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Effects of drought and N-fertilization on N cycling in two grassland soils

Oecologia volume 171, pages 705–717 (2013)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 24 February 2013

Abstract

Changes in frequency and intensity of drought events are anticipated in many areas of the world. In pasture, drought effects on soil nitrogen (N) cycling are spatially and temporally heterogeneous due to N redistribution by grazers. We studied soil N cycling responses to simulated summer drought and N deposition by grazers in a 3-year field experiment replicated in two grasslands differing in climate and management. Cattle urine and NH4NO3 application increased soil NH4 + and NO3 − concentrations, and more so under drought due to reduced plant uptake and reduced nitrification and denitrification. Drought effects were, however, reflected to a minor extent only in potential nitrification, denitrifying enzyme activity (DEA), and the abundance of functional genes characteristic of nitrifying (bacterial and archaeal amoA) and denitrifying (narG, nirS, nirK, nosZ) micro-organisms. N2O emissions, however, were much reduced under drought, suggesting that this effect was driven by environmental limitations rather than by changes in the activity potential or the size of the respective microbial communities. Cattle urine stimulated nitrification and, to a lesser extent, also DEA, but more so in the absence of drought. In contrast, NH4NO3 reduced the activity of nitrifiers and denitrifiers due to top-soil acidification. In summary, our data demonstrate that complex interactions between drought, mineral N availability, soil acidification, and plant nutrient uptake control soil N cycling and associated N2O emissions. These interactive effects differed between processes of the soil N cycle, suggesting that the spatial heterogeneity in pastures needs to be taken into account when predicting changes in N cycling and associated N2O emissions in a changing climate.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Annika Lenz, Peter Plüss and Patrick Flütsch for technical support. We further thank Anna Gilgen, Samuel Schmid and Petra Stiehl-Braun for their help with setting up of the rain exclusion roofs. This project was funded by Swiss National Science Foundation grant 315230-112681 to P.A.N.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant, Animal and Agroecosystem Sciences, ETH Zurich, Universitätsstr. 2, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Adrian A. Hartmann, Romain L. Barnard & Pascal A. Niklaus

  2. Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolff-Str. 27, 70593, Stuttgart-Hohenheim, Germany

    Sven Marhan

  3. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Pascal A. Niklaus

Authors
  1. Adrian A. Hartmann
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  2. Romain L. Barnard
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  3. Sven Marhan
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  4. Pascal A. Niklaus
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Correspondence to Pascal A. Niklaus.

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Communicated by Russell Monson.

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Hartmann, A.A., Barnard, R.L., Marhan, S. et al. Effects of drought and N-fertilization on N cycling in two grassland soils. Oecologia 171, 705–717 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2578-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2578-3

Keywords

  • Climate change
  • Enzyme activities
  • Functional genes
  • Quantitative PCR
  • Nitrification and denitrification
  • N2O fluxes