Deepened snow loosens temporal coupling between plant and microbial N utilization and induces ecosystem N losses

Zhou, Jia; Li, Ping; Wu, Yuntao; Chang, Pengfei; Deng, Meifeng; Liang, Lu-Yin; Yang, Sen; Wang, Chengzhang; Wang, Bin; Yang, Lü; Wang, Xin; Wang, Zhenhua; Peng, Ziyang; Guo, Lulu; Ahirwal, Jitendra; Liu, Weixing; Liu, Lingli

doi:10.1111/gcb.16234

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 105 publications

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“…Under deepened snow, an increased leaching strength during early spring could promote the downward transport of DOC, which becomes an important new C source for deep soil (Roth et al, 2019). This has been proved by our previous findings that deepened snow enhanced DOC pulse due to higher MBC and higher plant litter input during snow cover period (Jia et al, 2022;Li, Sayer, et al, 2020). Thus, the higher leaching strength during early spring under deepened snow could simultaneously replenish water and C substrates for deep soils, leading to a greater accumulation of SOC in subsoil layers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…

{NO}_{3}^{-}

is highly mobile, and snow melt can cause residual

{NO}_{3}^{-}

to move down through the soil profile. Similarly, snow melt also leaches DOC from the topsoil to the deep soil layer (Jia et al, 2022). As microbial activity is inhibited in the subsoil, soil

{NO}_{3}^{-}

and DOC concentrations below the root zone are predominantly linked to the intensity of leaching.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, with the increase in snow depth, water availability and biomass carbon input increase (Liu et al, 2018), leading to an increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leaching (Jia et al, 2022). DOC is mainly leached from decomposing organic matter and is an important component of SOC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deepened snow cover increases grassland soil carbon stocks by incorporating carbon inputs into deep soil layers

Deng

Liu

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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Climate‐induced changes in snow cover can greatly impact winter soil microclimate and spring water supply. These effects, in turn, can influence plant and microbial activity and the strength of leaching processes, potentially altering the distribution and storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) across different soil depths. However, few studies have examined how changes in snow cover will affect SOC stocks, and even less is known about the impact of snow cover on SOC dynamics along soil profiles. By selecting 11 snow fences along a 570 km climate gradient in Inner Mongolia, covering arid, temperate, and meadow steppes, we measured plant and microbial biomass, community composition, SOC content, and other soil parameters from topsoil to a depth of 60 cm. We found that deepened snow increased aboveground and belowground plant biomass, as well as microbial biomass. Plant and microbial carbon input were positively correlated with grassland SOC stocks. More importantly, we found that deepened snow altered SOC distribution along vertical soil profiles. The increase in SOC caused by deepened snow was much greater in the subsoil (+74.7%; 40–60 cm) than that in the topsoil (+19.0%; 0–5 cm). Additionally, the controls on SOC content under deepened snow differed between the topsoil and subsoil layers. The increase in microbial and root biomass jointly enhanced topsoil C accumulation, while the increase in leaching processes became critical in promoting subsoil C accumulation. We conclude that under deepened snow, the subsoil had a high capacity to sink C by incorporating C leached from the topsoil, suggesting that the subsoil, originally thought to be climate insensitive, could have a higher response to precipitation changes due to vertical C transport. Our study highlights the importance of considering soil depth when assessing the impacts of snow cover changes on SOC dynamics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…

{NO}_{3}^{-}

is highly mobile, and snow melt can cause residual

{NO}_{3}^{-}

to move down through the soil profile. Similarly, snow melt also leaches DOC from the topsoil to the deep soil layer (Jia et al, 2022). As microbial activity is inhibited in the subsoil, soil

{NO}_{3}^{-}

and DOC concentrations below the root zone are predominantly linked to the intensity of leaching.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deepened snow cover increases grassland soil carbon stocks by incorporating carbon inputs into deep soil layers

Deng

Liu

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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“…How direct and indirect consequences of climate change interact to modify the seasonal N-cycle in alpine ecosystems is unknown, despite the potential for non-additive interactions to markedly alter annual N fluxes and ecosystem productivity. Tight temporal coupling between plant and soil N-cycle processes across seasons in alpine grasslands can be disrupted by changes in snow depth due to climate change (Jia et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change disrupts the seasonal coupling of plant and soil microbial nutrient cycling in an alpine ecosystem

