Frequent mowing and nitrogen enrichment can lead to the degradation of grassland ecosystem. It remains largely unknown that how the soil microbial characteristics, important bio-indicators of soil quality, respond to mowing and nitrogen enrichment. In this study, using a field experiment established in the meadow steppe in Hulunber, Inner Mongolia, we explored the responses of soil properties, microbial biomass, soil respiration, and soil enzyme activities to mowing and nitrogen addition during growing seasons. Mowing significantly reduced microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, and soil respiration (basal respiration and substrate induced respiration), which might be caused by the moisture- and carbon-limitation. Mowing significantly reduced activities of the enzymes involved in nitrogen acquisition (N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase) and phosphorus acquisition (acidic phosphomonoesterases), which supports the resource allocation theory. Soil pH was significantly reduced by N addition. However, microbial biomass showed no significant response to nitrogen input, implying that soil acidification induced by nitrogen inputs was not profound enough to affect microbial biomass. Nitrogen addition did not affect soil respiration and microbial enzymatic activities, inconsistent with results from most of previous studies conducted in typical steppe. Combination of mowing and nitrogen addition reduced the activity of acidic phosphomonoesterases, which might be due to the increased phosphorus availability under the combined treatment. Combination of mowing and nitrogen addition reduced microbial biomass phosphorus, but increased soil available phosphorus, corresponding to the lowered activity of acidic phosphomonoesterases under the combined treatment. Microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, and soil respiration peaked in July, which was associated with the high temperature and precipitation in summer. Soil enzymatic activities were higher in the spring and summer than in the late growing season. In summary, our results indicated that mowing would result in the imbalance of soil nutrients and intensify the risk of grassland degradation. In contrary, nitrogen addition exerted no effects on microbial biomass and activity.
频繁的刈割和氮输入增加是导致草地生态系统退化的重要原因.土壤微生物学特性作为评估土壤质量的重要生物学指标,对草地刈割和氮输入增加的响应规律仍不十分明确.本研究依托内蒙古呼伦贝尔草原刈割复合氮添加野外实验平台,分析了土壤理化性质、土壤微生物生物量、土壤呼吸和土壤酶对刈割、氮添加的响应及其生长季动态变化.结果表明: 刈割显著降低了土壤微生物生物量碳、氮、磷和土壤呼吸(基础呼吸和底物诱导呼吸),与刈割后导致的水分限制及碳限制有关.刈割显著降低了氮磷获取酶(N-乙酰-β-D-葡萄糖苷酶和酸性磷酸单酯酶)的活性,符合“资源分配假说”.氮添加显著降低土壤pH值,但土壤微生物生物量对氮添加和pH降低均无显著响应,表明氮输入增加引起的土壤酸化不是影响微生物生物量的主要因素.氮添加对土壤呼吸和酶活性也无显著影响,与以往在典型草原的大多数研究结果不一致.刈割和氮添加复合处理显著降低了土壤微生物生物量磷,但提高了土壤中有效磷含量,降低了酸性磷酸酶活性.微生物生物量碳、氮、磷和土壤呼吸等的相关参数均在7月最高,这与夏季高温多雨有关.土壤酶活性在春夏季较高,生长季末期较低.这表明在该草甸草原,刈割将导致土壤碳氮磷养分失衡,从而加剧草原退化;而氮添加在短期内并未对土壤微生物生物量和活性产生显著影响.
Keywords: growing season; meadow steppe; microbial biomass; mowing; nitrogen addition; soil enzyme activities; soil respiration.