Soil Organic Nitrogen and Its Contribution to Crop Production

Plant growth and crop production depend to a large extent on soil N supplying capacity （SNSC）： The higher the SNSC, the higher the dependence of crops on soil and the lower the N fertilizer recovery. Of the SNSC, soil organic N （ON） played a key role in supplying N nutrient to crop production and still does in many subsistence and low-input farming systems. In this paper, soil ON contents, types, chemical components and its contribution to plant production are reviewed up to date in details, the characteristics of ON in dryland soils discussed together with its chemical components, and the mineralization and availability to plants of some important chemical components are emphasized at the last part for practical considerations.

Selective cleavage of phenolic tert-butyldimethylsilyl ethers using simple organic nitrogen bases

Simple organic nitrogen bases,such as Et_3N,pyridine,DBU,etc.,were found to be convenient and useful reagents for deprotection of TBDMS groups on acidic hydroxyl groups.The efficiency of these bases has an apparent order:1°amine>2°amine>3°amine and aliphatic base>aromatic base.In aqueous DMSO and at room temperature,phenolic TBDMS ethers were removed selectively in the presence of alcoholic TBDMS ethers.And catalytic base can make these reactions complete.This method is high-yielding,fast,clean,saf...

The Changing Characteristics of Profile Distribution of Organic Nitrogen Components in Apple-pear Orchard Soil

In order to evaluate the effects of soil depth on the contents of soil organic nitrogen,organic nitrogen forms in apple-pear orchard soil profile were quantified using the method proposed by Bremner in 1965.The results indicated that in addition to the amino sugar-N,all the soil organic N components within the same soil layer in wasteland were more than those in apple-pear orchard soil;with the layer depth increasing,the contents of different organic nitrogen forms in apple-pear orchard soil and wasteland were decreased;and the proportion of each organic N component within total hydrolysable N was different,and the percentages of ammonia N and amino acid-N components within total hydrolysable N were higher,especially the percentage of ammonia N components within total hydrolysable N was the highest.

Improved speciation of dissolved organic nitrogen in natural waters: amide hydrolysis with fluorescence derivatization

The objective of this study was to improve primary-amine nitrogen (1°-N) quantification in dissolved organic matter (DOM) originating from natural waters where inorganic forms of N, which may cause analytical interference, are commonly encountered. Efforts were targeted at elucidating organic-N structural criteria influencing the response of organic amines to known colorimetric and fluorescent reagents and exploring the use of divalent metal-assisted amide hydrolysis in combination with fluorescence analyse...

Mixing states and secondary formation processes of organic nitrogen-containing single particles in Guangzhou,China

Organic nitrogen(ON)compounds play a significant role in the light absorption of brown carbon and the formation of organic aerosols,however,the mixing state,secondary formation processes,and influencing factors of ON compounds are still unclear.This paper reports on the mixing state of ON-containing particles based on measurements obtained using a highperformance single particle aerosol mass spectrometer in January 2020 in Guangzhou.The ON-containing particles accounted for 21% of the total detected single particles,and the particle count and number fraction of the ON-containing particles were two times higher at night than during the day.The prominent increase in the content of ON-containing particles with the enhancement of NO_xmainly occurred at night,and accompanied by high relative humidity and nitrate,which were associated with heterogeneous reactions between organics and gaseous NO_(x)and/or NO_(3)radical.The synchronous decreases in ON-containing particles and the mass absorption coefficient of water-soluble extracts at 365 nm in the afternoon may be associated with photo-bleaching of the ON species in the particles.In addition,the positive matrix factorization analysis found five factors dominated the formation processes of ON particles,and the nitrate factor(33%)mainly contributed to the production of ON particles at night.The results of this study provide unique insights into the mixing states and secondary formation processes of the ON-containing particles.

