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Background nitrogen deposition controls the effects of experimental nitrogen addition on soil gross N transformations in forest ecosystems

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A Correction to this article was published on 23 November 2020

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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) deposition can profoundly alter soil N transformation processes and the long-term productivity of forest ecosystems. The response of soil gross N transformations to N deposition in forest ecosystems has been well studied through simulated N addition experiments. Simulated N addition experiments are conducted under a wide range of background N deposition rates. However, it remains unclear whether the response of soil gross N transformation rates to simulated N addition is dependent on background N deposition rates. Here, we collate results from the literature in forest ecosystems, and found, for the first time, that the responses of gross rates of N mineralization, nitrification, and NO3− immobilization to experimental N addition changed from positive to negative with increasing background N deposition rates with the thresholds for such changes were 3.23, 6.02, 1.90 kg N ha− 1 yr− 1, respectively. Our results suggest that background N deposition rates shall be incorporated into ecosystem models to better predict forest ecosystem N cycling under future N deposition scenarios.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Change history

  • 23 November 2020

    In the initial online publication the figure legends for Figures 1 and 2 were reversed. The original article has been corrected.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the authors whose work was included in the analysis. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 41807093, 41977081, 41671231 and 41830642].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Yi Cheng, Jinbo Zhang & Zucong Cai

  2. Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Jing Wang & Zhiwei Ge

  3. Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Jinbo Zhang

  4. Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Jinbo Zhang

  5. State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, China

    Yanjiang Cai & Scott X. Chang

  6. Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 442 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, T6G 2E3, Canada

    Scott X. Chang

  7. State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Geographical Environment Evolution, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu Province, China

    Zucong Cai

  8. Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Materials Cycling and Pollution Control, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Zucong Cai

  9. Key Laboratory for Humid Subtropical Eco-geographical Processes of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, Fujian, China

    Han Y. H. Chen

  10. Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 5E1, Canada

    Han Y. H. Chen

Authors
  1. Yi Cheng
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  2. Jing Wang
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  3. Zhiwei Ge
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  4. Jinbo Zhang
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  5. Yanjiang Cai
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  6. Scott X. Chang
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  7. Zucong Cai
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  8. Han Y. H. Chen
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Contributions

YC and JBZ conceived the ideas and designed methodology; YC, JW, and HYHC collected and analyzed the data; YC, JBZ and HYHC wrote the first draft of the paper. ZCC, SXC, CYJ and GZW commented on the details of the manuscript drafts. All authors contributed critically to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jinbo Zhang or Han Y. H. Chen.

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Responsible Editor: Edward Brzostek.

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The original version of this article was revised: In the initial online publication the figure legends for Figures 1 and 2 were reversed. The original article has been corrected.

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Cheng, Y., Wang, J., Ge, Z. et al. Background nitrogen deposition controls the effects of experimental nitrogen addition on soil gross N transformations in forest ecosystems. Biogeochemistry 151, 335–341 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00722-2

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