Nitrogen Mineralization and Leaching in the Early Stages of a Subtropical Reforestation in Southern China

Leguminous plants significantly increase soil nitrogen cycling across global climates and ecosystem types

Leguminous plants are an important component of terrestrial ecosystems and significantly increase soil nitrogen (N) cycling and availability, which affects productivity in most ecosystems. Clarifying whether the effects of legumes on N cycling vary with contrasting ecosystem types and climatic regions is crucial for understanding and predicting ecosystem processes, but these effects are currently unknown. By conducting a global meta-analysis, we revealed that legumes increased the soil net N mineralization rate (Rmin ) by 67%, which was greater than the recently reported increase associated with N deposition (25%). This effect was similar for tropical (53%) and temperate regions (81%) but was significantly greater in grasslands (151%) and forests (74%) than in croplands (-3%) and was greater in in situ incubation (101%) or short-term experiments (112%) than in laboratory incubation (55%) or long-term experiments (37%). Legumes significantly influenced the dependence of Rmin on N fertilization and experimental factors. The Rmin was significantly increased by N fertilization in the nonlegume soils, but not in the legume soils. In addition, the effects of mean annual temperature, soil nutrients and experimental duration on Rmin were smaller in the legume soils than in the nonlegume soils. Collectively, our results highlighted the significant positive effects of legumes on soil N cycling, and indicated that the effects of legumes should be elucidated when addressing the response of soils to plants.

Long-term plant diversity increases soil extractable organic carbon and nitrogen contents in a subtropical forest

Plant diversity is one of the various factors influencing ecosystem functions such as soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks. Soil extractable organic carbon (EOC) and nitrogen (EON) contents are active fractions in soil organic matter, but little is known about the impact of variations in long-term plant diversity on soil EOC and EON contents in forest ecosystems. Utilizing the Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning Experiment China platform, we selected long-term plant diversity level treatments, distinguished the functional types of evergreen and deciduous plants, and explored their effects on soil EOC and EON contents. The results showed that soil EOC and EON contents increased significantly with greater plant diversity, which is mainly attributed to proportional increases in complementary effects. After distinguishing plant functional types, we did not find the strong complementary effects at the mixed planting of evergreen and deciduous tree species. Within two-species planting mixtures, evergreen tree species can increase soil EON compared to deciduous tree species. Cyclobalanopsis have a strong carbon and nitrogen storage capacity, suggesting that increasing the plant diversity and the proportion of Cyclobalanopsis planting in forest management will promote carbon and nitrogen accumulation in forest soil. These findings enhance our understanding of long-term forest C and N cycling processes and also provide theoretical support for managing forest soil C sinks.

Temperature sensitivity of total soil respiration and its heterotrophic and autotrophic components in six vegetation types of subtropical China

The temperature sensitivity of soil respiration (Q₁₀) is a key parameter for estimating the feedback of soil respiration to global warming. The Q₁₀ of total soil respiration (R_t) has been reported to have high variability at both local and global scales, and vegetation type is one of the most important drivers. However, little is known about how vegetation types affect the Q₁₀ of soil heterotrophic (R_h) and autotrophic (R_a) respirations, despite their contrasting roles in soil carbon sequestration and ecosystem carbon cycles. In the present study, five typical plantation forests and a naturally developed shrub and herb land in subtropical China were selected for investigation of soil respiration. Trenching was conducted to separate R_h and R_a in each vegetation type. The results showed that both R_t and R_h were significantly correlated with soil temperature in all vegetation types, whereas R_a was significantly correlated with soil temperature in only four vegetation types. Moreover, on average, soil temperature explained only 15.0% of the variation in R_a in the six vegetation types. These results indicate that soil temperature may be not a primary factor affecting R_a. Therefore, modeling of R_a based on its temperature sensitivity may not always be valid. The Q₁₀ of R_h was significantly affected by vegetation types, which indicates that the response of the soil carbon pool to climate warming may vary with vegetation type. In contrast, differences in neither the Q₁₀ of R_t nor that of R_a among these vegetation types were significant. Additionally, variation in the Q₁₀ of R_t among vegetation types was negatively related to fine root biomass, whereas the Q₁₀ of R_h was mostly related to total soil nitrogen. However, the Q₁₀ of R_a was not correlated with any of the environmental variables monitored in this study. These results emphasize the importance of independently studying the temperature sensitivity of R_t and its heterotrophic and autotrophic components.

Estimations of evapotranspiration in an age sequence of Eucalyptus plantations in subtropical China

Eucalyptus species are widely planted for reforestation in subtropical China. However, the effects of Eucalyptus plantations on the regional water use remain poorly understood. In an age sequence of 2-, 4- and 6-year-old Eucalyptus plantations, the tree water use and soil evaporation were examined by linking model estimations and field observations. Results showed that annual evapotranspiration of each age sequence Eucalyptus plantations was 876.7, 944.1 and 1000.7 mm, respectively, accounting for 49.81%, 53.64% and 56.86% of the annual rainfall. In addition, annual soil evaporations of 2-, 4- and 6-year-old were 318.6, 336.1, and 248.7 mm of the respective Eucalyptus plantations. Our results demonstrated that Eucalyptus plantations would potentially reduce water availability due to high evapotranspiration in subtropical regions. Sustainable management strategies should be implemented to reduce water consumption in Eucalyptus plantations in the context of future climate change scenarios such as drought and warming.

