species and rate of 15N fertilization. However, under elevated CO2, the total amount of newly sequestered soil C was significantly higher under T. repens than under L. perenne. The fraction of fertilizer‐N (fN) of the total soil N pool was significantly lower under T. repens than under L. perenne. The rate of N fertilization, but not elevated CO2, had a significant effect on fN values of the total soil N pool. The fractions of newly sequestered C (fC) differed strongly among intra‐aggregate soil organic matter fractions, but were unaffected by plant species and the rate of N fertilization. Under elevated CO2, the ratio of fertilizer‐N per unit of new C decreased under T. repens compared with L. perenne. The L. perenne system sequestered more 15N fertilizer than T. repens: 179 vs. 101 kg N ha?1 for the low rate of N fertilization and 393 vs. 319 kg N ha?1 for the high N‐fertilization rate. As the loss of fertilizer‐15N contributed to the 15N‐isotope dilution under T. repens, the input of fixed N into the soil could not be estimated. Although N2 fixation was an important source of N in the T. repens system, there was no significant increase in total soil C compared with a non‐N2‐fixing L. perenne system. This suggests that N2 fixation and the availability of N are not the main factors controlling soil C sequestration in a T. repens system. |
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Keywords: | aggregates 13C elevated CO2 15N N2 fixation soil organic matter |
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