Simultaneous determination of dissolved organic nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia using size exclusion chromatography coupled with nitrogen detector

Accurate quantification of dissolved organic nitrogen(DON) has been a challenge due to the cumulative analytical errors in the conventional method via subtracting dissolved inorganic nitrogen species(DIN) from total dissolved nitrogen(TDN). Size exclusion chromatography coupled with an organic nitrogen detector(SEC-OND) has been developed as a direct method for quantification and characterization of DON. However, the applications of SECOND method still subject to poor separations between DON and DIN species and unsatisfied N recoveries of macromolecules. In this study, we packed a series of SEC columns with different lengths and resin materials for separation of different N species and designed an independent vacuum ultraviolet(VUV) oxidation device for complete oxidation converting N species to nitrate. To guarantee sufficient N recoveries, the operation conditions were optimized as oxidation time ≥ 30 min, injection mass(sample concentration × injection volume) < 1000 μL × mg-N/L for macromolecular proteins, and neutral p H mobile eluent. The dissolved O_(2)concentration in SEC mobile phase determined the upper limit of VUV oxidation at a specific oxidation time. Compared to conventional HW50S column(20 × 250 mm),HW40S column(20 × 350 mm) with mobile phase comprising of 1.5 g/L Na2HPO_(4)·2H_(2)O + 2.5g/L KH_(2)PO_(4)(p H = 6.85) could achieve a better separation of DON, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia. When applied to river water, lake water, wastewater effluent, groundwater, and landfill leachate, the SEC-OND method could quantify DON as well as DIN species accurately and conveniently even the DIN/TDN ratio reached 0.98.

Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in precipitation, throughfall and stemflow from Schima superba and Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations in subtropical China

Despite growing attention to the role of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in forest nutrient cycling, their monthly concentration dynamics in forest ecosystems, especially in subtropical forests only were little known. The goal of this study is to measure the concentrations and monthly dynamics of DOC and DON in precipitation, throughfall and stemflow for two planta- tions of Schima superba (SS) and Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata, CF) in Jianou, Fujian, China. Samples of precipitation, throughfall and stemflow were collected on a rain event base from January 2002 to December 2002. Upon collection, all water samples were analyzed for DOC, NO3 -N, NH4 -N and total dissolved N (TDN). DON was calculated by subtracting NO3 -N and NH4 -N from TDN. The results - + - + showed that the precipitation had a mean DOC concentration of 1.7 mg·L-1 and DON concentration of 0.13 mg·L-1. The mean DOC and DON concentrations in throughfall were 11.2 and 0.24 mg·L-1 in the SS and 10.3 and 0.19 mg·L-1 in the CF respectively. Stemflow DOC and DON concentrations in the CF (19.1 and 0.66 mg·L-1 respectively) were significantly higher than those in the SS (17.6 and 0.48 mg·L-1 respectively). No clear monthly variation in precipitation DOC concentration was found in our study, while DON concentration in precipita- tion tended to be higher in summer or autumn. The monthly variations of DON concentrations were very similar in throughfall and stemflow at both forests, showing an increase at the beginning of the rainy season in March. In contrast, monthly changes of the DOC concentrations in throughfall of the SS and CF were different to those in stemflow. Throughfall DOC concentrations were higher from February to April, while relatively higher DOC concentrations in stemflow were found during September-November period.

Transformation mechanism and fate of dissolved organic nitrogen(DON) in a full-scale drinking water treatment

Dissolved organic nitrogen(DON) has attracted much attention in drinking water treatment due to its potential to produce nitrogenous disinfection by-products(N-DBPs). This work was designed to explore the transformation and fate of DON and dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN) in drinking water treatment. The changes of DON and formation of N-DBPs were evaluated along the water treatment route(i.e., pre-ozonation and biologicalcontact oxidation, delivery pipes’ transportation, coagulation-sedimentation, sand filtration, post-ozonation, biological activated carbon, ultrafiltration and disinfection) of drinking water treatment plant(DWTP). The transformation mechanism of DON was comprehensively investigated by molecular weight fractionation, three-dimensional fluorescence, LCOCD(Liquid Chromatography-Organic Carbon Detection), total free amino acids. A detailed comparison was made between concentrations and variations of DON and DIN affected by seasons in the drinking water treatment. Regardless of seasonal variation in raw water concentration, the DON removal trends between different treatment processes remain constant in the present study. Compared to other treatment processes, pre-ozonation and coagulation-sedimentation exhibited the dominant DON removal in different seasons, i.e.,11.13%-14.45% and 14.98%-22.49%, respectively. Contrary, biological-contact oxidation and biological activated carbon negatively impacted the DON removal, in which DON increased by 1.76%-6.49% in biological activated carbon. This may be due to the release of soluble microbial products(SMPs) from bacterial metabolism, which was further validated by the rise of biopolymers in LC-OCD.

