Global Patterns and Drivers of Litter Decomposition Under Nitrogen Enrichment: A Meta-Analysis

Nitrogen (N) enrichment has substantially altered patterns of terrestrial litter decomposition, with positive, neutral, and negative effects. However, the general response patterns and drivers of litter decomposition to N enrichment rates are poorly understood, and how litter decomposition has changed under the N enrichment rate, especially in different ecosystems, still requires further study. We reviewed 118 published papers dealing with litter mass remaining after N enrichment to assess the influences of various environmental and experimental factors on the relationships between N enrichment and litter decomposition in grasslands, forests, and wetland ecosystems. The results indicated that N enrichment had an insignificant effect on litter decomposition globally. However, the effects varied greatly among ecosystem types, with an increase in litter decomposition of 3.91% in grasslands and 1.82% in wetlands and a decrease of 1.23% in forests. When forests were subdivided into plantations, primary, and secondary forests, the results showed that N enrichment significantly slowed litter decomposition rate by 2.96% in plantations but had no significant influence in primary and secondary forests. However, litter decomposition was significantly influenced by the level of N addition in plantations and secondary forests, with an increase in litter mass loss at low N addition (50 kg N ha–1 year–1) and a decrease in litter mass loss at high N addition (>50 kg N ha–1 year–1). The magnitude and direction of the N effect are affected by experimental and environmental factors. Specifically, mixed N enrichment (for example, urea and glycine) exerted a stronger effect on litter decomposition compared with an N fertilizer alone. Our findings indicated the different effects of N on litter decomposition in forests and grasslands and knowledge which will greatly advance our ability to accurately evaluate and predict global C cycling under increased N deposition, which should improve future models of global biogeochemical cycling.

[1]  Cumulative effects , 2021, The Second World Ocean Assessment.

[2]  Yiqi Luo,et al.  Fine-root functional trait responses to experimental warming: a global meta-analysis. , 2021, The New phytologist.

[3]  Yan-gui Su,et al.  [Effects of exogenous nitrogen addition on litter decomposition and nutrient release in a temperate desert]. , 2020, Ying yong sheng tai xue bao = The journal of applied ecology.

[4]  T. Urich,et al.  Divergent drivers of the microbial methane sink in temperate forest and grassland soils , 2020, Global change biology.

[5]  Shirong Liu,et al.  Impacts of forest management intensity on carbon accumulation of China’s forest plantations , 2020 .

[6]  S. Sistla,et al.  Increasing rates of long-term nitrogen deposition consistently increased litter decomposition in a semi-arid grassland. , 2020, The New phytologist.

[7]  B. Berg,et al.  Response of fine root decomposition to different forms of N deposition in a temperate grassland , 2020 .

[8]  R. Aerts,et al.  Decomposition of leaf litter mixtures across biomes: The role of litter identity, diversity and soil fauna , 2020, Journal of Ecology.

[9]  Xuejun Liu,et al.  Effect of N stabilizers on fertilizer-N fate in the soil-crop system: A meta-analysis , 2020 .

[10]  Qinggong Mao,et al.  Responses of Foliar Nutrient Status and Stoichiometry to Nitrogen Addition in Different Ecosystems: A Meta‐analysis , 2020, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.

[11]  Min Liu,et al.  Effects of nitrogen addition on above-and belowground litter decomposition and nutrient dynamics in the litter-soil continuum in the temperate steppe of Inner Mongolia, China , 2020 .

[12]  C. Peng,et al.  Soil GHG fluxes are altered by N deposition: New data indicate lower N stimulation of the N2O flux and greater stimulation of the calculated C pools , 2019, Global change biology.

[13]  Jun Jiang,et al.  Divergent responses of soil organic carbon accumulation to 14 years of nitrogen addition in two typical subtropical forests. , 2019, The Science of the total environment.

[14]  A. S. Grandy,et al.  Anthropogenic N deposition alters soil organic matter biochemistry and microbial communities on decaying fine roots , 2019, Global change biology.

[15]  B. Berg,et al.  Effects of different forms of N deposition on leaf litter decomposition and extracellular enzyme activities in a temperate grassland , 2019, Soil Biology and Biochemistry.

