Nitrogen fertilization decreases forest soil fungal and bacterial biomass in three long-term experiments

Wallenstein, Matthew D.; McNulty, Steven G.; Fernandez, Ivan J.; Boggs, Johnny L.; Schlesinger, William H.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2005.11.002

Cited by 283 publications

(205 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Two meta-analysis papers also confirm such a trend, showing that N deposition tends to reduce microbial biomass in the N-poor boreal forest soils (Treseder 2008) and decrease heterotrophic respiration and microbial biomass in N-unlimited temperate forest soils (Janssens et al 2010). As suggested by Wallenstein et al (2006), the decreased microbial activity in these fertilized forest soils could be that soil bacteria are more likely limited by a lack of C. For example, Eisenlord et al (2013) found that experimental N deposition significantly altered the compositions of functional genes derived from actinobacterial and fungal communities in a hardwood forest ecosystem. In addition, they found that the richness and diversity of genes involved in the decomposition of starch (~12 %), hemicellulose (~16 %), cellulose (~16 %), chitin (~15 %), and lignin (~16 %) were also significantly reduced by experimental N deposition.…”

Section: N Mineralizationmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…For example, reduced microbial activity has been frequently reported from fertilized forest soils (Compton et al 2004;Demoling et al 2008;Frey et al 2004;Wallenstein et al 2006). Two meta-analysis papers also confirm such a trend, showing that N deposition tends to reduce microbial biomass in the N-poor boreal forest soils (Treseder 2008) and decrease heterotrophic respiration and microbial biomass in N-unlimited temperate forest soils (Janssens et al 2010).…”

Section: N Mineralizationmentioning

confidence: 78%

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Effects of nitrogen deposition and fertilization on N transformations in forest soils: a review

et al. 2015

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Purpose Understanding how process-specific nitrogen (N) transformations in natural forest soils are modified by N deposition and fertilization is critically important to gain mechanistic insights on the links between global N deposition and N enrichment and loss in forest soils. Materials and methods Here we identify the general characteristics and the main mechanisms of N deposition-and fertilization-induced modifications in multiple N transformations, including N immobilization, N mineralization, nitrification (autotrophic nitrification and heterotrophic nitrification), and denitrification, in forest soils by literature survey. Results and discussion Overall, N status, soil C/N ratios, C availability, and soil pH are key factors separately and/or interactively affecting the effects of N deposition and fertilization on forest soil N transformations. In the N-limited stage, N deposition and fertilization can act as a stimulator of N mineralization by removing microbial N limitation and reducing the C/N ratios of the substrate being decomposed. In the Nunlimited stage, N added to forest ecosystems can retard N mineralization, which may primarily be a result of decreased microbial activity due to soil acidification and low C availability. The changes in N mineralization may drive a corresponding change in N immobilization, autotrophic nitrification, and denitrification. Despite the fact that ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) has a higher affinity than ammonia-oxidizers (AOB) for low-concentration ammonia (NH 3 ), low NH 3 availability may still limit the rate of ammonia oxidation (autotrophic nitrification) in acidic forest soils even in the case of high NH 4 + input. Heterotrophic nitrification, however, may be favored if soil C/N ratios and pH decrease with N deposition and fertilization. The responses of denitrification and N 2 O emission to N deposition and fertilization in forests may be nonlinear, with a trend of stimulation in the short term but a decline over time, partly because soil pH has a contrast effect on denitrification capacity and N 2 O emission. Conclusions There are various effects of N deposition and fertilization on forest soil N transformations; thus, their responses to N deposition are still not well characterized and understood. N deposition-and fertilization-induced modifications in soil N transformations have important implications for N enrichment, N loss, and soil acidification in forest ecosystems. In the future, more research is required to investigate on dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) process and link microbial community characteristics and functions of microbial extracellular enzymes with these rate processes in forest soils to narrow the uncertainty in evaluating and predicting ecosystem responses to global N deposition.

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Section: N Mineralizationmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: N Mineralizationmentioning

confidence: 78%

Effects of nitrogen deposition and fertilization on N transformations in forest soils: a review

et al. 2015

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“…In Biederbeck et al's (2005) tillage-based study, differences in MB-C between CW and F-W systems were related to differences in the bacterial fraction of MB-C. No-till systems likely rely more heavily on fungal, rather than bacterial decomposers (Beare et al 1992). The SIR method we used to estimate MB-C may not detect slow-responding fungal MB-C fractions as well as the fumigationextraction method (Wallenstein et al 2006) used by Biederbeck et al (2005). As a group, Legume systems supported higher MB-C in our study, but our LGM-W system alone did not differ from F-W as it did in the Biederbeck et al (1994Biederbeck et al ( , 1998Biederbeck et al ( , 2005 studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 50%

Legume, cropping intensity, and N-fertilization effects on soil attributes and processes from an eight-year-old semiarid wheat system

