Predicting plant–soil N cycling and soil N₂O emissions in a Chinese old-growth temperate forest under global changes: uncertainty and implications

Abstract

Soil-emitted N₂O contributes to two-thirds of global N₂O emissions, and is sensitive to global change. We used DayCent model to simulate major plant–soil N cycling processes under different global change scenarios in a typical temperate mixed forest in north-eastern China. Simulated scenarios included warming (T), elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]) (C), increased N deposition (N) and precipitation (P), and their full factorial combinations. The responses of plant–soil nitrogen cycling processes including net N mineralization, plant N uptake, gross nitrification, denitrification and soil N₂O emission were examined. Concurrent increase of elevated [CO₂] and N deposition displayed most strong interactive effects on most fluxes. Using the results from experimental studies for evaluation, simulation uncertainty was highest under elevated [CO₂] and increased precipitation among the four global change factors. N deposition had a fundamental impact on soil N cycle and N₂O emission in our studied forest. Despite forest soil acting as a N sink for added N, scenarios which included increased N deposition showed higher cumulative soil N₂O emissions (summed up from 2001 to 2100). In particular, the scenario which included T, P, and N had the largest cumulative soil N₂O emission, which was a 24.4% increase over that under ambient conditions. Our study points to the importance of the interactive effects of global change factors on plant–soil N cycling and the necessity of multi-factor manipulation experiments.

Keywords

Global change / DayCent / denitrification / Nitrification / Soil N₂O emission / Temperate forest

References

[1] Ambus, P., Robertson, G.P., 1999. Fluxes of CH₄ and N₂O in aspen stands grown under ambient and twice-ambient CO₂. Plant and Soil 209,1–8.

[2] Bader, M.K.F., Korner, C., 2010. No overall stimulation of soil respiration under mature deciduous forest trees after 7 years of CO₂ enrichment. Global Change Biology 16, 2830–2843.

[3] Bai, E., Li, S., Xu, W., Li, W., Dai, W., Jiang, P., 2013. A meta-analysis of experimental warming effects on terrestrial nitrogen pools and dynamics. New Phytologist 199, 431–440

[4] Bai, E., Li, W., Li, S., Sun, J., Peng, B., Dai, W., Jiang, P., Han, S., 2014. Pulse increase of soil N₂O emission in response to N addition in a temperate forest on Mt Changbai, northeast China. PLoS One 9, e102765

[5] Barnard, R., Leadley, P.W., Hungate, B.A., 2005. Global change, nitrification, and denitrification: A review. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 19, GB1007

[6] Battipaglia, G., Saurer, M., Cherubini, P., Calfapietra, C., McCarthy, H.R., Norby, R.J., Cotrufo, M.F., 2013. Elevated CO₂ increases tree-level intrinsic water use efficiency: insights from carbon and oxygen isotope analyses in tree rings across three forest FACE sites. New Phytologist 197, 544–554.

[7] Bijoor, N.S., Czimczik, C.I., Pataki, D.E., Billings, S.A., 2008. Effects of temperature and fertilization on nitrogen cycling and community composition of an urban lawn. Global Change Biology 14, 2119–2131

[8] Brown, J.R., Blankinship, J.C., Niboyet, A., van Groenigen, K.J., Dijkstra, P., Le Roux, X., Leadley, P.W., Hungate, B.A., 2012. Effects of multiple global change treatments on soil N₂O fluxes. Biogeochemistry 109, 85–100.

[9] Butler, S.M., Melillo, J.M., Johnson, J.E., Mohan, J., Steudler, P.A., Lux, H., Burrows, E., Smith, R.M., Vario, C.L., Scott, L., Hill, T.D., Aponte, N., Bowles, F., 2012. Soil warming alters nitrogen cycling in a New England forest: implications for ecosystem function and structure. Oecologia 168, 819–828

[10] Butterbach-Bahl, K., Breuer, L., Gasche, R., Willibald, G., Papen, H., 2002a. Exchange of trace gases between soils and the atmosphere in Scots pine forest ecosystems of the northeastern German lowlands: 1. Fluxes of N₂O, NO/NO₂ and CH₄ at forest sites with different N-deposition. Forest Ecology and Management 167, 123–134.

