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Belowground responses of Picea asperata seedlings to warming and nitrogen fertilization in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Ecological Research

Abstract

The impacts of global climatic change on belowground ecological processes of terrestrial ecosystems are still not clear. We therefore conducted an experiment in the subalpine coniferous forest ecosystem of the eastern edges of the Tibetan Plateau to study roots of Picea asperata seedlings and rhizosphere soil responses to soil warming and nitrogen availability from April 2007 to December 2008. The seedlings were subjected to two levels of temperature (ambient; infrared heater warming) and two nitrogen levels (0 or 25 g m−2year−1 N). We used a free air temperature increase from an overhead infrared heater to raise both air and soil temperature by 2.1 and 2.6°C, respectively. The results showed that warming alone significantly increased total biomass, coarse root biomass and fine root biomass of P. asperata seedlings. Both total biomass and fine root biomass were increased, but coarse root biomass was significantly decreased by nitrogen fertilization and warming combined with nitrogen fertilization. Warming induced a prominent increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) and NO3 −-N of rhizosphere soil, while nitrogen fertilization significantly decreased SOC and NH4 +-N of rhizosphere soil. The warming, fertilization and warming × N fertilization interaction decreased soil microbial C significantly, but substantially increased soil microbial N. These results suggest that nitrogen deposition combined with warmer temperatures under future climatic change possibly will have no effect on fine root production of P. asperata seedlings, but could enhance the nitrification process of their rhizosphere soils in subalpine coniferous forests.

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Abbreviations

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

CR/FR:

Coarse root/fine root mass ratio

CRM:

Coarse root mass

FRM:

Fine root mass

FRV:

Fine root vigor

MBC:

Microbial biomass carbon

MBN:

Microbial biomass nitrogen

N:

Nitrogen

NPP:

Net primary productivity

R/S:

Root/shoot mass ratio

RL:

Root length

SOC:

Soil organic carbon

SRL:

Specific root length

STN:

Soil total nitrogen

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded jointly by the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30800165, 31070533), the program of “Knowledge Innovation Engineering” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KSCX2-YW-Z1023), the forefront project of Chengdu Institute of Biology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y0B2021100). We are also indebted to Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ecological Restoration, Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province and Maoxian Ecological Station, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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  1. Yunyan Wei

    Present address: Life Science College, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637002, People’s Republic of China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecological Studies, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 416, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Qing Liu, Huajun Yin, Jinsong Chen, Chunzhang Zhao, Xinying Cheng & Bo Lin

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  1. Qing Liu
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Correspondence to Qing Liu.

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Liu, Q., Yin, H., Chen, J. et al. Belowground responses of Picea asperata seedlings to warming and nitrogen fertilization in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Ecol Res 26, 637–648 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-011-0824-5

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