The potential bias of nitrogen deposition effects on primary productivity and biodiversity

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is composed of both inorganic nitrogen (IN) and organic nitrogen (ON), and these sources of N may exhibit different impacts on ecosystems. However, our understanding of the impacts of N deposition is largely based on experimental gradients of INs or more rarely ONs. Thus, the effects of N deposition on ecosystem productivity and biodiversity may be biased. We explored the differential impacts of N addition with different IN:ON ratios (0:10, 3:7, 5:5, 7:3, and 10:0) on aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of plant community and plant diversity in a typical temperate grassland with a long-term N addition experiment. Soil pH, litter biomass, soil IN concentration, and light penetration were measured to examine the potential mechanisms underlying species loss with N addition. Our results showed that N addition significantly increased plant community ANPP by 68.33%–105.50% and reduced species richness by 16.20%–37.99%. The IN:ON ratios showed no significant effects on plant community ANPP. However, IN-induced species richness loss was about 2.34 times of ON-induced richness loss. Soil pH was positively related to species richness, and they exhibited very similar response patterns to IN:ON ratios. It implies that soil acidification accounts for the different magnitudes of species loss with IN and ON additions. Overall, our study suggests that it might be reasonable to evaluate the effects of N deposition on plant community ANPP with either IN or ON addition. However, the evaluation of N deposition on biodiversity might be overestimated if only IN is added or underestimated if only ON is added.     

Nitrogen deposition promotes the production of new fungal residues but retards the decomposition of old residues in forest soil fractions

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has frequently been observed to increase soil carbon (C) storage in forests, but the underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. Changes in microbial community composition and substrate use are hypothesized to be one of the key mechanisms affected by N inputs. Here, we investigated the effects of N deposition on amino sugars, which are used as biomarkers for fungal‐ and bacterial‐derived microbial residues in soil. We made use of a 4‐year combined CO₂ enrichment and N deposition experiment in model forest ecosystems, providing a distinct ¹³C signal for ‘new’ and ‘old’ C in soil organic matter and microbial residues measured in density and particle‐size fractions of soils. Our hypothesis was that N deposition decreases the amount of fungal residues in soils, with the new microbial residues being more strongly affected than old residues. The soil fractionation showed that organic matter and microbial residues are mainly stabilized by association with soil minerals in the heavy and fine fractions. Moreover, the bacterial residues are relatively enriched at mineral surfaces compared to fungal residues. The ¹³C tracing indicated a greater formation of fungal residues compared to bacterial residues after 4 years of experiment. In contradiction to our hypotheses, N deposition significantly increased the amount of new fungal residues in bulk soil and decreased the decomposition of old microbial residues associated with soil minerals. The preservation of old microbial residues could be due to decreased N limitation of microorganisms and therefore a reduced dependence on organic N sources. This mechanism might be especially important in fine heavy fractions with low C/N ratios, where microbial residues are effectively protected from decomposition by association with soil minerals.     

Surficial gains and subsoil losses of soil carbon and nitrogen during secondary forest development

Reforestation of formerly cultivated land is widely understood to accumulate above‐ and belowground detrital organic matter pools, including soil organic matter. However, during 40 years of study of reforestation in the subtropical southeastern USA, repeated observations of above‐ and belowground carbon documented that significant gains in soil organic matter (SOM) in surface soils (0–7.5 cm) were offset by significant SOM losses in subsoils (35–60 cm). Here, we extended the observation period in this long‐term experiment by an additional decade, and used soil fractionation and stable isotopes and radioisotopes to explore changes in soil organic carbon and soil nitrogen that accompanied nearly 50 years of loblolly pine secondary forest development. We observed that accumulations of mineral soil C and N from 0 to 7.5 cm were almost entirely due to accumulations of light‐fraction SOM. Meanwhile, losses of soil C and N from mineral soils at 35 to 60 cm were from SOM associated with silt and clay‐sized particles. Isotopic signatures showed relatively large accumulations of forest‐derived carbon in surface soils, and little to no accumulation of forest‐derived carbon in subsoils. We argue that the land use change from old field to secondary forest drove biogeochemical and hydrological changes throughout the soil profile that enhanced microbial activity and SOM decomposition in subsoils. However, when the pine stands aged and began to transition to mixed pines and hardwoods, demands on soil organic matter for nutrients to support aboveground growth eased due to pine mortality, and subsoil organic matter levels stabilized. This study emphasizes the importance of long‐term experiments and deep measurements when characterizing soil C and N responses to land use change and the remarkable paucity of such long‐term soil data deeper than 30 cm.     

