Nitrogen uptake by plants may alleviate N deposition-induced increase in soil N.sub.2O emissions in subtropical Chinese fir plantations

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 479; no. 1-2; p. 127
• Main Authors: Zheng, Xiang, Liu, Qi, Cao, Minmin, Ji, Xiaofang, Lu, Jianbing, He, Liu, Liu, Lingjuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Analysis; Emissions (Pollution); Methods; Nitrification; Nitrous oxide; Soil moisture; China
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-022-05503-4
• ISSN: 0032-079X

Background Continuous nitrogen (N) deposition interferes with soil N cycling in forests, which highly impacts soil nitrous oxide (N.sub.2O) emissions and accelerates global warming. Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook) is one of the most widely planted species in southern China, and is usually located in areas with high N deposition rates. However, the impact of N deposition on soil N.sub.2O emissions in subtropical Chinese fir plantations and the potential risk of increasing N input remain elusive. Methods Here, we conducted an in situ study in a subtropical Chinese fir plantation at Fengyang Mountain Nature Reserve, China, from 2019 to 2020 with four N addition rates: control (CK: ambient N deposition), low-N (LN: 50 kg N ha.sup.-1 yr.sup.-1), medium-N (MN: 100 kg N ha.sup.-1 yr.sup.-1), and high-N (HN: 200 kg N ha.sup.-1 yr.sup.-1). Results We found that soil N.sub.2O emission rates increased with N addition rates by 71%, 176%, and 241% under LN, MN, and HN treatment compared to CK, respectively, and reached a significant level only under HN. Soil moisture was significantly reduced together with increased leaf N concentrations under N addition. Meanwhile, the microbial biomass in the middle of the growing season was significantly lower than at the end of the growing season. These results may suggest that N deposition stimulated plants to take up more N and water, which intensified plant-microbe competition and therefore alleviated further increases in N.sub.2O emissions under N deposition, especially under low N inputs. N deposition enhanced the abundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea and bacteria and the accumulation of NO.sub.3.sup.--N in the soil but did not affect the abundance of nitrate-reducing bacteria (nirS and nirK). The results likely support that nitrification processes act as the major source of enhanced N.sub.2O emissions under N fertilization. Conclusions Our study advances our understanding of the impacts of N deposition on the soil N.sub.2O emissions in the Chinese fir plantations and highlights that plant N acquisition needs to be incorporated as an important explanatory variable when predicting N.sub.2O fluxes under global increases in N deposition.