Reforestation in southern China: revisiting soil N mineralization and nitrification after 8 years restoration

Nitrogen availability and tree species selection play important roles in reforestation. However, long-term field studies on the effects and mechanisms of tree species composition on N transformation are very limited. Eight years after tree seedlings were planted in a field experiment, we revisited the site and tested how tree species composition affects the dynamics of N mineralization and nitrification. Both tree species composition and season significantly influenced the soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON). N-fixing Acacia crassicarpa monoculture had the highest DON, and 10-mixed species plantation had the highest DOC. The lowest DOC and DON concentrations were both observed in Eucalyptus urophylla monoculture. The tree species composition also significantly affected net N mineralization rates. The highest rate of net N mineralization was found in A. crassicarpa monoculture, which was over twice than that in Castanopsis hystrix monoculture. The annual net N mineralization rates of 10-mixed and 30-mixed plantations were similar as that of N-fixing monoculture. Since mixed plantations have good performance in increasing soil DOC, DON, N mineralization and plant biodiversity, we recommend that mixed species plantations should be used as a sustainable approach for the restoration of degraded land in southern China.

Response of plant nutrient stoichiometry to fertilization varied with plant tissues in a tropical forest

Plant N:P ratios are widely used as indices of nutrient limitation in terrestrial ecosystems, but the response of these metrics in different plant tissues to altered N and P availability and their interactions remains largely unclear. We evaluated changes in N and P concentrations, N:P ratios of new leaves (<1 yr), older leaves (>1 yr), stems and mixed fine roots of seven species after 3-years of an N and P addition experiment in a tropical forest. Nitrogen addition only increased fine root N concentrations. P addition increased P concentrations among all tissues. The N × P interaction reduced leaf and stem P concentrations, suggesting a negative effect of N addition on P concentrations under P addition. The reliability of using nutrient ratios as indices of soil nutrient availability varied with tissues: the stoichiometric metrics of stems and older leaves were more responsive indicators of changed soil nutrient availability than those of new leaves and fine roots. However, leaf N:P ratios can be a useful indicator of inter-specific variation in plant response to nutrients availability. This study suggests that older leaf is a better choice than other tissues in the assessment of soil nutrient status and predicting plant response to altered nutrients using nutrients ratios.

Nitrogen and phosphorus addition impact soil N₂O emission in a secondary tropical forest of South China

Nutrient availability greatly regulates ecosystem processes and functions of tropical forests. However, few studies have explored impacts of N addition (aN), P addition (aP) and N × P interaction on tropical forests N₂O fluxes. We established an N and P addition experiment in a tropical forest to test whether: (1) N addition would increase N₂O emission and nitrification, and (2) P addition would increase N₂O emission and N transformations. Nitrogen and P addition had no effect on N mineralization and nitrification. Soil microbial biomass was increased following P addition in wet seasons. aN increased 39% N₂O emission as compared to control (43.3 μgN₂O-N m(-2)h(-1)). aP did not increase N₂O emission. Overall, N₂O emission was 60% greater for aNP relative to the control, but significant difference was observed only in wet seasons, when N₂O emission was 78% greater for aNP relative to the control. Our results suggested that increasing N deposition will enhance soil N₂O emission, and there would be N × P interaction on N₂O emission in wet seasons. Given elevated N deposition in future, P addition in this tropical soil will stimulate soil microbial activities in wet seasons, which will further enhance soil N₂O emission.

Effect of prescribed fire on soil properties and N transformation in two vegetation types in South China

Prescribed fire is a common site preparation practice in forest management in southern China. However, the effect of fire on soil properties and N transformations is still poorly understood in this region. In this study, soil properties and N transformations in burned and unburned site of two vegetation types (Eucalyptus plantation and shrubland) were compared in rainy and dry seasons after 2 years' prescribed fire. Soil pH and soil NH4-N were all higher in the burned site compared to the unburned control. Furthermore, burned sites had 30-40 % lower of soil total phosphorus than conspecific unburned sites. There was no difference in soil organic matter, total N, soil exchangeable cations, available P or NO3-N. Nitrogen mineralization rate of 0-5 cm soil in the unburned site ranged from 8.24 to 11.6 mg N kg(-1) soil month(-1) in the rainy season, compared to a lower level of 4.82-5.25 mg N kg(-1) soil month(-1) in the burned sites. In contrast, 0-5 cm layer nitrification rate was overall 2.47 mg N kg(-1) soil month(-1) in the rainy season, and was not significantly affected by burning. The reduced understory vegetation coverage after burning may be responsible for the higher soil NH4-N in the burned site. This study highlights that a better understanding the effect of prescribed burning on soil nutrients cycling would provide a critical foundation for management decision and be beneficial to afforestation in southern China.