Broadbent,

Newbold,

Pritchard

et al. 2024

Global Change Biology

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The seasonal coupling of plant and soil microbial nutrient demands is crucial for efficient ecosystem nutrient cycling and plant production, especially in strongly seasonal alpine ecosystems. Yet, how these seasonal nutrient cycling processes are modified by climate change and what the consequences are for nutrient loss and retention in alpine ecosystems remain unclear. Here, we explored how two pervasive climate change factors, reduced snow cover and shrub expansion, interactively modify the seasonal coupling of plant and soil microbial nitrogen (N) cycling in alpine grasslands, which are warming at double the rate of the global average. We found that the combination of reduced snow cover and shrub expansion disrupted the seasonal coupling of plant and soil N‐cycling, with pronounced effects in spring (shortly after snow melt) and autumn (at the onset of plant senescence). In combination, both climate change factors decreased plant organic N‐uptake by 70% and 82%, soil microbial biomass N by 19% and 38% and increased soil denitrifier abundances by 253% and 136% in spring and autumn, respectively. Shrub expansion also individually modified the seasonality of soil microbial community composition and stoichiometry towards more N‐limited conditions and slower nutrient cycling in spring and autumn. In winter, snow removal markedly reduced the fungal:bacterial biomass ratio, soil N pools and shifted bacterial community composition. Taken together, our findings suggest that interactions between climate change factors can disrupt the temporal coupling of plant and soil microbial N‐cycling processes in alpine grasslands. This could diminish the capacity of these globally widespread alpine ecosystems to retain N and support plant productivity under future climate change.

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“…15 N labelling, functional traits, N resorption, N retention, plant nutrient strategies, plant-soil interactions, soil organic matter At the ecosystem level, N is a major constituent of living plant organs, litter, soil microbial biomass and soil organic matter (SOM). Differential partitioning among these N pools can critically affect cumulative N retention with consequences on the cycling of other elements, such as ecosystem C accumulation (Hu et al, 2001;Jia et al, 2022). Besides being redistributed into living plant biomass, N in senescing tissues can also be transferred to SOM through rhizodeposition and litterfall (Aerts et al, 1999;Bernard et al, 2022;Kunkle et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen redistribution and seasonal trait fluctuation facilitate plant N conservation and ecosystem N retention

Zhao,

Wang,

Smith

et al. 2023

Journal of Ecology

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Low available soil nitrogen (N) limits plant productivity in alpine regions, and alpine plants thus resorb and reallocate N from senescing tissues to conserve this limited N during the non‐growing season. However, the destination and extent of N redistribution during plant senescence among above‐ and below‐ground organs, let alone other processes of translocation outside of plants and into the soil components, remain poorly understood. Utilizing 15N stable isotope as a tracer, we quantified N redistribution among above‐ and below‐ground plant organs and different soil components during senescence in an alpine meadow ecosystem, and explored the relationship between 15N partitioning among plant–soil N pools with seasonal fluctuations of plant functional traits. We found a substantial depletion of 15N in fine roots (−40% ± 2.8%) and above‐ground tissues (−51% ± 5.1%), and an enhanced 15N retention primarily in coarse roots (+79% ± 27%) and soil organic matter (+37% ± 10%) during plant senescence, indicating a dual role of roots with coarse roots acting as an N sink and fine roots as a source of N recycling during senescence. In parallel, we observed a temporal variation in plant functional traits, representing a shift from more acquisitive to more conservative strategies as the growing season ends, such as higher coarse root N and coarse root to fine root ratio. The seasonal trait variations were highly correlated with the 15N retention in coarse roots and soil organic matter. Particularly, 15N retention in particulate and mineral‐associated organic matter increased by 30% ± 12% and 24% ± 9%, respectively, suggesting a potential pathway through which fine root and microbial mortality contribute to 15N redistribution into soil N pools during senescence. Synthesis. N redistribution and seasonal plant trait fluctuation facilitate plant N conservation and ecosystem N retention in the alpine system. This study suggests a coupled above‐ground‐below‐ground N conservation strategy that may optimize the temporal coupling between plant N demand and ecosystem N supply in N‐limited alpine ecosystems.

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Deepened snow loosens temporal coupling between plant and microbial N utilization and induces ecosystem N losses

Cited by 17 publications

References 105 publications

Deepened snow cover increases grassland soil carbon stocks by incorporating carbon inputs into deep soil layers

Deepened snow cover increases grassland soil carbon stocks by incorporating carbon inputs into deep soil layers

Climate change disrupts the seasonal coupling of plant and soil microbial nutrient cycling in an alpine ecosystem

Nitrogen redistribution and seasonal trait fluctuation facilitate plant N conservation and ecosystem N retention

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