Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Response of nitrogen transformation to glucose additions in soils at two subtropical forest types subjected to simulated nitrogen deposition

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Soil nitrogen (N) transformation is an important phenomenon in forest ecosystems and it is regulated by carbon (C) input. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of labile C levels on soil N mineralization under different simulated N deposition rates.

Materials and methods

Soils at 0–15-cm depth were collected from two contrasting subtropical forests, a coniferous fir forest (CFF) and an evergreen broadleaf forest (EBF); both soils had been subjected to 3 years of artificial NH4NO3 input or deposition (no-N control, N0; low N (30 kg N ha−1 year−1; N30), and high N (100 kg N ha−1 year−1); N100). The impacts of external glucose-C (G) on N mineralization of these N-deposited soils were investigated by the addition of six C rates (mg C kg−1 dry weight soil—0, G0; 100, G100; 300, G300; 1000, G1000; 2000, G2000; and 5000, G5000), at a temperature of 25 °C, and a 60% water-holding capacity for 21 days.

Results and discussion

The results showed that, after 21 days of incubation, concentrations of inorganic N (NH4+–N and NO3−–N) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing C rates and reached a minimum value when the added C rate was ≥ G1000. The lowest NH4+–N under G1000 was 9.2 mg kg−1 in all of these three N-deposited soils at the CFF site while 11.6 mg kg−1 in the N30 soil at the EBF site. The concentration of NO3−–N was decreased to 0 under G1000 and G2000 in the CFF and EBF soils, respectively. These results revealed that the higher the soil NO3−–N concentration was, the greater the NO3−–N reduced, with a maximum decrease of 80 mg NO3−–N kg−1 in the N100 soil from the EBF site. In addition, the soil mineralization and nitrification rates were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in soils from the EBF than from the CFF site and increased with N in soils subjected to simulated N deposition. However, the net N transformation rates also decreased with C addition and had the minimum value at G1000.

Conclusions

Our results suggested that there could be a critical C level at which N transformation being altered in certain soils, based on their N status, and that the impacts of C on soil N mineralization were independent of soil N availability.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bowden RD, Deem L, Plante AF, Peltre C, Nadelhoffer K, Lajtha K (2014) Litter input controls on soil carbon in a temperate deciduous forest. Soil Sci Soc Am J 78(S1):S66–S75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burger M, Jackson LE (2003) Microbial immobilization of ammonium and nitrate in relation to ammonification and nitrification rates in organic and conventional cropping systems. Soil Biol Biochem 35:29–36

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen FS, Duncan DS, Hu XF, Liang C (2014) Exogenous nutrient manipulations alter endogenous extractability of carbohydrates in decomposing foliar litters under a typical mixed forest of subtropics. Geoderma 214:19–24

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng Y, Wang J, Wang JY, Chang SX, Wang SQ (2017) The quality and quantity of exogenous organic carbon input control microbial NO3 − immobilization: a meta-analysis. Soil Biol Biochem 115:357–363

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Côté L, Brown S, Paré D, Fyles J, Bauhus J (2000) Dynamics of carbon and nitrogen mineralization in relation to stand type, stand age and soil texture in the boreal mixedwood. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1079–1090

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidsson TE, Ståhl M (2000) The influence of organic carbon on nitrogen transformations in five wetland soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:1129–1136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodla SK, Wang JJ, DeLaune RD, Cook RL (2008) Denitrification potential and its relation to organic carbon quality in three coastal wetland soils. Sci Total Environ 407:471–480

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fanin N, Hättenschwiler S, Barantal S, Schimann H, Fromin N (2011) Does variability in litter quality determine soil microbial respiration in an Amazonian rainforest? Soil Biol Biochem 43:1014–1022

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farrell M, Prendergast-Miller M, Jones DL, Hill PW, Condron LM (2014) Soil microbial organic nitrogen uptake is regulated by carbon availability. Soil Biol Biochem 77:261–267

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Futter MN, Ring E, Högbom L, Entenmann S, Bishop KH (2010) Consequences of nitrate leaching following stem-only harvesting of Swedish forests are dependent on spatial scale. Environ Pollut 158:3552–3559

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Galloway JN, Townsend AR, Erisman JW, Bekunda M, Cai ZC, Freney JR, Martinelli LA, Seitzinger SP, Sutton MA (2008) Transformation of the nitrogen cycle: recent trends, questions, and potential solutions. Science 320:889–892

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao WL, Cheng SL, Fang HJ, Chen Y, Yu G, Zhou M, Zhang PL, Xu MJ (2013) Effects of simulated atmospheric nitrogen deposition on inorganic nitrogen content and acidification in a cold-temperate coniferous forest soil. Acta Ecol Sin 33:114–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geisseler D, Horwath WR (2008) Regulation of extracellular protease activity in soil in response to different sources and concentrations of nitrogen and carbon. Soil Biol Biochem 40:3040–3048