[11] Butterbach-Bahl, K., Willibald, G., Papen, H., 2002b. Soil core method for direct simultaneous determination of N₂ and N₂O emissions from forest soils. Plant and Soil 240,105–116.

[12] Del Grosso, S.J., Parton, W.J., Keough, C.A., Reyes-Fox, M., 2011. Special features of the DayCent modeling package and additional procedures for parameterization, calibration, validation, and applications. in: Ahuja, L.R., Ma, L., eds. Methods of introducing system models into agricultural research, Madison, WI, USA. PP. 155–176

[13] Eickenscheidt, N., Brumme, R., Veldkamp, E., 2011. Direct contribution of nitrogen deposition to nitrous oxide emissions in a temperate beech and spruce forest- a ¹⁵N tracer study. Biogeosciences 8, 621–635

[14] Finzi, A.C., Moore, D.J.P., DeLucia, E.H., Lichter, J., Hofmockel, K.S., Jackson, R.B., Kim, H.S., Matamala, R., McCarthy, H.R., Oren, R., Pippen, J.S., Schlesinger, W.H., 2006. Progressive nitrogen limitation of ecosystem processes under elevated CO₂ in a warm-temperate forest. Ecology 87, 15–25.

[15] Finzi, A.C., Norby, R.J., Calfapietra, C., Gallet-Budynek, A., Gielen, B., Holmes, W.E., Hoosbeek, M.R., Iversen, C.M., Jackson, R.B., Kubiske, M.E., Ledford, J., Liberloo, M., Oren, R., Polle, A., Pritchard, S., Zak, D.R., Schlesinger, W.H., Ceulemans, R., 2007. Increases in nitrogen uptake rather than nitrogen-use efficiency support higher rates of temperate forest productivity under elevated CO₂. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104, 14014–14019

[16] Firestone, M.K., Davidson, E.A., 1989. Microbial basis of NO and N₂O production and consumption in soils. in: Andreae, M.O., Schimol, D.S., eds. Exchange of trace gases between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. John Wiley, New York.PP. 7–21

[17] Franklin, O., McMurtrie, R.E., Iversen, C.M., Crous, K.Y., Finzi, A.C., Tissue, D.T., Ellsworth, D.S., Oren, R., Norby, R.J., 2009. Forest fine-root production and nitrogen use under elevated CO₂: contrasting responses in evergreen and deciduous trees explained by a common principle. Global Change Biology 15, 132–144

[18] Galloway, J.N., Dentener, F.J., Capone, D.G., Boyer, E.W., Howarth, R.W., Seitzinger, S.P., Asner, G.P., Cleveland, C.C., Green, P.A., Holland, E.A., Karl, D.M., Michaels, A.F., Porter, J.H., Townsend, A.R., Vorosmarty, C.J., 2004. Nitrogen cycles: past, present, and future. Biogeochemistry 70, 153–226.

[19] Hagedorn, F., Bucher, J.B., Tarjan, D., Rusert, P., Bucher-Wallin, I., 2000. Responses of N fluxes and pools to elevated atmospheric CO₂ in model forest ecosystems with acidic and calcareous soils. Plant and Soil 224, 273–286.

[20] Hall, S.J., McDowell, W.H., Silver, W.L., 2013. When wet gets wetter: Decoupling of moisture, redox biogeochemistry, and greenhouse gas fluxes in a humid tropical forest soil. Ecosystems 16, 576–589.

[21] Han, S.J., ed., 2012. China Ecosystem Long-term Observation and Research Dataset: Changbai Mountain Station (in Chinese). Beijing: China Agriculture Press.

[22] Hofmockel, K.S., Gallet-Budynek, A.,McCarthy, H.R., Currie, W.S., Jackson, R.B., Finzi, A.C., 2011. Sources of increased N uptake in forest trees growing under elevated CO₂: results of a large-scale 15N study. Global Change Biology 17, 3338–3350.

[23] Holmes, W.E., Zak, D.R., Pregitzer, K.S., King, J.S., 2006. Elevated CO₂ and O₃ alter soil nitrogen transformations beneath trembling aspen, paper birch, and sugar maple. Ecosystems 9, 1354– 1363.

