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Nitrogen and Phosphorus Additions Impact Stability of Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest

  • SOIL CHEMISTRY
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Abstract

Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can have a series of effects on forest ecosystems. As N deposition increases N availability in forest ecosystems, soil phosphorus (P) becomes a limiting factor for forest productivity. However, it is not clear whether long-term N deposition can affect on soil carbon (C) and N stability, and whether the addition of P can moderate the impact of N deposition. A five-year experiment of N and N + P additions was conducted in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in eastern China. The seasonal dynamics of soil C and N and the abundance of their stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) were investigated in the 0–30 cm layer. Soil C, N and δ13C and δ15N abundances had significant vertical distribution characteristics. Soil C and N contents increased significantly under N and N + P additions, especially in the topsoil (0–10 cm); δ13C did not change significantly under N and N + P additions, but the linear slope (β) between δ13C and soil organic carbon (SOC) and C/N indicated that N + P addition slowed down the decomposition rate and enhanced the stability of SOC. Soil δ15N increased significantly under N and N + P additions, and enriched with the increase of seasonal temperature. Our findings implied that the linear slope of δ13C and SOC (β) and C/N can serve as potential indicators of soil C stability under N and N + P additions in subtropical forests. The soil δ13C and δ15N abundance was affected by the interaction between soil C and N. δ13C abundance showed no significant response of the stability of SOC to N and N + P additions. It suggests that the further study is needed to reveal their response mechanisms to long-term N deposition in subtropical forest ecosystem.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank the Meteorological Station of Shitai County, Anhui Province, for provision of the climatic data.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, nos. 31770672 and 31370626).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, 230036, Hefei, China

    Huiling Wang, Jingjing Wang, Wei Fan, Pengfei Deng, Zhenyu Wen, Kuang Zhou & Xiaoniu Xu

  2. Anhui Academy of Forestry, 230036, Hefei, China

    Jingjing Wang

  3. College of Environmental Engineering, Xuzhou University of Technology, 221000, Xuzhou, China

    Zhen Teng

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  1. Huiling Wang
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Huiling Wang, Wang, J., Teng, Z. et al. Nitrogen and Phosphorus Additions Impact Stability of Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest. Eurasian Soil Sc. 55, 425–436 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229322040159

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