Forms of nitrogen inputs regulate the intensity of soil acidification

Soil acidification induced by reactive nitrogen (N) inputs can alter the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems. Because different N-transformation processes contribute to the production and consumption of H⁺, the magnitude of acidification likely depends on the relative amounts of organic N (ON) and inorganic N (IN) inputs. However, few studies have explicitly measured the effects of N composition on soil acidification. In this study, we first conducted a meta-analysis to test the effects of ON or IN inputs on soil acidification across 53 studies in grasslands. We then compared soil acidification across five different ON:IN ratios and two input rates based on long-term field N addition experiments. The meta-analysis showed that ON had weaker effects on soil acidification than IN when the N addition rate was above 20 g N m⁻² year⁻¹. The field experiment confirmed the findings from meta-analysis: N addition with proportions of ON ≥ 20% caused less soil acidification, especially at a high input rate (30 g N m⁻² year⁻¹). Structural equation model analysis showed that this result was largely due to a relatively low rate of H⁺ production from ON as NH₃ volatilization and uptake of ON and NH₄⁺ by the dominant grass species Leymus chinensis (which are both lower net contributors to H⁺ production) result in less NH₄⁺ available for nitrification (which is a higher net contributor to H⁺ production). These results indicate that the evaluation of soil acidification induced by N inputs should consider N forms and manipulations of relative composition of N inputs may provide an effective approach to alleviate the N-induced soil acidification.     

森林土壤氮素转换及其对氮沉降的响应

近几十年人类活动向大气中排放的含氮化合物激增 ,并引起大气氮沉降也成比例增加。目前 ,氮沉降的增加使一些森林生态系统结构和功能发生改变 ,甚至衰退。近 2 0 a欧洲和北美有关氮沉降及其对森林生态系统的影响方面的研究较多 ,而我国少有涉及。森林土壤氮素转换是森林生态系统氮素循环的一个重要的组成部分 ,而矿化、硝化和反硝化作用是其核心过程 ,氮沉降作为驱动因子势必改变森林土壤氮素转换速度、方向和通量。根据国外近 2 0 a有关研究 ,首先介绍了森林土壤氮素转换过程和强度 ,论述森林土壤氮素在生态系统氮素循环中的作用 ,然后在此基础上 ,介绍了氮沉降对森林土壤氮素循环的研究途径 ,探讨了氮沉降对森林土壤氮素矿化、硝化和反硝化作用的影响及其机理     

Anthropogenic N deposition increases soil organic matter accumulation without altering its biochemical composition

Accumulating evidence indicates that future rates of atmospheric N deposition have the potential to increase soil C storage by reducing the decay of plant litter and soil organic matter (SOM). Although the microbial mechanism underlying this response is not well understood, a decline in decay could alter the amount, as well as biochemical composition of SOM. Here, we used size‐density fractionation and solid‐state ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy to explore the extent to which declines in microbial decay in a long‐term (ca. 20 yrs.) N deposition experiment have altered the biochemical composition of forest floor, bulk mineral soil, as well as free and occluded particulate organic matter. Significant amounts of organic matter have accumulated in occluded particulate organic matter (~20%; oPOM); however, experimental N deposition had not altered the abundance of carboxyl, aryl, alkyl, or O/N‐alkyl C in forest floor, bulk mineral soil, or any soil fraction. These observations suggest that biochemically equivalent organic matter has accumulated in oPOM at a greater rate under experimental N deposition, relative to the ambient treatment. Although we do not understand the process by which experimental N deposition has fostered the occlusion of organic matter by mineral soil particles, our results highlight the importance of interactions among the products of microbial decay and the chemical and physical properties of silt and clay particles that occlude organic matter from microbial attack. Because oPOM can reside in soils for decades to centuries, organic matter accumulating under future rates of anthropogenic N deposition could remain in soil for long periods of time. If temperate forest soils in the Northern Hemisphere respond like those in our experiment, then unabated deposition of anthropogenic N from the atmosphere has the potential to foster greater soil C storage, especially in fine‐texture forest soils.     