[24] Holtgrieve, G.W., Jewett, P.K., Matson, P.A., 2006. Variations in soil N cycling and trace gas emissions in wet tropical forests. Oecologia 146, 584–594

[25] Hu, Y.L., Han, S.J., Li, X.F., Zhao, Y.T., Li, D., 2009. Responses of soil available nitrogen of natural forest and secondary forest to simulated N deposition in Changbai Mountain. Dongbei Linye Daxue Xuebao, 37(5), 36–42 (in Chinese).

[26] Hungate, B.A., Dijkstra, P., Johnson, D.W., Hinkle, C.R., Drake, B.G., 1999. Elevated CO₂ increases nitrogen fixation and decreases soil nitrogen mineralization in Florida scrub oak. Global Change Biology 5, 781–789.

[27] Hungate, B.A., Hart, S.C., Selmants, P.C., Boyle, S.I., Gehring, C.A., 2007. Soil responses to management, increased precipitation, and added nitrogen in ponderosa pine forests. Ecological Applications 17, 1352–1365.

[28] IPCC, 2001. Climate change 2001: The scientific basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

[29] IPCC, 2007. Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

[30] Kulkarni, M.V., Groffman, P.M., Yavitt, J.B., 2008. Solving the global nitrogen problem: it’s a gas! Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6, 199–206

[31] Landesman, W.J., Dighton, J., 2010. Response of soil microbial communities and the production of plant-available nitrogen to a two-year rainfall manipulation in the New Jersey Pinelands. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 42, 1751–1758.

[32] Liu, L.L., Greaver, T.L., 2009. A review of nitrogen enrichment effects on three biogenic GHGs: the CO₂ sink may be largely offset by stimulated N₂O and CH₄ emission. Ecology Letters 12, 1103–1117.

[33] Lu, M., Yang, Y.H., Luo, Y.Q., Fang, C.M., Zhou, X.H., Chen, J.K., Yang, X., Li, B., 2011. Responses of ecosystem nitrogen cycle to nitrogen addition: a meta-analysis. New Phytologist 189, 1040–1050.

[34] Luo, X.B., Zhang, Y.Q., Xu, H., Zheng, J.Q., 2012. Seasonal dynamics of soil active carbon and nitrogen pools in surface soil of temperate broad-leaved and Korean pine mixed forest. Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment 28, 42–46 (in Chinese).

[35] Luo, Y., Gerten, D., Le Maire, G., Parton, W., Weng, E., Zhou, X., Keough, C., Beier, C., Ciais, P., Cramer, W., Dukes, J., Emmett, B., Hanson, P., Knapp, A., Linder, S., Nepstad, D., Rustad, L., 2008. Modeled interactive effects of precipitation, temperature, and [CO₂] on ecosystem carbon and water dynamics in different climatic zones. Global Change Biology 14, 1986–1999

[36] Magill, A.H., Aber, J.D., Berntson, G.M., McDowell, W.H., Nadelhoffer, K.J., Melillo, J.M., Steudler, P., 2000. Long-term nitrogen additions and nitrogen saturation in two temperate forests. Ecosystems 3, 238–253.

[37] Magill, A.H., Aber, J.D., Currie, W.S., Nadelhoffer, K.J., Martin, M.E., McDowell, W.H., Melillo, J.M., Steudler, P., 2004. Ecosystem response to 15 years of chronic nitrogen additions at the Harvard Forest LTER, Massachusetts, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 196, 7–28.

[38] Metherell, A.K., Harding, L.A., Cole, C.V., Parton, W.J., 1993. CENTURY: soil organic matter model environment. Technical documentation, agroecosystem version 4.0. GPSR Technical Report 4. USDA Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

[39] Parton, W.J., Holland, E.A., Del Grosso, S.J., Hartman, M.D., Martin, R.E., Mosier, A.R., Ojima, D.S., Schimel, D.S., 2001. Generalized model for NO_x and N₂O emissions from soils. Journal of Geophysical Research, D, Atmospheres 106, 17403–17419

[40] Peterjohn, W.T., Melillo, J.M., Steudler, P.A., Newkirk, K.M., Bowles, F.P., Aber, J.D., 1994. Responses of trace gas fluxes and N availability to experimentally elevated soil temperatures. Ecological Applications 4, 617–625.

