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Tracking the photosynthesized carbon input into soil organic carbon pools in a rice soil fertilized with nitrogen

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Abstract

Aims

Replenishment of soils with carbon (C) produced during photosynthesis plays an important role in global C cycling. Nitrogen (N) fertilization is critical for rice production, but its effects on the deposition of photosynthesis-derived C into soil C pools is poorly understood. To address this, we used continuous 14C-labeling to quantify the deposition of photosynthesis-derived C into various soil organic pools in a rice-soil system.

Methods

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) was continuously supplied with 14C-labeled CO2 (14C-CO2) for 36 days, with increasing N fertilizer rates (0 [N0], 10 [N10], 20 [N20], or 40 mg N kg−1 soil [N40], respectively).

Results

Rice shoot and root biomass significantly increased following N fertilization. The amount of photosynthesis-derived C converted into soil organic carbon (14C-SOC) was proportional to the soil N concentration, and accounted for 8.0–19.3 % of rice biomass C. The 14C-SOC content was positively correlated with the rice root biomass, suggesting that N increased root exudation of photosynthesis-derived C. The amounts of 14C-labeled C in the dissolved organic carbon (14C-DOC) and in the microbial biomass carbon (14C-MBC), as proportions of 14C-SOC, were 3.9–7.8 and 6.6–24.0 %, respectively. The 14C-DOC, 14C-MBC, and 14C-SOC as proportions of total DOC, MBC, and SOC were 9.7–11.6, 6.9–10.6, and 0.37–1.71 %, respectively.

Conclusions

Nitrogen fertilization promotes deposition of photosynthesis-derived C into SOC pools in a rate-dependent manner. However, the 14C-MBC as a proportion of both 14C-SOC (14C-MBC/14C-SOC) and MBC (14C-MBC/MBC) increase during rice growth at lower N concentrations.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported financially by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB15020401), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41301275; 41430860) and the Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Science (Y412201410). We thank Editage for editorial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Changsha Research Station for Agricultural and Environmental Monitoring & Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan, 410125, China

    Tida Ge, Chang Liu, Hongzhao Yuan, Ziwei Zhao, Xiaohong Wu, Zhenke Zhu, Phil Brookes & Jinshui Wu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiangshu, 210008, China

    Tida Ge & Hongzhao Yuan

  3. Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan Province, 410125, China

    Jinshui Wu

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  1. Tida Ge
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  2. Chang Liu
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  3. Hongzhao Yuan
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  4. Ziwei Zhao
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  5. Xiaohong Wu
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Correspondence to Tida Ge or Jinshui Wu.

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Responsible Editor: Kees Jan van Groenigen.

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Ge, T., Liu, C., Yuan, H. et al. Tracking the photosynthesized carbon input into soil organic carbon pools in a rice soil fertilized with nitrogen. Plant Soil 392, 17–25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2265-8

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