Abstract
Increased atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is known to alter ecosystem carbon source-sink dynamics through changes in soil CO2 fluxes. However, a limited number of experiments have been conducted to assess the effects of realistic N deposition in the Mediterranean Basin, and none of them have explored the effects of N addition on soil respiration (R s ). To fill this gap, we assessed the effects of N supply on R s dynamics in the following two Mediterranean sites: Capo Caccia (Italy), where 30 kg ha−1 year−1 was supplied for 3 years, and El Regajal (Spain), where plots were treated with 10, 20, or 50 kg N ha−1 year−1 for 8 years. Results show a complex, non-linear response of soil respiration (R s ) to N additions with R s overall increasing at Capo Caccia and decreasing at El Regajal. This suggests that the response of R s to N addition depends on dose and duration of N supply, and the existence of a threshold above which the N introduced in the ecosystem can affect the ecosystem’s functioning. Soil cover and seasonality of precipitations also play a key role in determining the effects of N on R s as shown by the different responses observed across seasons and in bare soil vs. the soil under canopy of the dominant species. These results show how increasing rates of N addition may influence soil C dynamics in semiarid ecosystems in the Mediterranean Basin and represent a valuable contribution for the understanding and the protection of Mediterranean ecosystems.
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Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by the project “ECO-SCALE” through the Regional Administration of Sardinia, RAS, L.R. 7/2007 “Scientific Research and Technological Innovation in Sardinia.” MLC received funding by PhD grant from the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC) and received an Erasmus scholarship in collaboration with the Department of Biogeography and Global Change, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, Spain (2014-1-IT02-KA103-000341). This research was also financially supported by a research grant of the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (BIOMOD CGL-2013-44661-R). Comunidad de Madrid also funded this work through REMEDINAL-3 project (S2013/MAE-2719). The authors are very thankful to the owners of “Finca El Regajal” for their kind allowance to work in their property. Special thanks are extended to Iolanda Cocco for helping us with the field and laboratory assistance and to the two anonymous reviewers that provided valuable comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript. SM thanks the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) Investigador grant.
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Appendix
Air temperature (T air) and precipitation for the two sites since their establishment. a Monthly climate data from the meteorological station located within the experimental site of Capo Caccia (January 2012–October 2015). b Monthly climate data from the closest meteorological station to El Regajal (March 2007–September 2015)
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Lo Cascio, M., Morillas, L., Ochoa-Hueso, R. et al. Contrasting effects of nitrogen addition on soil respiration in two Mediterranean ecosystems. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 26160–26171 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8852-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-8852-5