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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

A CO2 Concentration Gradient Facility for Testing CO2 Enrichment and Soil Effects on Grassland Ecosystem Function
Published on: November 21, 2015
Positive responses of belowground C dynamics to nitrogen enrichment in China
Lei Deng1, Changhui Peng1, Guangyu Zhu2
1State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Center of CEF/ESCER, Department of Biological Science, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, H3C 3P8, Canada.
Abstract:
Determining how nitrogen (N) impacts ecosystem carbon (C) cycling is critical to using C sequestration to offset anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The N deposition rate in China is higher than the global average; however, many results of N enrichment experiments in China have not been included in global syntheses. In this study, we assembled a large dataset that comprised 124 published studies concerning N addition experiments, including 570 observations at 127 sites across China, to quantify the responses of belowground C dynamics to N enrichment in terrestrial ecosystems in China by a meta-analysis. The results showed that overall soil organic C, dissolved organic C (DOC) and soil microbial biomass C (MBC) increased by 1.8, 7.4, and 8.8%, respectively (P<0.05), in response to N enrichment; belowground biomass and litter increased by 14.6 and 24.4%, respectively (P<0.05); and soil respiration increased by 6.1% (P<0.05). N enrichment promoted C inputs into the soil mainly by increasing litter and belowground biomass inputs. Additionally, N enrichment increased C output by increasing soil respiration. Land use type and N addition level had different impacts on the soil C pool and on soil respiration. DOC, MBC, and litter exhibited more positive responses to N deposition in cooler and more arid regions than in other regions. The meta-analysis indicated that N enrichment had a positive impact on belowground C cycles in China. Climate played a greater role than did N deposition level in affecting processes of ecosystem C cycling. Moreover, belowground C cycle processes are determined by complicated interactions among land use type, N enrichment, and climate.
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