[41] Phillips, R.L., Whalen, S.C., Schlesinger, W.H., 2001. Influence of atmospheric CO₂ enrichment on nitrous oxide flux in a temperate forest ecosystem. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 15, 741–752.

[42] Ravishankara, A.R., Daniel, J.S., Portmann, R.W., 2009. Nitrous oxide (N₂O): the dominant ozone-depleting substance emitted in the 21_st century. Science 326, 123–125

[43] Shao, Y.H., Pan, J.J., Xu, X.W., Yang, L.X., 2006. Determination of forest soil organic carbon pool sizes and turnover rates in Changbaishan. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 20, 99–102 (in Chinese).

[44] Thomson, A.J., Giannopoulos, G., Pretty, J., Baggs, E.M., Richardson, D.J., 2012. Biological sources and sinks of nitrous oxide and strategies to mitigate emissions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 367, 1157–1168

[45] Wang, B., Yang, X.S., 2010. Comparison of carbon content and carbon density of four typical zonal forest ecosystems. Hunan Nongye Daxue Xuebao 36, 464–473 (in Chinese) (Natural Sciences)

[46] Wang, C., Han, S., Zhou, Y., Yan, C., Cheng, X., Zheng, X., Li, M.H., 2012. Responses of fine roots and soil N availability to short-term nitrogen fertilization in a broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest in northeastern China. PLoS One 7, e31042

[47] Wang, M., Guan, D.X., Wang, Y.S., Hao, Z.Q., Liu, Y.Q., 2006. Estimate of productivity in ecosystem of the broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest in Changbai Mountain. Science in China Series D-Earth Sciences 49, 74–88.

[48] Wang, M., Guan, D.X., Han, S.J., Wu, J.L., 2009. Comparison of eddy covariance and chamber-based methods for measuring CO₂ flux in a temperate mixed forest. Tree Physiology 30, 149–163.

[49] Wieder, W.R., Cleveland, C.C., Townsend, A.R., 2011. Throughfall exclusion and leaf litter addition drive higher rates of soil nitrous oxide emissions from a lowland wet tropical forest. Global Change Biology 17, 3195–3207.

[50] Xiao, D.M., Wang, M., Wang, Y.S., Ji, L.Z., Han, S.J., 2004. Fluxes of soil carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and firedamp in broadleaved Korean pine forest. Journal of Forestry Research 15, 107–112

[51] Xu, Y, Zhang, J.H., Han, S.J., Wang, S.T., Wang, C.G., Wang, S.Q., 2010. Spatial heterogeneity of soil inorganic nitrogen in a broadleaved-Korean pine mixed forest in Changbai Mountains of northeast China. Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 21, 1627–1634 (in Chinese)

[52] Yang, H., Pei, T., Guan, D., Jin, C., Wang, A., 2006. Soil moisture dynamics under broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains. Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 17, 587–591

[53] Zak, D.R., Holmes, W.E., Finzi, A.C., Norby, R.J., Schlesinger, W.H., 2003. Soil nitrogen cycling under elevated CO₂: A synthesis of forest face experiments. Ecological Applications 13, 1508–1514.

[54] Zhang, J.H., Yu, G.R., Han, S.J., Guan, D.X., Sun, X.M., 2006. Seasonal and annual variation of CO₂ flux above a broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest. Science in China. Series D, Earth Sciences 49, 63–73

[55] Zhang, X.Y., Meng, X.J., Gao, L.P., Fan, J.J., Xu, L.J., 2009. Soil nutrient contents and their responses to the soil core transferring experiment of three typical natural forests along the Changbai Mountain transect. Ziran Ziyuan Xuebao 24, 1386–1392 (in Chinese).

[56] Zhao, X.S., 2005. Estimation of net ecosystem productivity by eddy covariance and biometry in the mixed forest of broad-leaved and Korean-pine in Changbai Mountain. Master’s Thesis, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 program; 2014CB954400) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41401289).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2020 Higher Education Press