Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Increasing water and nitrogen availability enhanced net ecosystem CO2 assimilation of a temperate semiarid steppe

Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Cite this article

Abstract

Changes in precipitation patterns and N cycling across the globe are likely to affect ecosystem primary productivity and CO2 exchanges, especially in arid and semi-arid grasslands. To evaluate the effects of water and N availability on ecosystem CO2 fluxes, we conducted a manipulative field experiment with water and N addition in a temperate semiarid steppe in 2006 and 2007 with remarkably different amount of natural precipitation. For each growing season (June–September), water (15 mm) was added about every 2 weeks, which summed up to about 120 mm year−1. N (as urea) was added at a rate of 6.96 g N m−2 every month during the same period. Variations of the growing-season CO2 fluxes, including net ecosystem exchange (NEE), gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) were examined. Net carbon uptake was found in all treatments over the growing season in both years, with the growing season average NEE ranging from −1.27 to −5.59 μmol m−2 s−1. During two growing seasons, water and N addition significantly increased NEE (+42% and +30% in 2006 and 2007, respectively), because greater stimulation of GEP than ER. Net primary productivity, especially grass biomass, correlated closely with variation in GEP and ER. Precipitation (and thus soil moisture) regulated seasonal and inter-annual variations in GEP and ER, and subsequently NEE. Moreover, both water and N addition effects depended greatly on the initial water condition in this temperate semiarid steppe.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aires LM, Pio CA, Pereira JS (2008) Carbon dioxide exchange above a Mediterranean C3/C4 grassland during two climatologically contrasting years. Global Change Biol 14:539–555

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bai YF, Wu JG, Clark CM, Naeem S, Pan QM, Huang JH, Zhang LX, Han XG (2010) Tradeoffs and thresholds in the effects of nitrogen addition on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: evidence from Inner Mongolia Grasslands. Global Change Biol 16:358–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldocchi D (1997) Measuring and modelling carbon dioxide and water vapour exchange over a temperate broad-leaved forest during the 1995 summer drought. Plant Cell Environ 20:1108–1122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bubier JL, Moore TR, Bledzki LA (2007) Effects of nutrient addition on vegetation and carbon cycling in an ombrotrophic bog. Global Change Biol 13:1168–1186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burke IC, Lauenroth WK, Parton WJ (1997) Regional and temporal variation in net primary production and nitrogen mineralization in grasslands. Ecology 78:1330–1340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cable JM, Ogle K, Williams DG, Weltzin JF, Huxman TE (2008) Soil texture drives responses of soil respiration to precipitation pulses in the sonoran desert: Implications for climate change. Ecosystems 11:961–979

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen SP, Lin GH, Huang JH, Jenerette GD (2009) Dependence of carbon sequestration on the differential responses of ecosystem photosynthesis and respiration to rain pulses in a semiarid steppe. Global Change Biol 15:2450–2461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng X, Luo Y, Su B, Verburg PSJ, Hui DF, Obrist D, Arnone Iii JA, Johnson DW, Evans RD (2009) Responses of net ecosystem CO2 exchange to nitrogen fertilization in experimentally manipulated grassland ecosystems. Agr Forest Meteorol 149:1956–1963

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cholaw B, Cubasch U, Lin YH, Ji LR (2003) The change of North China climate in transient simulations using the IPCCSRES A2 and B2 scenarios with a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model. Adv Atmos Sci 20:755–766

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmerich WE, Verdugo CL (2008) Precipitation thresholds for CO2 uptake in grass and shrub plant communities on walnut gulch experimental watershed. Water Resour Res 44, W05S16, doi:10.1029/2006WR005690.

  • Flanagan LB, Johnson BG (2005) Interacting effects of temperature, soil moisture and plant biomass production on ecosystem respiration in a northern temperate grassland. Agr Forest Meteorol 130:237–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan LB, Wever LA, Carlson PJ (2002) Seasonal and interannual variation in carbon dioxide exchange and carbon balance in a northern temperate grassland. Global Change Biol 8:599–615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber N, Galloway JN (2008) An earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature 451:293–296

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hao YB, Wang YF, Mei XR, Huang XZ, Cui XY, Zhou XQ, Niu HS (2008) CO2, H2O and energy exchange of an Inner Mongolia steppe ecosystem during a dry and wet year. Acta Oecol 33:133–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harpole WS, Potts DL, Suding KN (2007) Ecosystem responses to water and nitrogen amendment in a California grassland. Global Change Biol 13:2341–2348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harte J, Shaw R (1995) Shifting dominance within a montane vegetation community -results of a climate-warming experiment. Science 267:876–880

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hooper DU, Johnson L (1999) Nitrogen limitation in dryland ecosystems: responses to geographical and temporal variation in precipitation. Biogeochemistry 46:247–293

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter JJ, Visser JH (1989) The effect of partial defoliation, leaf position and developmental stage of the vine on leaf chlorophyll concentration in relation to the photosynthetic activity and light intensity in the canopy of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon. South Afr J Enol Vitic 10:67–73

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huxman TE, Snyder KA, Tissue D, Leffler AJ, Ogle K, Pockman WT, Sandquist DR, Potts DL, Schwinning S (2004) Precipitation pulses and carbon fluxes in semiarid and arid ecosystems. Oecologia 141:254–268

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: the Physical Science Basis: Summary for Policymakers. IPCC WGI Fourth Assessment Report.

  • Johnson MG, Phillips DL, Tingey DT, Storm MJ (2000) Effects of elevated CO2, N-fertilization, and season on survival of ponderosa pine fine roots. Can J Forest Res 30:220–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller M, Kummer M, Vasconcelos MC (2001) Soil nitrogen utilisation for growth and gas exchange by grapevines in response to nitrogen supply and rootstock. Aust J Grape Wine Res 7:2–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kieft TL, Soroker E, Firestone MK (1987) Microbial biomass response to a rapid increase in water potential when dry soil is wetted. Soil Biol Biochem 19:119–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchner TB (1977) The effects of resource enrichment on the diversity of plants and arthropods in a short-grass prairie. Ecology 58:1334–1344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krishnan P, Black TA, Grant NJ, Barr AG, Hogg EH, Jassal RS, Morgenstern K (2006) Impact of changing soil moisture distribution on net ecosystem productivity of a boreal aspen forest during and following drought. Agr Forest Meteorol 139:208–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwon H, Pendall E, Ewers BE, Cleary M, Naithani K (2008) Spring drought regulates summer net ecosystem CO2 exchange in a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. Agr Forest Meteorol 148:381–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LeBauer DS, Treseder KK (2008) Nitrogen limitation of net primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems is globally distributed. Ecology 89:371–379

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li SG, Eugster W, Asanuma J, Kotani A, Davaa G, Oyunbaatar D, Sugita M (2008a) Response of gross ecosystem productivity, light use efficiency, and water use efficiency of Mongolian steppe to seasonal variations in soil moisture. J Geophys Res 113. G01019. doi:10.1029/2006JG00349.

  • Li YL, Tenhunen J, Owen K, Schmitt M, Bahn M, Droesler M, Otieno D, Schmidt M, Gruenwald T, Hussain MZ, Mirzae H, Bernhofer C (2008b) Patterns in CO2 gas exchange capacity of grassland ecosystems in the Alps. Agr Forest Meteorol 148:51–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd J, Taylor JA (1994) On the temperature dependence of soil respiration. Funct Ecol 8:315–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma S, Baldocchi D, Xu L, Hehn T (2007) Inter-annual variability in carbon dioxide exchange of an oak/grass savanna and open grassland in California. Agr Forest Meteorol 147:157–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mack MC, Schuur EAG, Bret-Harte MS, Shaver GR, Chapin FS (2004) Ecosystem carbon storage in arctic tundra reduced by long-term nutrient fertilization. Nature 431:440–443

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Niu SL, Wu MY, Han Y, Xia JY, Li LH, Wan SQ (2008) Water-mediated responses of ecosystem carbon fluxes to climatic change in a temperate steppe. New Phytol 177:209–219

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Niu SL, Yang HJ, Zhang Z, Wu MY, Lu Q, Li LH, Han XG, Wan SQ (2009) Non-additive effects of water and nitrogen addition on ecosystem carbon exchange in a temperate steppe. Ecosystems 12:915–926

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Patrick L, Cable J, Potts D, Ignace D, Barron-Gafford G, Griffith A, Alpert H, Van Gestel N, Robertson T, Huxman TE, Zak J, Loik ME, Tissue D (2007) Effects of an increase in summer precipitation on leaf, soil, and ecosystem fluxes of CO2 and H2O in a sotol grassland in big bend national park, Texas. Oecologia 151:704–718

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Potts DL, Huxman TE, Cable JM, English NB, Ignace DD, Eilts JA, Mason MJ, Weltzin JF, Williams DG (2006) Antecedent moisture and seasonal precipitation influence the response of canopy-scale carbon and water exchange to rainfall pulses in a semi-arid grassland. New Phytol 170:849–860

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pregitzer KS, Burton AJ, Zak DR, Talhelm AF (2008) Simulated chronic nitrogen deposition increases carbon storage in northern temperate forests. Global Change Biol 14:142–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds JF, Kemp PR, Ogle K, Fernandez RJ (2004) Modifying the ‘pulse-reserve’ paradigm for deserts of North America: Precipitation pulses, soil water, and plant responses. Oecologia 141:194–210

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Risch AC, Frank DA (2007) Effects of increased soil water availability on grassland ecosystem carbon dioxide fluxes. Biogeochemistry 86:91–103

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Risch AC, Frank DA (2010) Diurnal and seasonal patterns in ecosystem CO2 fluxes and their controls in a temperate grassland. Rangeland Ecol Manage 63:62–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowell DL (1994) Soil Science: methods and applications. Longman, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Saarnio S, Jarvio S, Saarinen T, Vasander H, Silvola J (2003) Minor changes in vegetation and carbon gas balance in a boreal mire under a raised CO2 or NH4NO3 supply. Ecosystems 6:46–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger WH (2009) On the fate of anthropogenic nitrogen. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 106:203–208

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shaver GR, Johnson LC, Cades DH, Murray G, Laundre JA, Rastetter EB, Nadelhoffer KJ, Giblin AE (1998) Biomass and CO2 flux in wet sedge tundras: responses to nutrients, temperature, and light. Ecol Monogr 68:75–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Shen WJ, Reynolds JF, Hui DF (2009) Responses of dryland soil respiration and soil carbon pool size to abrupt vs. gradual and individual vs. combined changes in soil temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric [CO2]: a simulation analysis. Global Change Biol 15:2274–2294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • St Clair SB, Sudderth EA, Fischer ML, Torn MS, Stuart SA, Salve R, Eggett DL, Ackerly DD (2009) Soil drying and nitrogen availability modulate carbon and water exchange over a range of annual precipitation totals and grassland vegetation types. Global Change Biol 15:3018–3030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan PF, Arens SJT, Chimner RA, Welker JM (2008) Temperature and microtopography interact to control carbon cycling in a high arctic fen. Ecosystems 11:61–76

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verma SB, Dobermann A, Cassman KG, Walters DT, Knops JM, Arkebauer TJ, Suyker AE, Burba GG, Amos B, Yang HS, Ginting D, Hubbard KG, Gitelson AA, Walter-Shea EA (2005) Annual carbon dioxide exchange in irrigated and rainfed maize-based agroecosystems. Agr Forest Meteorol 131:77–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan S, Norby RJ, Ledford J, Weltzin JF (2007) Responses of soil respiration to elevated CO2, air warming, and changing soil water availability in a model old-field grassland. Global Change Biol 13:2411–2424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan S, Xia J, Liu W, Niu S (2009) Photosynthetic overcompensation under nocturnal warming enhances grassland carbon sequestration. Ecology 90:2700–2710

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Xia J, Wan S (2008) Global response patterns of terrestrial plant species to nitrogen addition. New Phytol 179:428–439

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xia J, Niu S, Wan S (2009) Response of ecosystem carbon exchange to warming and nitrogen addition during two hydrologically contrasting growing seasons in a temperate steppe. Global Change Biol 15:1544–1556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu W, Wan S (2008) Water- and plant-mediated responses of soil respiration to topography, fire, and nitrogen fertilization in a semiarid grassland in northern china. Soil Biol Biochem 40:679–687

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan L, Chen S, Lin G, Huang J (2009) Differential responses of auto- and heterotrophic soil respiration to water and nitrogen addition in a semiarid temperate steppe. Global Change Biol 16:2345–2357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang P (1998) Carbon dioxide flux within and above a boreal aspen forest. University of British Columbia, Vancouver

    Google Scholar 

  • Yepez EA, Scott RL, Cable WL, Williams DG (2007) Intraseasonal variation in water and carbon dioxide flux components in a semiarid riparian woodland. Ecosystems 10:1100–1115

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan ZY, Li LH, Han XG, Huang JH, Jiang GM, Wan S (2005) Soil characteristics and nitrogen resorption in Stipa krylovii native to northern China. Plant Soil 273:257–268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang WL, Chen SP, Chen J, Wei L, Han XG, Lin GH (2007) Biophysical regulations of carbon fluxes of a steppe and a cultivated cropland in semiarid Inner Mongolia. Agr Forest Meteorol 146:216–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang N, Zhao YS, Yu GR (2009) Simulated annual carbon fluxes of grassland ecosystems in extremely arid conditions. Ecol Res 24:185–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou XH, Weng ES, Luo YQ (2008) Modeling patterns of nonlinearity in ecosystem responses to temperature, CO2, and precipitation changes. Ecol Appl 18:453–466

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Wenli Zhang, Haixia Miao and Ping Zhang for their helps on setting up the field facilities and conducting field measurements. This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 program) (2010CB833501), the “Strategic Priority Research Program–Climate Change: Carbon Budget and Related Issues” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA05050402), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30800141), and the Innovative Research Group Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China (30821062).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China

    Liming Yan, Shiping Chen, Jianhui Huang & Guanghui Lin

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Liming Yan

  3. Research Center for Earth System Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Guanghui Lin

Authors
  1. Liming Yan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shiping Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jianhui Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Guanghui Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shiping Chen.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Katja Klumpp.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Table S1

(DOC 78 kb)

Table S2

(DOC 38 kb)

Table S3

(DOC 36 kb)

Figure S1

(DOC 1187 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yan, L., Chen, S., Huang, J. et al. Increasing water and nitrogen availability enhanced net ecosystem CO2 assimilation of a temperate semiarid steppe. Plant Soil 349, 227–240 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0864-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0864-1

Keywords

search

Navigation