In order to understand the influence of nitrogen (N) deposition on the key processes relevant to the carbon (C) balance in a bamboo plantation, a twoyear field experiment involving the simulated deposition of N in a Pleioblastus amarus plantation was conducted in the rainy region of SW China. Four levels of N treatments: control (no N added), low-N (50 kg N ha −1 year −1 ), medium-N (150 kg N ha −1 year −1 ), and high-N (300 kg N ha −1 year −1 ) were set in the present study. The results showed that soil respiration followed a clear seasonal pattern, with the maximum rates in mid-summer and the minimum in late winter. The annual cumulative soil respiration was 585±43 g CO 2 -C m −2 year −1 in the control plots. Simulated N deposition significantly increased the mean annual soil respiration rate, fine root biomass, soil microbial biomass C (MBC), and N concentration in fine roots and fresh leaf litter. Soil respirations exhibited a positive exponential relationship with soil temperature, and a linear relationship with MBC. The net primary production (NPP) ranged from 10.95 to 15.01 Mg C ha −1 year −1 and was higher than the annual soil respiration (5.85 to 7.62 Mg C ha −1 year −1 ) in all treatments. Simulated N deposition increased the net ecosystem production (NEP), and there was a significant difference between the control and high N treatment NEP, whereas, the difference of NEP among control, low-N, and medium-N was not significant. Results suggest that N controlled the primary production in this bamboo plantation ecosystem. Simulated N deposition increased the C sequestration of the P. amarus plantation ecosystem through increasing the plant C pool, though CO 2 emission through soil respiration was also enhanced.
BackgroundForest litter decomposition is a major component of the global carbon (C) budget, and is greatly affected by the atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition observed globally. However, the effects of N addition on forest litter decomposition, in ecosystems receiving increasingly higher levels of ambient N deposition, are poorly understood.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe conducted a two-year field experiment in five forests along the western edge of the Sichuan Basin in China, where atmospheric N deposition was up to 82–114 kg N ha–1 in the study sites. Four levels of N treatments were applied: (1) control (no N added), (2) low-N (50 kg N ha–1 year–1), (3) medium-N (150 kg N ha–1 year–1), and (4) high-N (300 kg N ha–1 year–1), N additions ranging from 40% to 370% of ambient N deposition. The decomposition processes of ten types of forest litters were then studied. Nitrogen additions significantly decreased the decomposition rates of six types of forest litters. N additions decreased forest litter decomposition, and the mass of residual litter was closely correlated to residual lignin during the decomposition process over the study period. The inhibitory effect of N addition on litter decomposition can be primarily explained by the inhibition of lignin decomposition by exogenous inorganic N. The overall decomposition rate of ten investigated substrates exhibited a significant negative linear relationship with initial tissue C/N and lignin/N, and significant positive relationships with initial tissue K and N concentrations; these relationships exhibited linear and logarithmic curves, respectively.Conclusions/SignificanceThis study suggests that the expected progressive increases in N deposition may have a potential important impact on forest litter decomposition in the study area in the presence of high levels of ambient N deposition.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.