Microbial bioavailability of dissolved organic nitrogen(DON) in the sediments of Lake Shankou,Northeastern China

Dissolved organic nitrogen（DON）extracted from Lake Shankou sediments using KCl was isolated into hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions.The bioavailabilities of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions to three types of bacterial communities collected from sediments,activated sludge and compost products were examined.The DON recoveries obtained by DAX-8 and cation exchange resins treatment were 96.17% ± 1.58% and 98.14% ±0% for the samples obtained from N4 and N14 stations,respectively.After 25 days of incubation at 25℃,most DON（59% to 96%）was degraded.Hydrophilic DON exhibited a higher reduction rate than hydrophobic DON during the growth phase.Untreated wastewater from Changshuihe town was the main degradable DON source to station N4,and 93% of hydrophilic DON and 80% of hydrophobic DON were degraded.Station N14 received a large amount of refractory DON from forest soils and exhibited DON degradation rates of 82% and 71% for the hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions,respectively.Amino acid contents and fluorescence intensities were also analyzed.Approximately 27% to 74% of amino acids were taken up by day 5,and their concentration gradually increased in the following days due to the decomposition of dissolved proteins.Parallel factor analysis resulted in identification of tryptophan-like proteins,tyrosine-like proteins and FA-like substances.During the growth phase,40%–51% of the tryptophan-like proteins were taken up by bacteria,and the accumulation of tyrosine-like proteins was attributed to the release of biotic substances.The concentration of the FA-like substances decreased due to microbial decomposition.

Algal uptake of dissolved organic nitrogen in wastewater treatment plants

The algal uptake of dissolved organic nitrogen （DON） in the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic （A20） process was investigated in this study. Anaerobic, aerobic and effluent DON samples from two wastewater treatment plants （WWTPs） were separated into hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions using a DAX-8 resin coupled with an anion exchange resin and a nanofiltration （NF） pretreatment Hydrophilic DON accounted for 66.66%-88.74% of the entire DON for the two plants evaluated. After a 1S-day incubation, 16.95%-91.75% DON was bioavailable for algal growth, and untreated samples exhibited higher DON bioavailability, with 52.83% DON average uptake rates, compared with the hydrophilic and hydrophobic fractions （45.53% and 44.40%, respectively） because the pretreatment caused the inorganic salt to be resistant to algae. Anaerobic untreated samples, hydrophilic fractions and hydrophobic fractions showed higher DON reduction rates and higher biomass accumulation compared with the other DON fractions due to the decomposition of resistant organics by anaerobic and anoxic bacteria. DON in aerobic and effluent samples of plant A was more bioavailable than that of plant B with usages of 27.49%-55.26% DON. DON bioavailability in the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic process decreased in the following order： anaerobic 〉 effluent 〉 aerobic. The DON contents were reduced after anaerobic treatment in the two plants. The EEM-PARAFAC model identified three DON components, including two humic acid-like substances and one protein-like substance in plant A and two protein-like substances and one humic acid-like substance in plant B.

Bioavailability of wastewater derived dissolved organic nitrogen to green microalgae Selenastrum capricornutum,Chlamydomonas reinhardtii,and Chlorella vulgaris with/without presence of bacteria

Effluent dissolved organic nitrogen（DON） is problematic in nutrient sensitive surface waters and needs to be reduced to meet demanding total dissolved nitrogen discharge limits.Bioavailable DON（ABDON） is a portion of DON utilized by algae or algae ＋ bacteria,while biodegradable DON（BDON） is a portion of DON decomposable by bacteria.ABDON and BDON in a two-stage trickling filter（TF） wastewater treatment plant was evaluated using three different microalgal species,Selenastrum capricornutum,Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella vulgaris and mixed cultured bacteria.Results showed that up to80% of DON was bioavailable to algae or algae ＋ bacteria inoculum while up to 60% of DON was biodegradable in all the samples.Results showed that C.reinhardtii and C.vulgaris can be used as a test species the same as S.capricornutum since there were no significant differences among these three algae species based on their ability to remove nitrogen species.

