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Impacts of nitrogen addition on the carbon balance in a temperate semiarid grassland ecosystem

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Abstract

Understanding carbon (C) cycling and sequestration in vegetation and soils, and their responses to nitrogen (N) deposition, is important for quantifying ecosystem responses to global climate change. Here, we describe a 2-year study of the C balance in a temperate grassland in northern China. We measured net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE), net ecosystem production (NEP), and C sequestration rates in treatments with N addition ranging from 0 to 25 g N m−2 year−1. High N addition significantly increased ecosystem C sequestration, whose rates ranged from 122.06 g C m−2 year−1 (control) to 259.67 g C m−2 year−1 (25 g N). Cumulative NEE during the growing season decreased significantly at high and medium N addition, with values ranging from −95.86 g C m−2 (25 g N) to 0.15 g C m−2 (5 g N). Only the highest N rate increased significantly cumulative soil microbial respiration compared with the control in the dry 2014 growing season. High N addition significantly increased net primary production (NPP) and NEP in both years, and NEP ranged from −5.83 to 128.32 g C m−2. The C input from litter decomposition was significant and must be quantified to accurately estimate NPP. Measuring C sequestration and NEP together may allow tracking of the effects of N addition on grassland C budgets. Overall, adding 25 or 10 g N m−2 year−1 improved the CO2 sink of the grassland ecosystem, and increased grassland C sequestration.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Key National R & D program of China (No. 2016YFC0500502), by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41571048), and by the State Key Basic Research and Development Plan of China (No. 2014CB138803).

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  1. Jirui Gong

    Present address: College of Resources Science and Technology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, China

  2. Taoge-tao Baoyin

    Present address: College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, No.235 West College Road, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Resources Science and Technology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Qinpu Luo, Jirui Gong, Lili Yang, Xiaobing Li, Yan Pan, Min Liu & Zhanwei Zhai

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Luo, Q., Gong, J., Yang, L. et al. Impacts of nitrogen addition on the carbon balance in a temperate semiarid grassland ecosystem. Biol Fertil Soils 53, 911–927 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-017-1233-x

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