Effects of nitrogen deposition and litter layer management on soil CO2, N2O, and CH4 emissions in a subtropical pine forestland

Jianling Fan; Ruyi Luo; Brian G McConkey; Noura Ziadi

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-65952-8

Effects of nitrogen deposition and litter layer management on soil CO₂, N₂O, and CH₄ emissions in a subtropical pine forestland

Sci Rep. 2020 Jun 2;10(1):8959. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65952-8.

Authors

Jianling Fan^{1

2}, Ruyi Luo³, Brian G McConkey⁴, Noura Ziadi⁵

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, 219 Ningliu Road, Nanjing, 210044, China. jlfan@nuist.edu.cn.
² State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China. jlfan@nuist.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
⁴ Swift Current Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Swift Current, SK, S9H 3X2, Canada.
⁵ Quebec Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec City, QC, G1V 2J3, Canada.

Abstract

Forestland soils play vital role in regulating global soil greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets, but the interactive effect of the litter layer management and simulated nitrogen (N) deposition on these GHG flux has not been elucidated clearly in subtropical forestland. A field trial was conducted to study these effects by using litter removal method under 0 and 40 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1 addition in a subtropical forestland in Yingtan, Jiangxi Province, China. Soil CO₂ emission was increased by N addition (18-24%) but decreased by litter removal (24-32%). Litter removal significantly (P < 0.05) decreased cumulative N₂O emission by 21% in treatments without N addition but only by 10% in treatments with 40 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1 addition. Moreover, litter-induced N₂O emission under elevated N deposition (0.094 kg N₂O-N ha^-1) was almost the same as without N addition (0.088 kg N₂O-N ha^-1). Diffusion of atmospheric CH₄ into soil was facilitated by litter removal, which increased CH₄ uptake by 55%. Given that the increasing trend of atmospheric N deposition in future, which would reduce litterfall in subtropical N-rich forest, the effect of surface litter layer change on soil GHG emissions should be considered in assessing forest GHG budgets and future climate scenario modeling.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't