Abstract
Aims
Litter decomposition affects soil organic carbon storage, and nutrient addition alters exogenous nutrient availability in soil, thereby affecting the endogenous nutrient concentration and extracellular enzyme activity in litter. However, how above- and belowground litter decomposition responds to nutrient addition is not fully understood.
Methods
We conducted a 7-yr field experiment with 5 levels (0, 1, 2.5, 5, and 12.5 g P m−2 yr−1) of phosphorus fertilization (P). Starting in the 6th year, we determine litter decomposition, nutrient elements, and enzyme activity to explore the response mechanisms of above- and belowground litter decomposition to P addition.
Results
All levels of P addition increased the rate of aboveground litter decomposition, but only 2.5 g P m−2 yr−1 increased that of belowground litter. P addition increased the litter initial P and Mn contents, while decreased the C/P and N/P ratios of aboveground litter, which stimulated the activities of β-1,4-glucosidase and β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase, thereby increasing the aboveground litter decomposition rate. The belowground litter decomposition was mainly inhibited by lignin content, and 2.5 g P m−2 yr−1 addition significantly decreased lignin content and increased the phenol oxidase activity, thereby accelerating the decomposition. P addition promoted the accumulation of P and the release of cellulose from aboveground litter and promoted the accumulation of calcium and the release of carbon from belowground litter.
Conclusions
Different mechanisms of above- and belowground litter decomposition under P addition were driven by litter quality and enzyme activity, but moderate P addition increased semiarid grassland litter decomposition, which may contribute to low soil C sequestration.
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Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 32230065), and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFF1303404). We thank the staff of the Grassland Ecosystem Research Station of Inner Mongolia University for their help during data collection, and the staff of Laboratory Analysis and Testing Center of the State Key Laboratory of Surface Earth Processes and Resource Ecology for their guidance during the laboratory analysis and data analysis. We appreciate the valuable input and suggestions provided by Editor Luca Bragazza and the anonymous reviewers, which have contributed to improving the quality and clarity of this manuscript.
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Jirui Gong: Funding acquisition, Supervision, Project administration. Xuede Dong: Conceptualization, Data curation, Writing–original draft, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing–review & editing. Xiaobing Li: Conceptualization, Project administration. Kexin Yue: Investigation, Data curation. Jiayu Shi: Investigation. Liangyuan Song: Investigation. Zihe Zhang: Investigation. Weiyuan Zhang: Investigation. Ying Li: Investigation.
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Gong, J., Dong, X., Li, X. et al. Phosphorus fertilization affects litter quality and enzyme activity in a semiarid grassland. Plant Soil 492, 91–108 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06153-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06153-w