Evidence that Soil Carbon Pool Determines Susceptibility of Semi-Natural Ecosystems to Elevated Nitrogen Leaching

Deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) compounds has the potential to cause severe damage to sensitive soils and waters, but the process of ‘nitrogen saturation’ is difficult to demonstrate or predict. This study compares outputs from a simple carbon–nitrogen model with observations of (1) regional- and catchment-scale relationships between surface water nitrate and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), as an indicator of catchment carbon (C) pool; (2) inter-regional variations in soil C/N ratios; and (3) plot scale soil and leachate response to long-term N additions, for a range of UK moorlands. Results suggest that the simple model applied can effectively reproduce observed patterns, and that organic soil C stores provide a critical control on catchment susceptibility to enhanced N leaching, leading to high spatial variability in the extent and severity of current damage within regions of relatively uniform deposition. Results also support the hypothesis that the N richness of organic soils, expressed as C/N ratio, provides an effective indicator of soil susceptibility to enhanced N leaching. The extent to which current C/N is influenced by N deposition, as opposed to factors such as climate and vegetation type, cannot be unequivocally determined on the basis of spatial data. However, N addition experiments at moorland sites have shown a reduction in organic soil C/N. A full understanding of the mechanisms of N-enrichment of soils and waters is essential to the assessment of current sensitivity to, and prediction of future damage from, globally increasing reactive nitrogen deposition.     

模拟氮沉降增加对寒温带针叶林土壤 CO2排放的初期影响

研究大气氮沉降增加情景下北方森林土壤CO2排放通量及其相关控制因子至关重要。在大兴安岭寒温带针叶林区建立了大气氮沉降模拟控制试验,利用静态箱-气相色谱法测定土壤CO2排放通量,同时测定土壤温度、水分、无机氮和可溶性碳含量等相关变量,分析寒温带针叶林土壤CO2排放特征及其主要驱动因子。结果表明:氮素输入没有显著改变森林土壤含水量,但降低了有机层土壤溶解性无机碳(DIC)含量,并增加有机层和矿质层土壤溶解性有机碳(DOC)含量。增氮短期内不影响土壤NH+4-N含量,但促进了土壤NO-3-N的累积。增氮倾向于增加北方森林土壤CO2排放。土壤CO2通量主要受土壤温度驱动,其次为土壤水分和DIC含量。虽然土壤温度整体上控制着土壤CO2通量的季节变化格局,但在生长旺季土壤含水量对其影响更为明显。在分析增氮对土壤CO2通量的净效应时,除了土壤温度和水分外,还要考虑土壤有效碳、氮动态的影响。     

Impact of Agricultural Land-use Change on Carbon Storage in Boreal Alaska

Climate warming is most pronounced at high latitudes, which could result in the intensification of the extensively cultivated areas in the boreal zone and could further enhance rates of forest clearing in the coming decades. Using paired forest‐field sampling and a chronosequence approach, we investigated the effect of conversion of boreal forest to agriculture on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics in interior Alaska. Chronosequences showed large soil C losses during the first two decades following deforestation, with mean C stocks in agricultural soils being 44% or 8.3 kg m^?2 lower than C stocks in original forest soils. This suggests that soil C losses from land‐use change in the boreal region may be greater than those in other biomes. Analyses of changes in stable C isotopes and in quality of soil organic matter showed that organic C was lost from soils by combustion of cleared forest material, decomposition of organic matter and possibly erosion. Chronosequences indicated an increase in C storage during later decades after forest clearing, with 60‐year‐old grassland showing net ecosystem C gain of 2.1 kg m^?2 over the original forest. This increase in C stock resulted probably from a combination of large C inputs from belowground biomass and low C losses due to a small original forest soil C stock and low tillage frequency. Reductions in soil N stocks caused by land‐use change were smaller than reductions in C stocks (34% or 0.31 kg m^?2), resulting in lower C/N ratios in field compared with forest mineral soils, despite the occasional incorporation of high‐C forest‐floor material into field soils. Carbon mineralization per unit of mineralized N was considerably higher in forests than in fields, which could indicate that decomposition rates are more sensitive in forest soils than in field soils to inorganic N addition (e.g. by increased N deposition from the atmosphere). If forest conversion to agriculture becomes more widespread in the boreal region, the resulting C losses (51% or 11.2 kg m^?2 at the ecosystem level in this study) will induce a positive feedback to climatic warming and additional land‐use change. However, by selecting relatively C‐poor soils and by implementing management practices that preserve C, losses of C from soils can be reduced.     

