Warming and nitrogen deposition accelerate soil phosphorus cycling in a temperate meadow ecosystem
Shiwei Gong![https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-8048](/media/client/orcid_16x16.png)
A College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan 030006, China.
B Institute of Grassland Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China.
C Corresponding author: Email: gjixun@nenu.edu.cn
Soil Research 58(1) 109-115 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR19114
Submitted: 9 May 2019 Accepted: 7 September 2019 Published: 28 October 2019
Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for living organisms and a major limiting factor in many ecosystems. In recent years, global warming and nitrogen (N) deposition have become increasingly serious, with significant effects on the P cycle in terrestrial ecosystems. A series of studies were carried out on the soil P cycle, but how climate change affects this remains unclear. Field experiments with warming and N addition were implemented since April 2007. Infrared radiators manipulated temperature, and aqueous ammonium nitrate (10 g m–2 year–1) was added to simulate N deposition. Compared with the control, N addition reduced soil total P; warming and N addition decreased soil available P; warming, N addition and warming plus N addition decreased microbial biomass P, but increased litter P; and warming and N addition increased phosphatase activity significantly. Correlation analysis showed that soil total P, available P, microbial biomass P and phosphatase activity were positively correlated with soil temperature and water content. Soil total P was positively correlated with microbial biomass P and phosphatase activity; and available P was positively correlated with microbial biomass P but negatively correlated with litter P. The results showed that warming and N deposition accelerated the soil P cycle by changing soil physical and chemical properties and soil biological activities (microbial and phosphatase activities). However, N addition reduced the capacity of microbes to fix P and reduced microbial biomass P, resulting in losses to the soil P pool, further aggravating P limitation in the Songnen Grassland ecosystem.
Additional keywords: global warming, nitrogen addition, P cycle.
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