[16]  E. Allan,et al.  Decomposition disentangled: a test of the multiple mechanisms by which nitrogen enrichment alters litter decomposition , 2019, bioRxiv.

[17]  A. Austin,et al.  The importance of macro- and micro-nutrients over climate for leaf litter decomposition and nutrient release in Patagonian temperate forests , 2019, Forest Ecology and Management.

[18]  C. Goodale,et al.  Effects of climate warming on carbon fluxes in grasslands— A global meta‐analysis , 2019, Global change biology.

[19]  Xiao-dong Liu,et al.  Soil moisture drives microbial controls on carbon decomposition in two subtropical forests , 2019, Soil Biology and Biochemistry.

[20]  B. Berg,et al.  A test of manganese effects on decomposition in forest and cropland sites , 2019, Soil Biology and Biochemistry.

[21]  W. Silver,et al.  Global patterns in fine root decomposition: climate, chemistry, mycorrhizal association and woodiness. , 2018, Ecology letters.

[22]  S. Frey,et al.  Manganese limitation as a mechanism for reduced decomposition in soils under atmospheric nitrogen deposition , 2018, Soil Biology and Biochemistry.

[23]  Xinhou Zhang,et al.  Nitrogen Input Increases Deyeuxia angustifolia Litter Decomposition and Enzyme Activities in a Marshland Ecosystem in Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China , 2018, Wetlands.

[24]  Kai Yue,et al.  Nutrient-limited conditions determine the responses of foliar nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry to nitrogen addition: A global meta-analysis. , 2018, Environmental pollution.

[25]  X. Han,et al.  Quantifying the indirect effects of nitrogen deposition on grassland litter chemical traits , 2018, Biogeochemistry.

[26]  Han Y. H. Chen,et al.  Responses of litter decomposition and nutrient release to N addition: A meta-analysis of terrestrial ecosystems , 2018, Applied Soil Ecology.

[27]  C. Averill,et al.  Nitrogen limitation of decomposition and decay: How can it occur? , 2018, Global change biology.

[28]  W. Conner.  Litter Decomposition , 2018 .

[29]  Yiqi Luo,et al.  Patterns and mechanisms of responses by soil microbial communities to nitrogen addition , 2017 .

[30]  Yuanhe Yang,et al.  Global patterns of root dynamics under nitrogen enrichment , 2017 .

[31]  Guirui Yu,et al.  Effects of nitrogen deposition on carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems of China: A meta-analysis. , 2015, Environmental pollution.

[32]  S. Frey,et al.  Changes in litter quality caused by simulated nitrogen deposition reinforce the N-induced suppression of litter decay , 2015 .

[33]  A. Datta,et al.  Long‐term changes in soil pH across major forest ecosystems in China , 2015 .

[34]  L. Mommer,et al.  Going underground: root traits as drivers of ecosystem processes. , 2014, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[35]  P. Boeckx,et al.  Litterfall and leaf litter decomposition in a central African tropical mountain forest and Eucalyptus plantation , 2014 .

[36]  Kelin Wang,et al.  [Stoichiometric characteristics of plant and soil C, N and P in different forest types in depressions between karst hills, southwest China]. , 2014, Ying yong sheng tai xue bao = The journal of applied ecology.

[37]  W. Wanek,et al.  Stoichiometric imbalances between terrestrial decomposer communities and their resources: mechanisms and implications of microbial adaptations to their resources , 2014, Front. Microbiol..

[38]  Weidong Zhang,et al.  Fate of Chinese-fir litter during decomposition as a result of inorganic N additions , 2014 .

[39]  Corinne Le Quéré,et al.  Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles , 2014 .

[40]  M. Nilsson,et al.  Manganese dynamics in decomposing needle and leaf litter — a synthesis , 2013 .

[41]  C. Peng,et al.  A climate change‐induced threat to the ecological resilience of a subtropical monsoon evergreen broad‐leaved forest in Southern China , 2013, Global change biology.

[42]  S. Hobbie,et al.  Response of decomposing litter and its microbial community to multiple forms of nitrogen enrichment , 2012 .

[43]  Pete Smith,et al.  Significant soil acidification across northern China's grasslands during 1980s–2000s , 2012 .

[44]  Weidong Zhang,et al.  Effects of NH4+ and NO3− on litter and soil organic carbon decomposition in a Chinese fir plantation forest in South China , 2012 .