O'Dea

Jones

Zabinski

et al. 2015

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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In the North American northern Great Plains (NGP), legumes are promising summer fallow replacement/cropping intensification options that may decrease dependence on nitrogen (N) fertilizer in small grain systems and mitigate effects of soil organic matter (SOM) losses from summer fallow. Benefits may not be realized immediately in semiarid conditions though, and longer-term effects of legumes and intensified cropping in this region are unclear, particularly in no-till systems. We compared effects of four no-till wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping systems-summer fallow-wheat (F-W), continuous wheat (CW), legume green manure (pea, Pisum sativum L.)-wheat (LGM-W), and pea-wheat (P-W)-on select soil attributes in an 8-year-old rotation study, and N fertilizer effects on C and N mineralization on a duplicate soil set in a laboratory experiment. We analyzed potentially mineralizable carbon and nitrogen (PMC and PMN) and mineralization trends with a nonlinear model, microbial biomass carbon (MB-C), and wet aggregate stability (WAS). Legume-containing systems generally resulted in higher PMC, PMN, and MB-C, while intensified systems (CW and P-W) had higher WAS. Half-lives of PMC were shortest in intensified systems, and were longest in legume systems (LGM-W and P-W) for PMN. Nitrogen addition depressed C and N mineralization, particularly in CW, and generally shortened the half-life of mineralizable C. Legumes may increase long-term, no-till NGP agroecosystem resilience and sustainability by (1) increasing the available N-supply (*26-50 %) compared to wheatonly systems, thereby reducing the need for N fertilizer for subsequent crops, and (2) by potentially mitigating negative effects of SOM loss from summer fallow.

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“…Soil organic matter is sensitive to global warming, especially in boreal ecosystems (e.g., Jarvis and Linder 2000;Melillo et al 2002;Davidson and Janssens 2006). Studies in three forest ecosystems indicated that shifts of soil C/N ratio, soil acidification, and root exudation reduction induced by N saturation caused bacterial biomass decreasing under long-term fertilization (Wallenstein et al 2006). Nitrogen fertilization has previously been shown to increase the abundance of soil AOB, which dominated N-rich environments (Di et al 2009;Hallin et al 2009).…”

Section: Responses Of Aob and Aoa Abundance To Soil Warming And Fertimentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance and community structure of ammonia oxidizing bacteria and archaea in a Sweden boreal forest soil under 19-year fertilization and 12-year warming

Long

Chen

et al. 2012

J Soils Sediments

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Purpose Boreal forests are considered to be more sensitive to global climate change compared with other terrestrial ecosystems, but the long-term impact of climate change and forest management on soil microbial functional diversity is not well understood. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) are the most important players in nitrogen (N) cycling-associated processes in terrestrial ecosystems. This study investigated the separate and combined impacts of long-term soil warming and fertilization on soil AOB and AOA community structures and abundances in a Norway spruce stand in northern Sweden. Materials and methods The soil-warming experiment was established in the buffer zones of two irrigated plots (I) and complete nutrient solution plots (IL) since 1995. The warming treatment started in April each year by maintaining soil temperature on warmed plots at 5°C above the temperature in unwarmed plots using heating cables. In August 2006, soil samples were collected from eight subplots for molecular analysis. The abundance of bacterial and archaeal amoA genes was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Similarly, total bacterial and archaeal population sizes have also been determined. The diversity of AOB and AOA was assessed by constructing amoA gene clone libraries, and different genotypes were screened with restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results and discussion Results showed that fertilization did not significantly affect the abundance of the bacterial amoA gene under either warming or non-warming conditions; however, warming decreased the abundance under fertilization treatments. No significant effects of fertilization and soil warming were observed on the number of thaumarchaeal amoA gene copies across all treatments. In this study, amoA gene abundance of AOB was significantly higher than that of AOA across all treatments. The community structure of both AOB and AOA was strongly influenced by fertilization. For bacterial amoA genes, Nitrosospira cluster 2 was present across all treatments, but the only genotype was observed in the fertilization treatments while, for thaumarchaeal amoA genes, the relative abundance of soil cluster 5 increased in fertilization treatments. By comparison, soil-warming effects on AOB and AOA community structure were not significant. Canonical correspondence analysis showed a positive correlation between fertilization and both dominant genotypes of AOB and AOA. Conclusions These results indicated that the abundance of AOA and AOB was not affected by fertilization or warming alone, but the interaction of fertilization and warming reduced the abundance of AOB. The community composition of ammonia-oxidizers was more affected by the nutrientoptimized fertilization than the soil warming.

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Nitrogen fertilization decreases forest soil fungal and bacterial biomass in three long-term experiments

Cited by 283 publications

References 59 publications

Effects of nitrogen deposition and fertilization on N transformations in forest soils: a review

Effects of nitrogen deposition and fertilization on N transformations in forest soils: a review

Legume, cropping intensity, and N-fertilization effects on soil attributes and processes from an eight-year-old semiarid wheat system

Abundance and community structure of ammonia oxidizing bacteria and archaea in a Sweden boreal forest soil under 19-year fertilization and 12-year warming

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