Nitrogen supply modulates the effect of changes in drying–rewetting frequency on soil C and N cycling and greenhouse gas exchange

Climate change and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition are two of the most important global change drivers. However, the interactions of these drivers have not been well studied. We aimed to assess how the combined effect of soil N additions and more frequent soil drying–rewetting events affects carbon (C) and N cycling, soil:atmosphere greenhouse gas (GHG) exchange, and functional microbial diversity. We manipulated the frequency of soil drying–rewetting events in soils from ambient and N‐treated plots in a temperate forest and calculated the Orwin & Wardle Resistance index to compare the response of the different treatments. Increases in drying–rewetting cycles led to reductions in soil levels, potential net nitrification rate, and soil : atmosphere GHG exchange, and increases in and total soil inorganic N levels. N‐treated soils were more resistant to changes in the frequency of drying–rewetting cycles, and this resistance was stronger for C‐ than for N‐related variables. Both the long‐term N addition and the drying–rewetting treatment altered the functionality of the soil microbial population and its functional diversity. Our results suggest that increasing the frequency of drying–rewetting cycles can affect the ability of soil to cycle C and N and soil : atmosphere GHG exchange and that the response to this increase is modulated by soil N enrichment.     

The nitrogen status of Austrian forest ecosystems as influenced by atmospheric deposition,biomass harvesting and lateral organomass exchange

Measurements of the deposition rates of atmospheric trace constituents to forest ecosystems in Austria have shown that the deposition of plant utilizable nitrogen compounds is in the range from 12 kg N to more than 30 kg N ha^-1 a^-1. Locally, even higher deposition rates are encountered as a consequence of point sources or special deposition mechanisms such as fog interception, hoar frost formation, and accumulation in snow drifts. In order to place these values into perspective, they are compared with the nitrogen demand of past and present forest land use and with natural processes of nitrogen depletion and accumulation in forest ecosystems. During wind erosion of forest litter, woody material with a wide C/N-ratio remains on the windward side of ridges, while nutrient-rich material with a narrow C/N-ratio is deposited on the leeward side. As a result, total nitrogen storage in the forest soil as well as overall C/N-ratios change dramatically along a transect over a ridge, thus indicating a strong influence of litter C/N ratio on nitrogen retention in the forest soil. A study of nitrogen stores in the soil of beech ecosystems of the same yield class in the Vienna Woods showed a significant correlation of total N-content with base saturation. These results suggest that nitrogen storage capacity of forest soils may be managed by liming and tree species selection. As knowledge is still meagre, a special study on factors which determine nitrogen storage in forest soils is proposed within the FERN-programme.     

Soil nitrogen dynamics along a gradient of long-term soil development in a Hawaiian wet montane rainforest

I analyzed the rates of net N mineralization and nitrification of soils from seven sites in a Hawaiian wet montane forest. The sites differ in age, ranging from 400 to 4,100,000 yr, but are comparable in other variables (all at 1200 miasl with 4000 mm or more mean annual rainfall), and the chronosequence simulated a development of soils from basaltic lava. Soils were incubated for 20 days at 17.5 °C, which is nearly equivalent to a mean field air temperature of the sites, and at an elevated temperature of 25.5 °C under three treatments: 1) field-wet without amendments, 2) air dried to a permanent wilting point, and 3) fertilized with phosphate (NaH₂PO₄) at the rate of 50 g P per g dry soil. Both mineralization and nitrification rates varied significantly among the sites at the field temperature (p<.00001). Fractions of the mineralized organic matter (indexed by the N produced per g organic C) increased sharply from the youngest to the 5000-yr site before declining abruptly to a near constant value from the 9000 to the 1,400,000-yr sites. Total organic C in the top soils (<15 cm deep) increased almost linearly with age across the sites. Consequently, net NH₄- and NO₃-N produced on an area basis (g m^-2 20 d^-1) increased sharply from 0.2 in the youngest site to 1.2 in the 5000-yr site, then both became depressed once but steadily increased again. The fraction of organic matter mineralized, and the net N turnover rates were outstandingly high in the oldest site where a large amount of organic matter was observed; the topsoil organic matter which was used in this analysis appeared to be highly labile, whereas the subsurface organic matter could be relatively recalcitrant. As suggested by earlier workers, the initial increase in N turnover seemed to correspond to the increasing quantity of N in the soils through atmospheric deposition and biological fixation. The later decline in fraction of organic matter mineralized seemed to relate to increasing soil C/N ratios, increasingly recalcitrant organic matter, and poorer soil drainage with age. The elevated temperature treatment produced significantly higher amounts of N mineralization, except for the youngest site where N was most limiting, and for two sites where soil waterlogging might be severe. P fertilization invariably resulted in slower N turnovers, suggesting that soil microbes responded to added P causing N immobilization. The youngest site did not significantly respond to added P. The magnitude of immobilization was higher in older than in younger soils, suggesting that P more strongly limits microbial populations in the older soils.     

