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Abstract BackgroundSoil moisture, pH, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen (DOC, DON) are important soil biogeochemical properties in switchgrass (SG) and gamagrass (GG) croplands. Yet their spatiotemporal patterns under nitrogen (N) fertilization have not been studied. AimsThe objective of this study is to investigate the main and interactive effects of N fertilization and bioenergy crop type on central tendencies and spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture, pH, DOC and DON. MethodsBased on a 3‐year long fertilization experiment in Middle Tennessee, USA, 288 samples of top horizon soils (0–15 cm) under three fertilization treatments in SG and GG croplands were collected. The fertilization treatments were no N input (NN), low N input (LN: 84 kg N ha−1in urea) and high N input (HN: 168 kg N ha−1in urea). Soil moisture, pH, DOC and DON were quantified. And their within‐plot variations and spatial distributions were achieved via descriptive and geostatistical methods. ResultsRelative to NN, LN significantly increased DOC content in SG cropland. LN also elevated within‐plot spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture, pH, DOC and DON in both croplands though GG showed more evident spatial heterogeneity than SG. Despite the pronounced patterns described above, great plot to plot variations were also revealed in each treatment. ConclusionThis study informs the generally low sensitivity of spatiotemporal responses in soil biogeochemical features to fertilizer amendments in bioenergy croplands. However, the significantly positive responses of DOC under low fertilizer input informed the best practice of optimizing agricultural nutrient amendment.
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Soil extracellular oxidases mediated nitrogen fertilization effects on soil organic carbon sequestration in bioenergy croplands
Abstract Nitrogen (N) fertilization significantly affects soil extracellular oxidases, agents responsible for decomposition of slow turnover and recalcitrant soil organic carbon (SOC; e.g., lignin), and consequently influences soil carbon sequestration capacity. However, it remains unclear how soil oxidases mediate SOC sequestration under N fertilization, and whether these effects co‐vary with plant type (e.g., bioenergy crop species). Using a spatially explicit design and intensive soil sampling strategy under three fertilization treatments in switchgrass (SG:Panicum virgatumL.) and gamagrass (GG:Tripsacum dactyloidesL.) croplands, we quantified the activities of polyphenolic oxidase (PHO), peroxidase (PER), and their sum associated with recalcitrant C acquisition (OX). The fertilization treatments included no N fertilizer input (NN), low N input (LN: 84 kg N ha−1 year−1in urea), and high N input (HN: 168 kg N ha−1 year−1in urea). Besides correlations between soil oxidases and SOC (formerly published), both descriptive and geostatistical approaches were applied to evaluate the effects of N fertilization and crop type on soil oxidases activities and their spatial distributions. Results showed significantly negative correlations between soil oxidase activities and SOC across all treatments. The negative relationship of soil oxidases and SOC was also evident under N fertilization. First, LN significantly depressed oxidases in both mean activities and spatial heterogeneity, which corresponded to increased SOC in SG (though by 5.4%). LN slightly influenced oxidases activities and their spatial heterogeneity, consistent with insignificant changes of SOC in GG. Second, HN showed trends of decrease in soil oxidase activities, which aligned with the significantly enhanced SOC in both croplands. Overall, this study demonstrated that soil oxidase activities acted as sensitive and negative mediators of SOC sequestration in bioenergy croplands and optimizing fertilizer use particularly in switchgrass cropland can improve for both carbon sequestration and environmental benefit.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1900885
- PAR ID:
- 10449003
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- GCB Bioenergy
- Volume:
- 13
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 1757-1693
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1303-1318
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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