Effects of six years of simulated N deposition on gross soil N transformation rates in an old-growth temperate forest

Elevated atmospheric nitrogen(N) deposition has been detected in many regions of China, but its effects on soil N transformation in temperate forest ecosystems are not well known. We therefore simulated N deposition with four levels of N addition rate(N0, N30, N60, and N120) for6 years in an old-growth temperate forest in Xiaoxing’an Mountains in Northeastern China. We measured gross N transformation rates in the laboratory usingN tracing technology to explore the effects of N deposition on soil gross N transformations taking advantage of N deposition soils. No significant differences in gross soil N transformation rates were observed after 6 years of N deposition with various levels of N addition rate. For all N deposition soils, the gross NH~+ immobilization rates were consistently lower than the gross N mineralization rates,leading to net N mineralization. Nitrate(NO~-) was primarily produced via oxidation of NH~+(i.e., autotrophic nitrification), whereas oxidation of organic N(i.e., heterotrophic nitrification) was negligible. Differences between the quantity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea were not significant for any treatment, which likely explains the lack of a significant effect on gross nitrification rates. Gross nitrification rates were much higher than the total NO~- consumption rates,resulting in a build-up of NO~-, which highlights the high risk of N losses via NO~- leaching or gaseous N emissions from soils. This response is opposite that of typical N-limited temperate forests suffering from N deposition,suggesting that the investigated old-growth temperate forest ecosystem is likely to approach N saturation.

Carbon and Nitrogen Transformations in Surface Soils Under Ermans Birch and Dark Coniferous Forests

Soil samples were taken from an Ermans birch （Betula ermanii）-dark coniferous forest （Picea jezoensis and Abies nephrolepis） ecotone growing on volcanic ejecta in the northern slope of Changbai Mountains of Northeast China, to compare soil carbon （C） and nitrogen （N） transformations in the two forests. The soil type is Umbri-Gelic Cambosols in Chinese Soil Taxonomy. Soil samples were incubated aerobically at 20℃ and field capacity of 700 g kg^-1 over a period of 27 weeks. The amount of soil microbial biomass and net N mineralization were higher in the Ermans birch than the dark coniferous forest （P 〈 0.05）, whereas the cumulative C mineralization （as CO2 emission） in the dark coniferous forest exceeded that in the Ermans birch （P 〈 0.05）. Release of the cumulative dissolved organic C and dissolved organic N were greater in the Ermans birch than the dark coniferous forest （P 〈 0.05）. The results suggested that differences of forest types could result in considerable change in soil C and N transformations.