Comparison of different valent iron on anaerobic sludge digestion:Focusing on oxidation reduction potential,dissolved organic nitrogen and microbial community

This study compared effects of three different valent iron(Fe^(0),Fe(II)and Fe(III))on enhanced anaerobic sludge digestion,focusing on the changes of oxidation reduction potential(ORP),dissolved organic nitrogen(DON),and microbial community.Under the same iron dose in range of 0−160 mg/L after an incubation period of 30 days(d),the maximum methane production rate of sludge samples dosed with respective Fe^(0),Fe(II)and Fe(III)at the same concentration showed indiscernible differences at each iron dose,regardless of the different iron valence.Moreover,their behavior in changes of ORP,DON and microbial community was different:(1)the addition of Fe^(0) made the ORP of sludge more negative,and the addition of Fe(II)and Fe(III)made the ORP of sludge less negative.However,whether being more or less negative,the changes of ORP may show unobservable effects on methane yield when it ranged from−278.71 to−379.80 mV;(2)the degradation of dissolved organic nitrogen,particularly proteins,was less efficient in sludge samples dosed with Fe^(0) compared with those dosed with Fe(II)and Fe(III)after an incubation period of 30 d.At the same dose of 160 mg/L iron,more cysteine was noted in sludge samples dosed with Fe(II)(30.74 mg/L)and Fe(III)(27.92 mg/L)compared with that dosed with Fe^(0)(21.75 mg/L);(3)Fe^(0) particularly promoted the enrichment of Geobacter,and it was 6 times higher than those in sludge samples dosed with Fe(II)and Fe(III)at the same dose of 160 mg/L iron.

Organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes in surface sediments from the western Arctic Ocean and their implications for sedimentary environments

Surface sediments from the Chukchi Sea and adjacent arctic deep sea were investigated for organic carbon and nitrogen isotopes （in δ13Corg and δ15Norg） as well as biogeni＇c silica （BSiO2）. δ13Corg and δ15Norg values of surface sediments in the study area fall between the end-member values of marine and terrestrial organic matter from the surrounding lands and seas, their variations reflect the changes of marine productivity and terrestrial supply in the study area. BSiO2 shows a similar distribution pattern with δ13Corg and δ15Norg, and can be used as an indicator of marine productivity. In the central-west Chukchi Sea and the Chukchi Rise, sediments have higher δ13Corg, δ15Norg and BSiO2 values, indicating the region has high marine productivity influenced by the nutrient-rich branches of the Pacific waters. In the coastal zone off northwestern Alaska, δ13Corg and δ15Norg values become lighter, indicating a weakening marine productivity and an increasing terrigenous supply due to the effects of the least nutrient-rich branch of the Pacific waters. In the north and the northeast of the study area （including the Chukchi Plateau, the Canada Basin and the Beaufort shelf）, δ13Corg, δ15Norg and BSiO2 have the lowest values, and the terrigenous organic matter becomes dominant in surface sediments because this region has the longest ice-covered duration, the least nutrient-rich seawater and the increasing supply of terrestrial materials from the Mackenzie River and the northern Alaska under the action of the clockwise Beaufort gyre. Because the subarctic Pacific waters are continuously discharged into the central basin of the Arctic Ocean through the study area, the nutrient pool in the Chukchi Sea can be considered as a typical open system, the ratio of δ15Norg to BSiO2 content show some tracers that the level of nutrient utilization is contrary to nutrient supply and marine productivity formed in seawater.

Contents of soil organic carbon and nitrogen in water-stable aggregates in abandoned agricultural lands in an arid ecosystem of Northwest China

Soil organic matter content in water-stable aggregates（WSA） in the arid ecosystems（abandoned agricultural lands especially） of China is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the WSA sizes and stability, and soil organic carbon（OC） and nitrogen（N） contents in agricultural lands with abandonment ages of 0, 3, 12, 20, 30 and 40 years, respectively, in the Minqin Oasis of Northwest China. The total soil OC and N contents at depths of 0–20, 20–40 and 40–60 cm in abandoned agricultural lands were compared to those in cultivated land（the control）. Agricultural land abandonment significantly（P0.25 mm） as the age of agricultural land abandonment increased. The effect of abandonment ages of agricultural lands on MWD was determined by the changes of OC and N accumulation in WSA sizes ＆gt;2 mm. The total OC and N contents presented a stratification phenomenon across soil depths in this arid ecosystem. That is, both of them decreased significantly at depths of 0–20 and 40–60 cm while increased at the depth of 20–40 cm. The WSA sizes ＆lt;0.053 mm had the highest soil OC and N contents（accounting for 51.41%–55.59% and 42.61%–48.94% of their total, respectively）. Soil OC and N contents in microaggregates（sizes 0.053–0.25 mm） were the dominant factors that influenced the variations of total OC and N contents in abandoned agricultural lands. The results of this study suggested that agricultural land abandonment may result in the recovery of WSA stability and the shifting of soil organic matter from the silt＋clay（＆lt;0.053 mm） and microaggregate fractions to the macroaggregate fractions. However, agricultural land abandonment did not increase total soil OC and N contents in the short-term.

