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Long‐term, amplified responses of soil organic carbon to nitrogen addition worldwide
Author(s) -
Xu Chonghua,
Xu Xia,
Ju Chenghui,
Chen Han Y. H.,
Wilsey Brian J.,
Luo Yiqi,
Fan Wei
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/gcb.15489
Subject(s) - soil carbon , environmental science , ecosystem , carbon sequestration , soil respiration , soil water , biomass (ecology) , carbon sink , nitrogen , soil organic matter , climate change , total organic carbon , ecosystem respiration , environmental chemistry , soil science , ecology , primary production , carbon dioxide , chemistry , biology , organic chemistry
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the largest carbon sink in terrestrial ecosystems and plays a critical role in mitigating climate change. Increasing reactive nitrogen (N) in ecosystems caused by anthropogenic N input substantially affects SOC dynamics. However, uncertainties remain concerning the effects of N addition on SOC in both organic and mineral soil layers over time at the global scale. Here, we analysed a large empirical data set spanning 60 years across 369 sites worldwide to explore the temporal dynamics of SOC to N addition. We found that N addition significantly increased SOC across the globe by 4.2% (2.7%–5.8%). SOC increases were amplified from short‐ to long‐term N addition durations in both organic and mineral soil layers. The positive effects of N addition on SOC were independent of ecosystem types, mean annual temperature and precipitation. Our findings suggest that SOC increases largely resulted from the enhanced plant C input to soils coupled with reduced C loss from decomposition and amplification was associated with reduced microbial biomass and respiration under long‐term N addition. Our study suggests that N addition will enhance SOC sequestration over time and contribute to future climate change mitigation.