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Effects of soil moisture on gross N transformations and N2O emission in acid subtropical forest soils

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Abstract

Soil moisture changes, arising from seasonal variation or from global climate changes, could influence soil nitrogen (N) transformation rates and N availability in unfertilized subtropical forests. A 15 N dilution study was carried out to investigate the effects of soil moisture change (30–90 % water-holding capacity (WHC)) on potential gross N transformation rates and N2O and NO emissions in two contrasting (broad-leaved vs. coniferous) subtropical forest soils. Gross N mineralization rates were more sensitive to soil moisture change than gross NH4 + immobilization rates for both forest soils. Gross nitrification rates gradually increased with increasing soil moisture in both forest soils. Thus, enhanced N availability at higher soil moisture values was attributed to increasing gross N mineralization and nitrification rates over the immobilization rate. The natural N enrichment in humid subtropical forest soils may partially be due to fast N mineralization and nitrification under relatively higher soil moisture. In broad-leaved forest soil, the high N2O and NO emissions occurred at 30 % WHC, while the reverse was true in coniferous forest soil. Therefore, we propose that there are different mechanisms regulating N2O and NO emissions between broad-leaved and coniferous forest soils. In coniferous forest soil, nitrification may be the primary process responsible for N2O and NO emissions, while in broad-leaved forest soil, N2O and NO emissions may originate from the denitrification process.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41301238, 41222005), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20131045), the Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Science, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Environmental Change & Ecological Construction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Yi Cheng, Shen-Qiang Wang & Zu-Cong Cai

  2. School of Geography Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Jing Wang, Jin-Bo Zhang & Zu-Cong Cai

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  1. Yi Cheng
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Correspondence to Zu-Cong Cai.

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Cheng, Y., Wang, J., Wang, SQ. et al. Effects of soil moisture on gross N transformations and N2O emission in acid subtropical forest soils. Biol Fertil Soils 50, 1099–1108 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-014-0930-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-014-0930-y

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