The responses of soil respiration to nitrogen addition in a temperate grassland in northern China.

Anthropogenic activities have increased nitrogen (N) inputs to grassland ecosystems. Knowledge of the impact of soil N availability on soil respiration (RS) is critical to understand soil carbon balances and their responses to global climate change. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of RS to soil mineral N in a temperate grassland in northern China. RS, abiotic and biotic factors, and N mineralization were measured in the grassland, at rates of N addition ranging from 0 to 25gNm(-2)yr(-1). Annual and dormant-season RS ranged from 241.34 to 283.64g C m(-2) and from 61.34 to 83.84g C m(-2) respectively. High N application significantly increased RS, possibly due to increased root biomass and increased microbial biomass. High N treatment significantly increased soil NO3-N and inorganic N content compared with the control. The ratio of NO3-N to NH4-N and the N mineralization rate were significantly positively correlated with RS, but NH4-N was not correlated or negatively correlated with RS during the growing season. The temperature sensitivity of RS (Q10) was not significantly affected by N levels, and ranged from 1.90 to 2.20, but decreased marginally significantly at high N. RS outside the growing season is an important component of annual RS, accounting for 25.0 to 29.6% of the total. High N application indirectly stimulated RS by increasing soil NO3-N and net nitrification, thereby eliminating soil N limitations, promoting ecosystem productivity, and increasing soil CO2 efflux. Our results show the importance of distinguishing between NO3-N and NH4-N, as their impact on soil CO2 efflux differed.