Abstract
Purpose
Identifying patterns and drivers of soil total N (TN) and its fractions along latitudinal gradients provides a comprehensive understanding of the response of soil N availability to environmental changes.
Methods
In the present study, we collected soil samples at depths of 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, and 30–50 cm from 98 natural shrublands along a latitudinal gradient (23.2° N to 32.3° N) in the arid valleys of southwest China. We investigated the soil TN density (STND) and inorganic N densities (SIND)—which is the sum of nitrate–N [NO3D] and ammonium-N [NH4D] densities—and their environmental driving factors.
Results
Latitudinal patterns of STND followed an inverse unimodal distribution, whereas those of NH4D followed a unimodal distribution, regardless of the soil layer. SIND in the 0–10 cm layer followed a unimodal distribution with increasing latitude, while NO3D had an inverse unimodal distribution with increasing latitude in the 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, and 30–50 cm layers. Across the four soil layers, variations in STND with latitude were largely explained by soil organic carbon content. Soil sorption capacity and vegetation composition including shrub cover [SC] and herb cover [HC] strongly influenced the SIND. Variations in NH4D and NO3D with latitude were jointly driven by the mean annual temperature, SC, HC, dissolved organic carbon, clay content, and pH. Although soil properties determined the latitudinal patterns of soil N density in all the four soil layers tested, the relative contributions of climatic and vegetation factors increased with soil depth.
Conclusion
Our study elucidated the latitudinal patterns in STND and its fractions, and our findings highlight the potential impacts of climatic and vegetation factors on subsoil N pools and dynamics.
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Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author (W. Bao).
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Funding
This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China [grant numbers 2017YFC0505105, 2020YFE0203200]; the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research program (STEP) [grant number 2019QZKK0301]; and the Special Foundation for National Science and Technology Basic Resources Investigation of China [grant number 2019FY202300].
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W.K. conceived the project. All authors participated in the field survey. T.H., X.J., D.D., and Z.L. contributed data. T.H. performed the data analyses and drafted this manuscript. W.K. revised and edited the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Yang, T., Li, X., Hu, B. et al. Latitudinal patterns of soil nitrogen density across soil profiles and their driving factors in the arid valleys of southwest China. J Soils Sediments 23, 2848–2861 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03513-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03513-y