Effects of Long-Term Winter Planted Green Manure on Distribution and Storage of Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Water-Stable Aggregates of Reddish Paddy Soil Under a Double-Rice Cropping System

In agricultural systems, maintenance of soil organic matter has long been recognized as a strategy to reduce soil degradation. Manure amendments and green manures are management practices that can increase some nutrient contents and improve soil aggregation. We investigated the effects of 28 yr of winter planted green manure on soil aggregate-size distribution and aggregateassociated carbon（C） and nitrogen（N）. The study was a randomized completed block design with three replicates. The treatments included rice-rice-fallow, rice-rice-rape, rice-rice-Chinese milk vetch and rice-rice-ryegrass. The experiment was established in 1982 on a silty light clayey paddy soil derived from Quaternary red clay（classified as Fe-Accumuli-Stagnic Anthrosols） with continuous early and late rice. In 2009, soil samples were collected（0-15 cm depth） from the field treatment plots and separated into water-stable aggregates of different sizes（i.e., 〉5, 2-5, 1-2, 0.5-1, 0.25-0.5 and 〈0.25 mm） by wet sieving. The long-term winter planted green manure significantly increased total C and N, and the formation of the 2-5-mm water-stable aggregate fraction. Compared with rice-rice-rape, rice-rice-Chinese milk vetch and rice-rice-ryegrass, the rice-rice-fallow significantly reduced 2-5-mm water-stable aggregates, with a significant redistribution of aggregates into micro-aggregates. Long-term winter planted green manure obviously improved C/N ratio and macro-aggregate-associated C and N. The highest contribution to soil fertility was from macro-aggregates of 2-5 mm in most cases.

A brief introduction to recent applications of several sediment-analysis techniques in palaeolimnological studies-dry bulk density and water content, mineral magnetism, carbonate content, and content of total organic carbon,nitrogen content and carbon/ni

Determination of dry bulk density and water content measurement of magnetic susceptibility (x) and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM), determination of carbonate content, and determination of total organic carbon (TOC) content nitrogen content (N%) and carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio are some of the techniques which have been widely applied to lacustrine-sediment analyses. The techniques,complemented by others, are usually useful for revealing characteristics of lacustrine-sediments and thus for postulating hydrological regimes in the lake and environmental conditions and human activity around it in palaeolimnological studies. A very brief review is presented on recent applications of these techniques in palaeolimnological work with English literatures published mainly since 1985 and focus given on interpretations of results of these analyses related to palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Low dry bulk density and high water content often imply relatively warm and wet conditions. High X and SIRM are usually resulted from reduced dilutions in the lake and intensified erosions on its catchment. both of which can be in turn attributed to environmental changes. While variations in patterns of X and SIRM may give further insight on mineral magnetism and thus implications on environmental conditions. Increased carbonate content seems likely to associate to warm and dry conditions.Increased TOC content is virtually used as one of indicators of warm and wet conditions and variations in C/N ratio may hint variations in relative contributions of different sources, aquatic and terrestrial, to the total organic matter in lake sediments and hence to lake-level fluctuations and climate changes.

Relations between the Underground Biomass and Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen of the Alpine Meadow at the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

This article, by combining field investigation with laboratorial analysis, studies diverse alpine meadow at the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for the underground biomass dynamics, vertical distribution of the content of soil carbon and nitrogen, the connection between the biomass and the content of carbon and nitrogen. The studies show that underground biomass in the herb layer of upland meadow is more than that in the terrace meadow, while underground biomass in the upland shrubland is the most. The vertical distribution of underground biomass of each type is obvious as in shape of＂T＂. As to the distribution of the content of soil organic carbon in the three sample grounds, it showed that the deeper the soil the less the content of soil organic carbon. In May, unlike at terrace meadow, the underground biomass and the content of soil organic carbon in positive proportion, such revelation at upland meadow and upland shrubland is not apparent. In July, at upland meadow and terrace meadow the underground biomass and the content of soil total nitrogen in positive proportion, such revelation at upland shrubland is not apparent either.

