Abstract. Chinese grasslands are extensive natural ecosystems that comprise 40 % of the total land area of the country and are sensitive to N deposition. A field experiment with six N rates (0, 30, 60, 120, 240, and 480 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ) was conducted at Duolun, Inner Mongolia, during 2005 and 2010 to identify some effects of N addition on a temperate steppe ecosystem. The dominant plant species in the plots were divided into two categories, grasses and forbs, on the basis of species life forms. Enhanced N deposition, even as little as 30 kg N ha −1 yr −1 above ambient N deposition (16 kg N ha −1 yr −1 ), led to a decline in species richness. The cover of grasses increased with N addition rate but their species richness showed a weak change across N treatments. Both species richness and cover of forbs declined strongly with increasing N deposition as shown by linear regression analysis (p < 0.05). Increasing N deposition elevated aboveground production of grasses but lowered aboveground biomass of forbs. Plant N concentration, plant δ 15 N and soil mineral N increased with N addition, showing positive relationships between plant δ 15 N and N concentration, soil mineral N and/or applied N rate. The cessation of N application in the 480 kg N ha −1 yr −1 treatment in 2009 and 2010 led to a slight recovery of the forb species richness relative to total cover and aboveground biomass, coinciding with reduced plant N concentration and soil mineral N. The results show N deposition-induced changes in soil N transformations and plant N assimilation that are closely related to changes in species composition and biomass accumulation in this temperate steppe ecosystem.

Increased nitrogen (N) deposition will often lead to a decline in species richness in grassland ecosystems but the shifts in functional groups and plant traits are still poorly understood in China. A field experiment was conducted at Duolun, Inner Mongolia, China, to investigate the effects of N addition on a temperate steppe ecosystem. Six N levels (0, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 g N/(m 2 ⋅a)) were added as three applications per year from 2005 to 2010. Enhanced N deposition, even as little as 3 g N/(m 2 ⋅a) above ambient N deposition (1.2 g N/(m 2 ⋅a)), led to a decline in species richness of the whole community. Increasing N addition can significantly stimulate aboveground biomass of perennial bunchgrasses (PB) but decrease perennial forbs (PF), and induce a slight change in the biomass of shrubs and semi-shrubs (SS). The biomass of annuals (AS) and perennial rhizome grasses (PR) accounts for only a small part of the total biomass. Species richness of PF decreased significantly with increasing N addition rate but there was a little change in the other functional groups. PB, as the dominant functional group, has a relatively higher height than others. Differences in the response of each functional group to N addition have site-specific and species-specific characteristics. We initially infer that N enrichment stimulated the growth of PB, which further suppressed the growth of other functional groups.

Chinese grasslands are extensive natural ecosystems that comprise 40 % of the total land area of the country and are sensitive to N deposition. A field experiment with six N rates (0, 30, 60, 120, 240, and 480 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) was conducted at Duolun, Inner Mongolia, during 2005 and 2010 to identify some effects of N addition on a temperature steppe ecosystem. The dominant plant species in the plots were divided into two categories, grasses and forbs, on the basis of species life forms. Enhanced N deposition, even as little as 30 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ above ambient N deposition (16 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), led to a decline in species richness. The cover of grasses increased with N addition rate but their species richness showed a weak change across N treatments. Both species richness and cover of forbs declined strongly with increasing N deposition as shown by linear regression analysis (<i>p</i><0.05). Increasing N deposition elevated aboveground production of grasses but lowered aboveground biomass of forbs. Plant N concentration, plant &delta;¹⁵N and soil mineral N increased with N addition, showing positive relationships between plant &delta;¹⁵N and N concentration, soil mineral N and/or applied N rate. The cessation of N application in the 480 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ treatment in 2009 and 2010 led to a slight recovery of the forb species richness relative to total cover and aboveground biomass, coinciding with reduced plant N concentration and soil mineral N. The results show that N deposition induced changes in soil N transformations and plant N assimilation that are key to changes in species composition and biomass accumulation in this temperate steppe ecosystem

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