Journal article
Influence of nitrogen fertilization on soil ammonia oxidizer and denitrifier abundance, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities in an alpine meadow
XF Tian, HW Hu, Q Ding, MH Song, XL Xu, Y Zheng, LD Guo
Biology and Fertility of Soils | Published : 2014
Abstract
Terrestrial ecosystems are predicted to experience an increasing level of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, which may cause significant shifts in plant community composition and concomitantly stimulate soil acidification. However, little is known concerning the effects of N deposition on belowground microbial communities in alpine grassland ecosystems such as on the Tibetan Plateau. This study examined the responses of soil N-transforming microbes (measured after DNA extraction and quantitative PCR), soil microbial biomass C (SMBC) and N (SMBN), and soil enzyme activities to different forms (NH4 +-N, NO3 --N, and NH4NO3-N) and rates (1.5 and 7.5 g N m-2 year-1, denoted as low and high N, ..
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Awarded by National Natural Science Foundation of China
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Professor Ian C. Anderson, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney for the helpful comments and English improvements. We also appreciate the editor and anonymous referees for their invaluable suggestions and constructive comments. This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 41001149, 31070434, and 31270503). Y.Z. received a fellowship as a visiting scholar from the China Scholarship Council (no. 2011491255).