Abstract
Purpose
Substantial studies report about the extent of elevated CO2 (eCO2) and nitrogenous (N) fertilization or deposition above- and belowground. Although CO2 concentrations are expected to be more than 1000 μmol·mol−1 by 2100 (IPCC 2014), there are relatively few studies about the effects of highly concentrated eCO2 plus N fertilization on woody plants.
Materials and methods
Schima superba seedlings were exposed to eCO2 and N fertilization in open-top chambers (OTCs), including ambient air (400 μmol·mol−1), 550, 750, and 1000 μmol mol−1 and 5, 10, or 0 g N m−2·year−1, respectively. Plant photosynthesis (Pn), leaf/root carbon (C) and N, and biomass were analyzed; furthermore, soil microbial community structure was examined.
Results and discussion
After only one growing season, the combination of eCO2 and N fertilization increased Pn. N fertilization also increased plant biomass. The combined effect of higher CO2 concentration with N fertilization further stimulated plant biomass. Soil fungal community structure was altered by eCO2 via affecting leaf N and C/N. Moreover, N fertilization changed the composition of soil bacterial communities, which in part was driven by soil NO3−, as well as root C/N. Although eCO2 and N fertilization yielded a direct relationship of synergistic effects on Pn and plant biomass, they elicited contrasting effects on soil copiotrophic and oligotrophic groups, which mediate the soil microbial community structure and nutrient cycling.
Conclusions
Plant growth and soil microbial communities could be affected within short time scales by global change. Experimental manipulations that focus on the singular effects of either CO2 or N fertilization alone may underestimate the effects of global change on woody plants.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to the Qianyanzhou Ecological Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for the provision of an experimental base. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Yun Wang from Linyi University and Dr. Li Li from Nanjing Forestry University for their help in editing the manuscript.
Funding
This work was financially supported by the National Key R& D Program of China (2016YFD0600202-3) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (31800526).
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Chen, Z., Maltz, M.R., Russell, R. et al. Highly elevated CO2 and fertilization with nitrogen stimulates significant schima superba growth and mediates soil microbial community composition along an oligotroph-copiotroph spectrum. J Soils Sediments 22, 1555–1571 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03167-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03167-2