Pedosphere 35(1): 84--96, 2025
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2025 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Effects of nitrogen enrichment on soil enzyme activities in grassland ecosystems in China: A multilevel meta-analysis |
Jibo SHI1,2,3, Muhammad KHASHI U RAHMAN4, Ruonan MA1,2,3,5, Qiang LI1,2,3 , Yingxin HUANG1,2,3, Guangdi LI6 |
1 Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102 (China)
2 Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Grassland Farming, Changchun 130102 (China)
3 Key Laboratory of Mollisols Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102 (China)
4 Microbiology and Genetics Department & Institute for Agribiotechnology Research (CIALE), University of Salamanca, Salamanca 37007 (Spain)
5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China)
6 New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga Agricultural Instit
ute, Wagga Wagga 2650 (Australia) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Nitrogen (N) enrichment has resulted in widespread alteration of grassland ecosystem processes and functions mainly through disturbance in soil enzyme activities. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how N deposition affects specific key soil enzymes that mediate plant-soil feedback of grassland. Here, with a meta-analysis on 1 446 cases from field observations in China, we show that N deposition differently affects soil enzymes associated with soil biochemical processes. Specifically, N-promoted C, N, and P-acquiring hydrolase activities significantly increased by 8.73%, 7.67%, and 8.69%, respectively, related to an increase in microbial-specific enzyme secretion. The increased relative N availability and soil acidification were two potential mechanisms accounting for the changes in soil enzyme activities with N enrichment. The mixed N addition in combination of NH4NO3 and urea showed greater stimulation effect on soil enzyme activities. However, the high rate and long-term N addition tended to weaken the positive responses of soil C-, Nand P-acquiring hydrolase activities to N enrichment. Spatially increased mean annual precipitation and temperature primarily promoted the positive effects of N enrichment on N- and P-acquiring hydrolase activities, and the stimulation of C- and N-acquiring hydrolase activities by N enrichment was intensified with the increase in soil depth. Finally, multimodal inference showed that grassland type was the most important regulator of responses of microbial C, N, and P-acquiring hydrolase activities to N enrichment. This meta-analysis provides a comprehensive insight into understanding the key role of N enrichment in shaping soil enzyme activities of grassland ecosystems. |
| Key Words: C,N,and P-acquiring hydrolases,grassland type,model selection,N addition,oxidase,soil acidification |
| Citation: Shi J B, Khashi U Rahman M, Ma R N, Li Q, Huang Y X, Li G. 2025. Effects of nitrogen enrichment on soil enzyme activities in grassland ecosystems in China: A multilevel meta-analysis. Pedosphere. 35(1): 84-96. |
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