Different forms and rates of nitrogen addition show variable effects on the soil hydrolytic enzyme activities in a meadow steppe
Chengliang Wang A , Baoku Shi
A C , Wei Sun A C and Qingcheng Guan B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China.
B Forest Survey and Design Institute of Jilin Province, Changchun 130022, China.
C Corresponding authors. Email: shibk119@nenu.edu.cn; sunwei@nenu.edu.cn
Soil Research 58(3) 258-267 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR19195
Submitted: 22 July 2019 Accepted: 16 December 2019 Published: 30 January 2020
Abstract
The effects of mixed inorganic and organic nitrogen (N) addition on soil enzyme activities and the underlying mechanism remain unclear, especially in complex field conditions. We conducted a mesocosm experiment with two rates of N addition (10 and 20 g N m–2 year–1) and four ratios of N addition (inorganic N : organic N = 10 : 0, 7 : 3, 3 : 7 and 1 : 9) and measured enzyme activities, soil physicochemical properties, microbial biomass and vegetation indicators. Generally, soil enzyme activities involved in carbon (C), N and phosphorus cycling increased with the increase of N addition rate. Compared to the single inorganic N addition treatment, enzyme activities were highest under mixed N addition treatments, especially medium organic N addition. The variations in soil enzyme activities across different treatments were tightly linked to the soil microbial biomass C, dissolved organic C and soil pH. These findings provide a good understanding of the response trends of soil hydrolytic enzyme activities in a meadow steppe to changes in N deposition rate and form.
Additional keywords: hydrolytic enzyme activities, inorganic nitrogen, meadow steppe, nitrogen deposition, organic nitrogen.
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