Contrasting effects of litter and root removals on soil N2O emissions of an evergreen broadleaved forest in southeastern China
Zhang, Lei (Fujian Normal University)
Lin, Weisheng (Fujian Normal University. Institute of Geography)
Sardans i Galobart, Jordi (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Xu, Enlan (Fujian Normal University)
Hui, Dafeng (Tennessee State University. Department of Biological Sciences)
Liu, Xiaofei (Fujian Normal University)
Wang, Jinsong (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research)
Chen, Shidong (Fujian Normal University. Institute of Geography)
Guo, Jianfen (Fujian Normal University. Institute of Geography)
Peñuelas, Josep (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Yang, Yusheng (Fujian Normal University. Institute of Geography)

Data:	2025
Resum:	Impacts of global change on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, specifically related to alterations in leaf litter and root mass inputs to forest soils, remain uncertain. In this study, we removed litter and roots by placing nylon nets above and below ground, respectively, to investigate the effects of reduced litter (L), roots (R), and combined removal of litter and roots (LR) in a semi-natural evergreen broadleaved forest. We examined how these manipulations influenced soil N2O emissions and associated drivers over a 12-month period. Our findings indicate that annual soil N2O emissions were reduced by 31. 4 % and 38. 9 % under the L and LR treatments, respectively, while emissions increased by 10. 1 % under R treatment. Net ammonification rates increased under the R treatment, whereas the rates decreased under the LR treatment. Reduced leaf litter inputs resulted in a decrease in soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and an increase in nitrate (NO3-) concentration. Root removal led to a decline in dissolved organic nitrogen and NO3- concentration. We identified key drivers of soil N2O emissions as soil water content, NO3- concentration, and soil microbial community composition. The reduction in DOC resulting from litter removal constrained the activity of denitrifying bacteria, leading to a decrease in soil N2O emissions. Conversely, the removal of root material promoted a higher ratio of ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM) to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), indicating a greater restriction on NO3- uptake by AMF. This reduction in root NO3- uptake resulted in an excess release of NO3- in the soil. In the presence of DOC, this excess was not mitigated in the R treatment, consequently promoting soil N2O emissions. Our study highlights that root removal increases the ECM/AMF ratio and thus increases N2O emissions, while litter removal reduces N2O emissions by reducing soil water content and DOC content.
Ajuts:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación TED2021-132627B-I00
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Matèria:	Detritus removal manipulations ; Nitrous oxide emission ; Nitrogen form ; Evergreen broadleaved forest
Publicat a:	Applied Soil Ecology, Vol. 206 (February 2025) , art. 105867, ISSN 1873-0272

DOI: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.105867

Disponible a partir de: 2027-02-28 Postprint 40 p, 479.4 KB

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