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TY - JOUR
T1 - Different nitrogen saturation thresholds for above-, below-, and total net primary productivity in a temperate steppe
AU - Yang, Guo-Jiao
AU - Stevens, Carly
AU - Zhang, Zi-Jia
AU - Lü, Xiao-Tao
AU - Han, Xing-Guo
PY - 2023/8/31
Y1 - 2023/8/31
N2 - Identifying the thresholds for the positive responses of total net primary productivity (NPP) to nitrogen (N) enrichment is an essential prerequisite for predicting the benefits of N deposition on ecosystem carbon sequestration. However, the responses of below-ground NPP (BNPP) to N enrichment are unknown in many ecosystems, which limits our ability to understand the carbon cycling under the scenario of increasing N availability. We examined the changes in above-ground NPP (ANPP), BNPP, and NPP of a temperate meadow steppe across a wide-ranging N addition gradient (0, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 g N m -2 year -1 ) during 5 years. Both ANPP and NPP increased nonlinearly with N addition rates. The N saturation threshold for ANPP (T A ) and NPP (T N ) was at the rate of 13.11 and 6.70 g N m -2 year -1 , respectively. BNPP decreased with increasing N addition when N addition rates ˃5 g N m -2 year -1 , resulting in much lower T N than T A . Soil N enrichment played a key role in driving the negative impacts of high N addition rates on BNPP, and consequently on the earlier occurrence of N saturation threshold for NPP. Our results highlight the negative effects of soil N enrichment on NPP in natural grasslands super-saturated with N. Furthermore, by considering ANPP and BNPP simultaneously, our results indicate that previous findings from above-ground might have over-estimated the positive effects of N deposition on primary productivity.
AB - Identifying the thresholds for the positive responses of total net primary productivity (NPP) to nitrogen (N) enrichment is an essential prerequisite for predicting the benefits of N deposition on ecosystem carbon sequestration. However, the responses of below-ground NPP (BNPP) to N enrichment are unknown in many ecosystems, which limits our ability to understand the carbon cycling under the scenario of increasing N availability. We examined the changes in above-ground NPP (ANPP), BNPP, and NPP of a temperate meadow steppe across a wide-ranging N addition gradient (0, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 g N m -2 year -1 ) during 5 years. Both ANPP and NPP increased nonlinearly with N addition rates. The N saturation threshold for ANPP (T A ) and NPP (T N ) was at the rate of 13.11 and 6.70 g N m -2 year -1 , respectively. BNPP decreased with increasing N addition when N addition rates ˃5 g N m -2 year -1 , resulting in much lower T N than T A . Soil N enrichment played a key role in driving the negative impacts of high N addition rates on BNPP, and consequently on the earlier occurrence of N saturation threshold for NPP. Our results highlight the negative effects of soil N enrichment on NPP in natural grasslands super-saturated with N. Furthermore, by considering ANPP and BNPP simultaneously, our results indicate that previous findings from above-ground might have over-estimated the positive effects of N deposition on primary productivity.
KW - soil N concentration
KW - N saturation threshold
KW - nitrogen deposition
KW - ammonium toxicity
KW - semi-arid grassland
KW - production
U2 - 10.1111/gcb.16803
DO - 10.1111/gcb.16803
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37265328
VL - 29
SP - 4586
EP - 4594
JO - Global Change Biology
JF - Global Change Biology
SN - 1354-1013
IS - 16
ER -