Nitrogen addition impacts on the emissions of greenhouse gases depending on the forest type: a case study in Changbai Mountain, Northeast China

PurposeAnthropogenic-induced greenhouse gas (GHG) emission rates derived from the soil are influenced by long-term nitrogen (N) deposition and N fertilization. However, our understanding of the interplay between increased N load and GHG emissions among soil aggregates is incomplete.Materials and methodsHere, we conducted an incubation experiment to explore the effects of soil aggregate size and N addition on GHG emissions. The soil aggregate samples (0–10 cm) were collected from two 6-year N addition experiment sites with different vegetation types (mixed Korean pine forest vs. broad-leaved forest) in Northeast China. Carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) production were quantified from the soil samples in the laboratory using gas chromatography with 24-h intervals during the incubation (at 20 °C for 168 h with 80 % field water capacity).Results and discussionThe results showed that the GHG emission/uptake rates were significantly higher in the micro-aggregates than in the macro-aggregates due to the higher concentration of soil bio-chemical properties (DOC, MBC, NO3−, NH4+, SOC and TN) in smaller aggregates. For the N addition treatments, the emission/uptake rates of GHG decreased after N addition across aggregate sizes especially in mixed Korean pine forest where CO2 emission was decreased about 30 %. Similar patterns in GHG emission/uptake rates expressed by per soil organic matter basis were observed in response to N addition treatments, indicating that N addition might decrease the decomposability of SOM in mixed Korean pine forest. The global warming potential (GWP) which was mainly contributed by CO2 emission (>98 %) decreased in mixed Korean pine forest after N addition but no changes in broad-leaved forest.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that soil aggregate size is an important factor controlling GHG emissions through mediating the content of substrate resources in temperate forest ecosystems. The inhibitory effect of N addition on the GHG emission/uptake rates depends on the forest type.