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gilliam FS, Lyttle NL, Thomas A, Adams MB (2005) Soil variability along a nitrogen mineralization and nitrification gradient in a nitrogen-saturated hardwood forest. Soil Sci Soc Am J 69:247–256

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He P, Wan SZ, Fang XM, Wang FC, Chen FS (2016) Exogenous nutrients and carbon resource change the responses of soil organic matter decomposition and nitrogen immobilization to nitrogen deposition. Sci Rep 6:23717. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep23717

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbie JE, Hobbie EA (2013) Microbes in nature are limited by carbon and energy: the starving-survival lifestyle in soil and consequences for estimating microbial rates. Front Microbiol 4:324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoyle FC, Murphy DV, Brookes PC (2008) Microbial response to the addition of glucose in low-fertility soils. Biol Fertil Soils 44:571–579

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huygens D, Rütting T, Boeckx P, Van Cleemput O, Godoy R, Müller C (2007) Soil nitrogen conservation mechanisms in a pristine south Chilean Nothofagus forest ecosystem. Soil Biol Biochem 39:2448–2458

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan TE, Weller DE, Correll DL (1998) Denitrification in surface soils of a riparian forest: effects of water, nitrate and sucrose additions. Soil Biol Biochem 30:833–843

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li HC, Hu YL, Mao R, Zhao Q, Zeng DH (2015) Effects of nitrogen addition on litter decomposition and CO2 release: considering changes in litter quantity. PLoS One 10:e0144665. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144665

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin CF, Yang YS, Guo JF, Chen GS, Xie JS (2011) Fine root decomposition of evergreen broadleaved and coniferous tree species in mid-subtropical China: dynamics of dry mass, nutrient and organic fractions. Plant Soil 338:311–327

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu XJ, Duan L, Mo JM, Du EZ, Shen JL, Lu XK, Zhang Y, Zhou XB, He CE, Zhang FS (2011) Nitrogen deposition and its ecological impact in China: an overview. Environ Pollut 159:2251–2264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu XJ, Zhang Y, Han WX, Tang AH, Shen JL, Cui ZL, Vitousek P, Erisman JW, Goulding K, Christie P, Fangmeier A, Zhang FS (2013) Enhanced nitrogen deposition over China. Nature 494:459–462

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma Q, Wu ZJ, Shen SM, Zhou H, Jiang CM, Xu YG, Liu R, Yu WT (2015) Responses of biotic and abiotic effects on conservation and supply of fertilizer N to inhibitors and glucose inputs. Soil Biol Biochem 89:72–81

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma HL, Gao R, Yin YF, Yang YS (2016) Effects of leaf litter tannin on soil ammonium and nitrate content in two different forest soils of mount Wuyi, China. Toxicol Environ Chem 98:395–409

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma HL, Pei GT, Gao R, Yin YF (2017) Mineralization of amino acids and its signs in nitrogen cycling of forest soil. Acta Ecol Sin 37:60–63

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magill AH, Aber JD (2000) Variation in soil net mineralization rates with dissolved organic carbon additions. Soil Biol Biochem 32:597–601

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Montaño NM, García-Oliva F, Jaramillo VJ (2007) Dissolved organic carbon affects soil microbial activity and nitrogen dynamics in a Mexican tropical deciduous forest. Plant Soil 295:265–277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mooshammer M, Wanek W, Hämmerle I, Fuchslueger L, Hofhans F, Knoltsch A, Schnecker J, Takriti M, Watzka M, Wild B, Keiblinger KM, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S, Richter A (2014) Adjustment of microbial nitrogen use efficiency to carbon: nitrogen imbalances regulates soil nitrogen cycling. Nat Commun 5:3694. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4694

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Myrold DD, Posavatz NR (2007) Potential importance of bacteria and fungi in nitrate assimilation in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 39:1737–1743

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nidzgorski DA, Hobbie SE (2016) Urban trees reduce nutrient leaching to groundwater. Ecol Appl 26:1566–1580

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portillo-Estrada M, Korhonen JFJ, Pihlatie M, Pumpanen J, Frumau AKF, Morillas L, Tosens T, Niinemets Ü (2013) Inter- and intra-annual variations in canopy fine litterfall and carbon and nitrogen inputs to the forest floor in two European coniferous forests. Ann For Sci 70:367–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu SJ, Ju XT, Ingwersen J, Guo ZD, Stange CF, Bisharat R, Streck T, Christie P, Zhang FS (2013) Role of carbon substrates added in the transformation of surplus nitrate to organic nitrogen in a calcareous soil. Pedosphere 23:205–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy N, Crohn DM (2014) Effects of soil salinity and carbon availability from organic amendments on nitrous oxide emissions. Geoderma 235–236:363–371

