Soil priming effect (SPE) refers to the phenomenon of the increasing or decreasing decomposition rate of soil organic matter (SOM) induced by plant carbon inputs, and is a key mechanism to regulate the SOM decomposition. Tropical and subtropical forests play a vital role in the global carbon cycle and the regulation of global climate change, and they are typical ecosystems rich in nitrogen (N) and poor in phosphorus (P). P is the main nutrient that limits the microbial metabolic processes and SOM decomposition in the forests, and the increasing atmospheric N deposition has further enhanced P limitation. However, how long-term N deposition affects the soil PE in tropical and subtropical forests remains unclear. The limited research on the impact of in-situ nitrogen deposition on SPE in the field is mainly based on nitrogen-limited ecosystems. The findings reveal a new mechanism of soil carbon circulation in tropical and subtropical forests with long-term N deposition regulating P limitation, and provide new insights in terms of mechanisms into their soil carbon acquisition dynamics in the context of global change.
Recently, the findings made by researchers from Fujian Sanming Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station in the study of how long-term N deposition affects the SPE in subtropical forests and its microbial mechanism, entitled “Long-term nitrogen deposition inhibits soil priming effects by enhancing phosphorus limitation in a subtropical forest”, have been published in the world-renowned ecology journal, Global Change Biology. FNU is the first signature unit, with Wang Xiaohong, a postdoctoral student, as the first author and Prof. Chen Guangshui and associate researcher Lv Maokui as the co-corresponding authors. Co-authors also include Zhu Biao, a researcher from Peking University and Peter M. Homyak, an assistant professor from University of California, Riverside, California, USA. The research was funded by the Sub-Project of National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Paper link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.16718
(Translated by Zheng Ying/Reviewed by Xie Xiujuan)