Disentangling the long‐term effects of disturbance on soil biogeochemistry in a wet tropical forest ecosystem

Climate change is increasing the intensity of severe tropical storms and cyclones (also referred to as hurricanes or typhoons), with major implications for tropical forest structure and function. These changes in disturbance regime are likely to play an important role in regulating ecosystem carbon (C) and nutrient dynamics in tropical and subtropical forests. Canopy opening and debris deposition resulting from severe storms have complex and interacting effects on ecosystem biogeochemistry. Disentangling these complex effects will be critical to better understand the long‐term implications of climate change on ecosystem C and nutrient dynamics. In this study, we used a well‐replicated, long‐term (10 years) canopy and debris manipulation experiment in a wet tropical forest to determine the separate and combined effects of canopy opening and debris deposition on soil C and nutrients throughout the soil profile (1 m). Debris deposition alone resulted in higher soil C and N concentrations, both at the surface (0–10 cm) and at depth (50–80 cm). Concentrations of NaOH‐organic P also increased significantly in the debris deposition only treatment (20–90 cm depth), as did NaOH‐total P (20–50 cm depth). Canopy opening, both with and without debris deposition, significantly increased NaOH‐inorganic P concentrations from 70 to 90 cm depth. Soil iron concentrations were a strong predictor of both C and P patterns throughout the soil profile. Our results demonstrate that both surface‐ and subsoils have the potential to significantly increase C and nutrient storage a decade after the sudden deposition of disturbance‐related organic debris. Our results also show that these effects may be partially offset by rapid decomposition and decreases in litterfall associated with canopy opening. The significant effects of debris deposition on soil C and nutrient concentrations at depth (>50 cm), suggest that deep soils are more dynamic than previously believed, and can serve as sinks of C and nutrients derived from disturbance‐induced pulses of organic matter inputs.     

Soil GHG fluxes are altered by N deposition: New data indicate lower N stimulation of the N2O flux and greater stimulation of the calculated C pools

The effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on soil organic carbon (C) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in terrestrial ecosystems are the main drivers affecting GHG budgets under global climate change. Although many studies have been conducted on this topic, we still have little understanding of how N deposition affects soil C pools and GHG budgets at the global scale. We synthesized a comprehensive dataset of 275 sites from multiple terrestrial ecosystems around the world and quantified the responses of the global soil C pool and GHG fluxes induced by N enrichment. The results showed that the soil organic C concentration and the soil CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O emissions increased by an average of 3.7%, 0.3%, 24.3% and 91.3% under N enrichment, respectively, and that the soil CH₄ uptake decreased by 6.0%. Furthermore, the percentage increase in N₂O emissions (91.3%) was two times lower than that (215%) reported by Liu and Greaver (Ecology Letters, 2009, 12:1103–1117). There was also greater stimulation of soil C pools (15.70 kg C ha^?1 year^?1 per kg N ha^?1 year^?1) than previously reported under N deposition globally. The global N deposition results showed that croplands were the largest GHG sources (calculated as CO₂ equivalents), followed by wetlands. However, forests and grasslands were two important GHG sinks. Globally, N deposition increased the terrestrial soil C sink by 6.34 Pg CO₂/year. It also increased net soil GHG emissions by 10.20 Pg CO₂‐Geq (CO₂ equivalents)/year. Therefore, N deposition not only increased the size of the soil C pool but also increased global GHG emissions, as calculated by the global warming potential approach.     

