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Effect of added nitrogen on plant litter decomposition depends on initial soil carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry

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Finn, D., Page, K., Catton, K., Strounina, E., Kienzle, M., Robertson, F., Armstrong, R. and Dalal, R. (2015) Effect of added nitrogen on plant litter decomposition depends on initial soil carbon and nitrogen stoichiometry. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 91 . pp. 160-168. ISSN 0038-0717

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Article Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.09.001

Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003807171500320X

Abstract

Increasing organic carbon inputs to agricultural soils through the use of pastures or crop residues has been suggested as a means of restoring soil organic carbon lost via anthropogenic activities, such as land use change. However, the decomposition and retention of different plant residues in soil, and how these processes are affected by soil properties and nitrogen fertiliser application, is not fully understood. We evaluated the rate and extent of decomposition of 13C-pulse labelled plant material in response to nitrogen addition in four pasture soils of varying physico-chemical characteristics. Microbial respiration of buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) residues was monitored over 365-days. A double exponential model fitted to the data suggested that microbial respiration occurred as an early rapid and a late slow stage. A weighted three-compartment mixing model estimated the decomposition of both soluble and insoluble plant 13C (mg C kg−1 soil). Total plant material decomposition followed the alkyl C: O-alkyl C ratio of plant material, as determined by solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Urea-N addition increased the decomposition of insoluble plant 13C in some soils (≤0.1% total nitrogen) but not others (0.3% total nitrogen). Principal components regression analysis indicated that 26% of the variability of plant material decomposition was explained by soil physico-chemical characteristics (P = 0.001), which was primarily described by the C:N ratio. We conclude that plant species with increasing alkyl C: O-alkyl C ratio are better retained as soil organic matter, and that the C:N stoichiometry of soils determines whether N addition leads to increases in soil organic carbon stocks.

Item Type:Article
Business groups:Animal Science
Keywords:Soil organic carbon Nitrogen Decomposition Vertisol Alfisol
Subjects:Agriculture > Agriculture (General) > Soils. Soil science > Soil chemistry
Agriculture > Agriculture (General) > Soils. Soil science > Soil and crops. Soil-plant relationships. Soil productivity
Live Archive:01 Feb 2016 23:56
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:50

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