[45]  N. Fierer,et al.  Impacts of nitrogen fertilization on volatile organic compound emissions from decomposing plant litter , 2012 .

[46]  Rob Knight,et al.  Comparative metagenomic, phylogenetic and physiological analyses of soil microbial communities across nitrogen gradients , 2011, The ISME Journal.

[47]  Changchun Song,et al.  Effect of nitrogen addition on decomposition of Calamagrostis angustifolia litters from freshwater marshes of Northeast China , 2011 .

[48]  A. Austin,et al.  Nitrogen addition stimulates forest litter decomposition and disrupts species interactions in Patagonia, Argentina , 2011 .

[49]  Guoyi Zhou,et al.  Controls of litter quality on the carbon sink in soils through partitioning the products of decomposing litter in a forest succession series in South China , 2011 .

[50]  Bo Li,et al.  Responses of ecosystem nitrogen cycle to nitrogen addition: a meta-analysis. , 2011, The New phytologist.

[51]  Lingli Liu,et al.  A global perspective on belowground carbon dynamics under nitrogen enrichment. , 2010, Ecology letters.

[52]  Jianguo Wu,et al.  Tradeoffs and thresholds in the effects of nitrogen addition on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: evidence from inner Mongolia Grasslands , 2010 .

[53]  Jianhui Huang,et al.  Litter decomposition and nutrient release as affected by soil nitrogen availability and litter quality in a semiarid grassland ecosystem , 2010, Oecologia.

[54]  S. Allison,et al.  Low levels of nitrogen addition stimulate decomposition by boreal forest fungi , 2009 .

[55]  A. Talhelm,et al.  Simulated atmospheric NO3- deposition increases soil organic matter by slowing decomposition. , 2008, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[56]  K. Treseder.  Nitrogen additions and microbial biomass: a meta-analysis of ecosystem studies. , 2008, Ecology letters.

[57]  J. Xia,et al.  Global response patterns of terrestrial plant species to nitrogen addition. , 2008, The New phytologist.

[58]  B. Emmett,et al.  Decomposition of oak leaf litter is related to initial litter Mn concentrations , 2007 .

[59]  Hui Wang,et al.  Cumulative effects of nitrogen additions on litter decomposition in three tropical forests in southern China , 2007, Plant and Soil.

[60]  B. Berg,et al.  Litter Decomposition: a guide to Carbon and Nutrient Turnover , 2006 .

[61]  Sandra Brown,et al.  Response of Litter Decomposition to Simulated N Deposition in Disturbed, Rehabilitated and Mature Forests in Subtropical China , 2006, Plant and Soil.

[62]  Peter S. Curtis,et al.  NITROGEN ADDITIONS AND LITTER DECOMPOSITION: A META-ANALYSIS , 2005 .

[63]  Peter E. Thornton,et al.  Assessing future nitrogen deposition and carbon cycle feedback using a multimodel approach: Analysis of nitrogen deposition , 2005 .

[64]  Peijun Shi,et al.  Comparing soil organic carbon dynamics in plantation and secondary forest in wet tropics in Puerto Rico , 2005 .

[65]  R. Sinsabaugh,et al.  MICROBIAL ENZYME SHIFTS EXPLAIN LITTER DECAY RESPONSES TO SIMULATED NITROGEN DEPOSITION , 2000 .

[66]  S. Hobbie.  Interactions between Litter Lignin and Nitrogenitter Lignin and Soil Nitrogen Availability during Leaf Litter Decomposition in a Hawaiian Montane Forest , 2000, Ecosystems.

[67]  J. Armesto,et al.  Original Articles: Nitrogen Mineralization in Two Unpolluted Old-Growth Forests of Contrasting Biodiversity and Dynamics , 1998, Ecosystems.

[68]  R. B. Jackson,et al.  Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition , 1997, Science.

[69]  D. Schimel,et al.  Terrestrial ecosystems and the carbon cycle , 1995 .

[70]  W. Schlesinger,et al.  The global carbon dioxide flux in soil respiration and its relationship to vegetation and climate , 1992 .

[71]  W. B. Webb,et al.  What is a test? , 1955, Medical technicians bulletin.