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rukshana F, Butterly CR, Xu JM, Baldock JA, Tang C (2013) Soil organic carbon contributes to alkalinity priming induced by added organic substrates. Soil Biol Biochem 65:217–226

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi YL, Cui SH, Ju XT, Cai ZC, Zhu YG (2015) Impacts of reactive nitrogen on climate change in China. Sci Rep 5:8118

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soil Survey Staff (2014) Keys to soil taxonomy, 12th edn. USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Szili-Kovács T, Török K, Tilston EL, Hopkins DW (2007) Promoting microbial immobilization of soil nitrogen during restoration of abandoned agricultural fields by organic additions. Biol Fertil Soils 43:823–828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor PG, Townsend AR (2010) Stoichiometric control of organic carbon–nitrate relationships from soils to the sea. Nature 464:1178–1181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Trinsoutrot I, Recous S, Mary B, Nicolardot B (2000) C and N fluxes of decomposing 13C and 15N Brassica napus L.: effects of residue composition and N content. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1717–1730

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vesterdal L, Schmidt IK, Callesen I, Nilsson LO, Gundersen P (2008) Carbon and nitrogen in forest floor and mineral soil under six common European tree species. For Ecol Manag 255:35–48

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM (2004) Nutrient cycling and limitation: Hawaii as a model system. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wang H, Liu SR, Wang JX, Shi ZM, Xu J, Hong PZ, Ming AG, Yu HL, Chen L, Lu LH, Cai DX (2016) Differential effects of conifer and broadleaf litter inputs on soil organic carbon chemical composition through altered soil microbial community composition. Sci Rep 6:27097. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep27097

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xia SW, Chen J, Schaefer D, Detto M (2015) Scale-dependent soil macronutrient heterogeneity reveals effects of litter fall in a tropical rainforest. Plant Soil 391:51–61

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong YM, Zeng H, Xia HP, Guo DL (2014) Interactions between leaf litter and soil organic matter on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in six forest litter-soil systems. Plant Soil 379:217–229

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu YB, Xu ZH (2015) Effects of land use change on soil gross nitrogen transformation rates in subtropical acid soils of Southwest China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22:10850–10860

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu XL, Ouyang H, Cao GM (2007) Nitrogen retention patterns and their controlling factors in an alpine meadow: implications for carbon sequestration. Biogeosci Discuss 4:2641–2665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamasaki A, Tateno R, Shibata H (2011) Effects of carbon and nitrogen amendment on soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization in volcanic immature soil in southern Kyushu, Japan. J For Res 16:414–423

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang YH, Luo YQ, Finzi AC (2011) Carbon and nitrogen dynamics during forest stand development: a global synthesis. New Phytol 190:977–989

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yazdanpanah N, Mahmoodabadi M, Cerdà A (2016) The impact of organic amendments on soil hydrology, structure and microbial respiration in semiarid lands. Geoderma 266:58–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zaehle S (2013) Terrestrial nitrogen–carbon cycle interactions at the global scale. Philos Trans R Soc B 368:20130125. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0125

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang W, Mo JM, Yu G, Fang YT, Li DJ, Lu XK, Wang H (2008) Emissions of nitrous oxide from three tropical forests in southern China in response to simulated nitrogen deposition. Plant Soil 306:221–236

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang B, Wang HL, Yao SH, Bi LD (2013) Litter quantity confers soil functional resilience through mediating soil biophysical habitat and microbial community structure on an eroded bare land restored with mono Pinus massoniana. Soil Biol Biochem 57:556–567

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JB, Sun WJ, Zhong WH, Cai ZC (2014) The substrate is an important factor in controlling the significance of heterotrophic nitrification in acidic forest soils. Soil Biol Biochem 76:143–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao W, Cai ZC, Xu ZH (2007) Does ammonium-based N addition influence nitrification and acidification in humid subtropical soils of China? Plant Soil 297:213–221

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Cunlan Wei and Jingfu Wang for their assistance in soil sampling and analyses. The authors also acknowledge three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and research suggestions.

Funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31170578, 31770659, 31470628, and 31570607).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Humid Subtropical Eco-geographical Process of the Ministry of Education, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China

    Hongliang Ma, Yunfeng Yin & Ren Gao

  2. School of Geographical Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China

    Hongliang Ma, Yunfeng Yin & Ren Gao

  3. University of Agriculture Faisalabad Sub Campus, Burewala, Pakistan

    Raza Taqi

  4. Centre of Excellence for Soil Biology, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400716, China

    Xinhua He

  5. School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    Xinhua He

Authors
  1. Hongliang Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yunfeng Yin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ren Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Raza Taqi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xinhua He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hongliang Ma or Xinhua He.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Weixin Ding

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ma, H., Yin, Y., Gao, R. et al. Response of nitrogen transformation to glucose additions in soils at two subtropical forest types subjected to simulated nitrogen deposition. J Soils Sediments 19, 2166–2175 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-02237-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-02237-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation