Abstract
Aims
As the largest terrestrial carbon (C) pool, soil organic carbon (SOC) plays a critical role in the global C cycle. Particulate organic carbon (POC) and mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC) are currently popular methods for the fractionation and analysis of SOC. Nitrogen (N) addition affects SOC dynamics. However, the characteristics of POC and MAOC and their potential drivers under N (inorganic and organic N) addition remain unclear.
Methods
We conducted a meta-analysis based on data from 50 studies on terrestrial ecosystems in China to investigate the responses of SOC, POC, and MAOC to N addition, and to reveal the factors influencing POC and MAOC.
Results
The results showed that organic N addition significantly increased the SOC (effect size: 0.35), POC (effect size: 0.68), and MAOC (effect size: 0.20), whereas inorganic N addition significantly increased SOC (effect size: 0.10) and POC (effect size: 0.21). POC and MAOC concentrations increased with fertilization duration (years); however, the physical stability of SOC remained unchanged. No correlation was observed between the SOC sequestration rate and duration of fertilization under inorganic N addition, whereas the SOC sequestration rate showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with organic N addition.
Conclusions
The main factors affecting POC and MAOC were microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and soil pH, and the driving factors of POC and MAOC were different under inorganic and organic N additions. Additionally, N addition may decrease the stability of the SOC pool.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Youth Tutor Support Fund of Gansu Agricultural University, China (GAU-QDFC-2021-20), University Innovation Fund of Gansu Province of China (2020B-135), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31960631). We would like to thank topedit (www.topeditsci.com) for its linguistic assistance.
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Qi, P., Chen, J., Wang, X. et al. Changes in soil particulate and mineral-associated organic carbon concentrations under nitrogen addition in China—a meta-analysis. Plant Soil 489, 439–452 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06030-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06030-6