Effects of nitrogen deposition on the greenhouse gas fluxes from forest soils

Nitrogen (N) deposition can alter the rates of microbial N- and C- turnover, and thus can affect the fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHG, e.g., CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O) from forest soils. The effects of N deposition on the GHG fluxes from forest soils were reviewed in this paper. N deposition to forest soils have shown variable effects on the soil GHG fluxes from forest, including increases, decreases or unchanged rates depending on forest type, N status of the soil, and the rate and type of atmospheric N deposition. In forest ecosystems where biological processes are limited by N supply, N additions either stimulate soil respiration or have no significant effect, whereas in “N saturated” forest ecosystems, N additions decrease CO₂ emission, reduce CH₄ oxidation and elevate N₂O flux from the soil. The mechanisms and research methods about the effects of N deposition on GHG fluxes from forest soils were also reviewed in this paper. Finally, the present and future research needs about the effects of N deposition on the GHG fluxes from forest soils were discussed.     

黄土区不同类型土壤可溶性有机氮的含量及特性

测定了黄土高原地区不同生态系统土壤中可溶性有机氮（SON）和游离氨基酸的含量,并分析了其与土壤其他性质之间的关系。结果表明,黑垆土、红油土和淋溶褐土中SON的平均含量分别为24．75、39．10mg／kg和41．80mg／kg,占可溶性总氮（TSN）的51．25％、68．28％和68．57％,分别为土壤全氮的2．54％、3．75％和4．00％;土壤游离氨基酸的含量分别为7．18、7．42mg／kg和7．41mg／kg,分别占SON的30．53％、19．23％和17．50％,占全氮的0．74％、0．71％和0．71％．方差分析结果表明,土壤类型对土壤SON含量及其在TSN和全氮中所占的比例、游离氨基酸在SON中所占的比例有显著影响,而对游离氨基酸的含量及其占土壤全氮比例的影响未达显著水平。枯枝落叶层中SON含量（248．26mg／kg）为农田土壤（24．75mg／kg）的10倍左右,且林地土壤0～20cm土层SON含量（31．03mg／kg）显著的高于当地农田,两种生态系统0～20cm土层土壤中游离氨基酸含量（7．18～7．32mg／kg）相当,但均极显著低于枯枝落叶层中游离氨基酸平均含量（18．57mg／kg）。相关分析结果表明,TSN、SON以及游离氨基酸与全氮、硝态氮、铵态氮、有机质等各养分之间均有极显著的相关性。     

A mechanism of abiotic immobilization of nitrate in forest ecosystems: the ferrous wheel hypothesis

Forest soils, rather than woody biomass, are the dominant long‐term sink for N in forest fertilization studies and, by inference, for N from atmospheric deposition. Recent evidence of significant abiotic immobilization of inorganic‐N in forest humus layers challenges a previously widely held view that microbial processes are the dominant pathways for N immobilization in soil. Understanding the plant, microbial, and abiotic mechanisms of N immobilization in forest soils has important implications for understanding current and future carbon budgets. Abiotic immobilization of nitrate is particularly perplexing because the thermodynamics of nitrate reduction in soils are not generally favorable under oxic conditions. Here we present preliminary evidence for a testable hypothesis that explains abiotic immobilization of nitrate in forest soils. Because iron (and perhaps manganese) plays a key role as a catalyst, with Fe(II) reducing nitrate and reduced forms of carbon then regenerating Fe(II), we call this ‘the ferrous wheel hypothesis’. After nitrate is reduced to nitrite, we hypothesize that nitrite reacts with dissolved organic matter through nitration and nitrosation of aromatic ring structures, thus producing dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). In addition to ignorance about mechanisms of DON production, little is known about DON dynamics in soil and its fate within ecosystems. Evidence from leaching and watershed studies suggests that DON production and consumption may be largely uncoupled from seasonal biological processes, although biological processes ultimately produce the DOC and reducing power that affect DON formation and the entire N cycle. The ferrous wheel hypothesis includes both biological and abiological processes, but the reducing power of plant‐derived organic matter may build up over seasons and years while the abiotic reduction of nitrate and reaction of organic matter with nitrite may occur in a matter of seconds after nitrate enters the soil solution.     