Effects of Nitrogen Forms on Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation in Tomato Seedling

Utilization of organic nitrogen （N） is an important aspect of plant N assimilation and has potential application in sustainable agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the plant growth, C and N accumulation in leaves and roots of tomato seedlings in response to inorganic （NH4^＋-N, NO3^-N） and organic nitrogen （Gly-N）. Different forms of nitrogen （NH4^＋-N, NO3^--N, Gly-N） were supplied to two tomato cultivars （Shenfen 918 and Huying 932） using a hydroponics system. The plant dry biomass, chlorophyll content, root activity, total carbon and nitrogen content in roots and leaves, and total N absorption, etc. were assayed during the cultivation. Our results showed that no significant differences in plant height, dry biomass, and total N content were found within the first 16 d among three treatments; however, significant differences in treatments on 24 d and 32 d were observed, and the order was NO3^--N 〉 Gly-N 〉 NH4^＋-N. Significant differences were also observed between the two tomato cultivars. Chlorophyll contents in the two cultivars were significantly increased by the Gly-N treatment, and root activity showed a significant decrease in NHa^＋-N treatment. Tomato leaf total carbon content was slightly affected by different N forms; however, total carbon in root and total nitrogen in root and leaf were promoted significantly by inorganic and organic N. Among the applied N forms, the increasing effects of the NH4^＋-N treatment were larger than that of the Gly-N. In a word, different N resources resulted in different physiological effects in tomatoes. Organic nitrogen （e.g., Gly-N） can be a proper resource of plant N nutrition. Tomatoes of different genotypes had different responses under organic nitrogen （e.g., Gly-N） supplies.

Nitrogen absorption by alpine forage species based on 15N tracer technique in a hydroponic culture

Based on 15N tracer technique,absorption of different concentrations of ammonium nitrogen(N-NH^(4+)),nitrate nitrogen(N-NO^(3-))and glycine(NGly)by root of six species of alpine forage(Puccinellia tenuiflora,Poa crymophila,Festuca sinensis,Elymus nutans,Elymus sibiricus and Bromus inermis)was studied in a hydroponic culture.The uptake kinetic parameter was analyzed according to Michaelis-Menten equation.The Michaelis-Menten equation represents the velocity equation for the relationship between the initial rate of an enzymatic reaction and the substrate concentration.The result showed that the absorption range of ammonium nitrogen,nitrate nitrogen and glycine by root of six species of alpine plant were 1.1-20.9μmol·g^(-1)·h^(-1),0.4-3.4μmol·g^(-1)·h^(-1) and 0.1-3.7μmol·g^(-1)·h^(-1),which accounts for 68.8%-74.7%,12.0%-27.0%and 4.3%-13.4%of total absorptivity,respectively.The six kinds of P.tenuiflora,P.crymophila,F.sinensis,E.nutans,E.sibiricus and B.inermis showed significant difference in nitrogen absorption.At the same concentration,the absorption of nitrogen in different forms of the same herbage is different.The absorptive amount of ammonium nitrogen was the highest among them,then the glycine,the nitrate nitrogen was least absorbed.The results could provide a theoretical basis for nitrogen utilization in alpine forages.For example,P.tenuiflora showed a much higher ability of absorbing nitrogen nutrition in a high salt environment and could be a more suitable herbage to be planted in saline-alkali soil in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as compared with E.nutans.

Effects of freezing intensity on soil solution nitrogen and microbial biomass nitrogen in an alpine grassland ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau,China

The change of freeze-thaw pattern of the Tibetan Plateau under climate warming is bound to have a profound impact on the soil process of alpine grassland ecosystem;however,the research on the impact of the freeze-thaw action on nitrogen processes of the alpine grassland ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau has not yet attracted much attention.In this study,the impact of the freezing strength on the soil nitrogen components of alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau was studied through laboratory freeze-thaw simulation experiments.The 0–10 cm topsoil was collected from the alpine marsh meadow and alpine meadow in the permafrost region of Beilu River.In the experiment,the soil samples were cultivated at –10℃,–7℃,–5℃,–3℃ and –1℃,respectively for three days and then thawed at 2℃ for one day.The results showed that after the freeze-thaw process,the soil microbial biomass nitrogen significantly decreased while the dissolved organic nitrogen and inorganic nitrogen significantly increased.When the freezing temperature was below –7℃,there was no significant difference between the content of nitrogen components,which implied a change of each nitrogen component might have a response threshold toward the freezing temperature.As the freeze-thaw process can lead to the risk of nitrogen loss in the alpine grassland ecosystem,more attention should be paid to the response of the soil nitrogen cycle of alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau to the freeze-thaw process.