Soil nitrogen and phosphorus regulate decomposition of organic nitrogen compounds in the rothamsted experiment

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Tang, S., Pan, W., Zhou, J., Ma, Q., Yang, X., Wanek, W., Marsden, K. A., Kuzyakov, Y., Chadwick, D. R., Wu, L., Gregory, A. S. and Jones, D. L. 2024. Soil nitrogen and phosphorus regulate decomposition of organic nitrogen compounds in the rothamsted experiment. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 196, p. 109502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109502

AuthorsTang, S., Pan, W., Zhou, J., Ma, Q., Yang, X., Wanek, W., Marsden, K. A., Kuzyakov, Y., Chadwick, D. R., Wu, L., Gregory, A. S. and Jones, D. L.
Abstract

The effects of long-term N and P fertilisation on soil organic nitrogen (SON) turnover are unclear. We sampled soils fertilised by N and/or P since 1843 at Rothamsted Research to investigate the effects of long-term N and P fertilisation on high- or low-molecular-weight SON decomposition and gross N mineralisation. Short-term assays with added 14C-labelled proteins, peptides, and amino acids and gross organic N mineralisation were measured, and the microbial communities and functions were also assessed in parallel. Long-term N fertilisation increased the contents of soil extractable organic N and peptides but decreased organic N-hydrolysing enzyme activities (N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase and leucine aminopeptidase). Fertilisation with P and N accelerated and reduced the decomposition of 14C-labelled organic N compounds, respectively. The decomposition of peptides and amino acids, as labile SON components, was mainly regulated by soil P content because microbial biomass and activity were more sensitive to P fertilisation than to N fertilisation. Gross NH4+/NO3− production and consumption were accelerated by 41%–60% under N fertilisation but remained unchanged under P fertilisation compared to the unfertilised treatment. Metagenomic sequencing showed that N fertilisation increased microbial diversity and enriched functional genes associated with organic N decomposition, compared to the unfertilised treatment. P fertilisation had no effect on the abundance of these functional genes. In agricultural practices, it is essential to comprehensively consider the interaction between N and P fertilisation to optimise the cycling and utilisation of SON.

KeywordsLong-term experiment; Nitrogen fertilisation; Phosphorus fertilisation; Soil organic nitrogen decomposition; Isotope labelling
Year of Publication2024
JournalSoil Biology and Biochemistry
Journal citation196, p. 109502
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109502
Web address (URL)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109502
Open accessPublished as non-open access
FunderNational Key Technologies R&D Program of China
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeBBSRC National Bioscience Research Infrastructure: Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online18 Jun 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted17 Jun 2024
PublisherElsevier
ISSN0038-0717

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