Glomalin, an arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungal soil protein, responds to land-use change

Glomalin is a soil proteinaceous substance produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Most of the information available concerning this protein has been collected in relation to its role in soil aggregation. In this study, we explored the distribution of glomalin across soil horizons, decomposition of glomalin, and relationship with soil C and N in an agricultural field, a native forest, and an afforested system. Glomalin was present in A, B, and C horizons in decreasing concentrations. Land-use type significantly affected glomalin concentrations (mg cm^–3), with native forest soils having the highest concentrations of the three land-use types in both A and B horizons. In terms of glomalin stocks (Mg ha^–1), calculated based on corrected horizon weights, the agricultural area was significantly lower than both afforested and native forest areas. As measured after a 413 day laboratory soil incubation, glomalin was least persistent in the A horizon of the afforested area.. In agricultural soils and native soils, ca. 50% of glomalin was still remaining after this incubation, indicating that some glomalin may be in the slow or recalcitrant soil C fraction. Comparison of glomalin decomposition with CO₂-C respired during incubation indicates that glomalin makes a large contribution to active soil organic C pools. Soil C and N were highly correlated with glomalin across all soils and within each land-use type, indicating that glomalin may be under similar controls as soil C. Our results show that glomalin may be useful as an indicator of land-use change effects on deciduous forest soils.     

Modelling soil C sequestration in spruce forest ecosystems along a Swedish transect based on current conditions

The change of current pools of soil C in Norway spruce ecosystems in Sweden were studied using a process-based model (CoupModel). Simulations were conducted for four sites representing different regions covering most of the forested area in Sweden and representing annual mean temperatures from 0.7°C to 7.1°C. The development of both tree layer and field layer (understory) was simulated during a 100-year period using data on standing stock volumes from the Swedish Forest Inventory to calibrate tree growth using different assumptions regarding N supply to the plants. The model successfully described the general patterns of forest stand dynamics along the Swedish climatic transect, with decreasing tree growth rates and increasing field layer biomass from south to north. However, the current tree growth pattern for the northern parts of Sweden could not be explained without organic N uptake and/or enhanced mineralisation rates compared to the southern parts. Depending on the assumption made regarding N supply to the tree, different soil C sequestration rates were obtained. The approach to supply trees with both mineralised N and organic N, keeping the soil C:N ratio constant during the simulation period was found to be the most realistic alternative. With this approach the soils in the northern region of Sweden lost 5 g C m⁻² year⁻¹, the soils in the central region lost 2 g C m⁻² year⁻¹, and the soils in the two southern regions sequestered 9 and 23 g C m⁻² year⁻¹, respectively. In addition to climatic effects, the feedback between C and N turnover plays an important role that needs to be more clearly understood to improve estimates of C sequestration in boreal forest ecosystems.     

亚热带次级森林演替过程中模拟氮磷沉降对土壤微生物生物量及土壤养分的影响

氮（N）沉降深刻影响着森林生态系统的生物多样性、生产力和稳定性。亚热带地区森林土壤磷（P）的有效性较低,N沉降将更突显P的限制作用。N、P输入对亚热带次级森林土壤的影响是否依赖于森林演替阶段知之甚少。选取两种不同演替年龄阶段（年轻林：<40 a;老年林：>85 a）的亚热带常绿阔叶林,设置模拟N和/或P沉降（10 g m^-2 a^-1）4个处理（Ctrl、N、P、NP）,连续处理4.5年后采集表层、次表层和下底层（0-15、15-30、30-60 cm）土壤样品,综合分析了土壤微生物生物量碳（MBC）氮（MBN）和多种土壤养分含量。结果表明,MBC、MBN及土壤养分含量均随土壤深度增加而降低。N添加对两种演替阶段森林土壤中MBC和MBN均无显著影响。施P相关处理（P和NP）对年轻林表层土壤MBC和MBN无显著影响,但显著增加了老年林表层土壤MBC和MBN（P<0.05）,表明老年林可能比年轻林更易受P限制。N添加显著增加了两种演替森林表层土壤可溶性有机氮（DON）、氨态氮（NH₄⁺-N）和硝态氮（NO₃^--N）的含量（P<0.05）;P相关处理（P和NP）显著增加两种演替阶段表层和次表层土壤速效磷（AP）以及表层土壤全磷（TP）的含量（P<0.05）。土壤MBC和MBN与土壤中各养分指标（可溶性有机碳DOC、DON、NH₄⁺-N、NO₃^--N、AP、全碳TC、全氮TN和TP）呈显著正相关关系,土壤TC、TN和DOC是影响土壤微生物生物量的主要因子。研究可为评估和揭示未来全球环境变化背景下不同演替林龄亚热带森林的土肥潜力及土壤质量的演变提供一定的科学理论依据。