Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of nitrogen deposition and fertilization on N transformations in forest soils: a review

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Review Article
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 26 February 2015

Abstract

Purpose

Understanding how process-specific nitrogen (N) transformations in natural forest soils are modified by N deposition and fertilization is critically important to gain mechanistic insights on the links between global N deposition and N enrichment and loss in forest soils.

Materials and methods

Here we identify the general characteristics and the main mechanisms of N deposition- and fertilization-induced modifications in multiple N transformations, including N immobilization, N mineralization, nitrification (autotrophic nitrification and heterotrophic nitrification), and denitrification, in forest soils by literature survey.

Results and discussion

Overall, N status, soil C/N ratios, C availability, and soil pH are key factors separately and/or interactively affecting the effects of N deposition and fertilization on forest soil N transformations. In the N-limited stage, N deposition and fertilization can act as a stimulator of N mineralization by removing microbial N limitation and reducing the C/N ratios of the substrate being decomposed. In the N-unlimited stage, N added to forest ecosystems can retard N mineralization, which may primarily be a result of decreased microbial activity due to soil acidification and low C availability. The changes in N mineralization may drive a corresponding change in N immobilization, autotrophic nitrification, and denitrification. Despite the fact that ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) has a higher affinity than ammonia-oxidizers (AOB) for low-concentration ammonia (NH3), low NH3 availability may still limit the rate of ammonia oxidation (autotrophic nitrification) in acidic forest soils even in the case of high NH4 + input. Heterotrophic nitrification, however, may be favored if soil C/N ratios and pH decrease with N deposition and fertilization. The responses of denitrification and N2O emission to N deposition and fertilization in forests may be nonlinear, with a trend of stimulation in the short term but a decline over time, partly because soil pH has a contrast effect on denitrification capacity and N2O emission.

Conclusions

There are various effects of N deposition and fertilization on forest soil N transformations; thus, their responses to N deposition are still not well characterized and understood. N deposition- and fertilization-induced modifications in soil N transformations have important implications for N enrichment, N loss, and soil acidification in forest ecosystems. In the future, more research is required to investigate on dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) process and link microbial community characteristics and functions of microbial extracellular enzymes with these rate processes in forest soils to narrow the uncertainty in evaluating and predicting ecosystem responses to global N deposition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aber JD, Nadelhoffer KJ, Steudler P, Melillo JM (1989) Nitrogen saturation in northern forest ecosystems. Bioscience 39:378–386

    Google Scholar 

  • Aber J, McDowell W, Nadelhoffer K, Magill A, Berntson G, Kamakea M, McNulty S, Currie W, Rustad L, Fernandez I (1998) Nitrogen saturation in temperate forest ecosystems—hypotheses revisited. Bioscience 48:921–934

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambus P, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S, Butterbach-Bahl K (2006) Sources of nitrous oxide emitted from European forest soils. Biogeosciences 3:135–145

  • Aronson EL, Allison SD (2012) Meta-analysis of environmental impacts on nitrous oxide release in response to N amendment. Front Microbiol 3:272

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barnard R, Leadley PW, Hungate BA (2005) Global change, nitrification, and denitrification: a review. Glob Biogeochem Cycles. doi:10.1029/2004GB002282

    Google Scholar 

  • Bárta J, Melichova T, Vanek D, Picek T, Santruckova H (2010) Effect of pH and dissolved organic matter on the abundance of nirK and nirS denitrifiers in spruce forest soil. Biogeochemistry 101:123–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Bengtsson G, Bergwall C (2000) Fate of 15 N labelled nitrate and ammonium in a fertilized forest soil. Soil Biol Biochem 32:545–557

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bengtsson G, Bengtson P, Mansson KF (2003) Gross nitrogen mineralization-, immobilization-, and nitrification rates as a function of soil C/N ratio and microbial activity. Soil Biol Biochem 35:143–154

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berg B, Meentemeyer V (2002) Litter quality in a north European transect versus carbon storage potential. Plant Soil 242:83–92

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bergkvist B, Folkeson L (1992) Soil Acidification and Element Fluxes of a Fagus-Sylvatica Forest as Influenced by Simulated Nitrogen Deposition. Water Air Soil Poll 65:111–133

  • Booth MS, Stark JM, Rastetter E (2005) Controls on nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems: a synthetic analysis of literature data. Ecol Monogr 75:139–157

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenner R, Boone RD, Ruess RW (2005) Nitrogen additions to pristine, high-latitude, forest ecosystems: consequences for soil nitrogen transformations and retention in mid and late succession. Biogeochemistry 72:257–282

    Google Scholar 

  • Butterbach-Bahl K, Gasche R, Huber C, Kreutzer K, Papen H (1998) Impact of N-input by wet deposition on N-trace gas fluxes and CH4-oxidation in spruce forest ecosystems of the temperate zone in Europe. Atmos Environ 32:559–564

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Butterbach-Bahl K, Breuer L, Gasche R, Willibald G, Papen H (2002) Exchange of trace gases between soils and the atmosphere in Scots pine forest ecosystems of the northeastern German lowlands 1. Fluxes of N2O, NO/NO2 and CH4 at forest sites with different N-deposition. For Ecol Manag 167:123–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Carreiro MM, Sinsabaugh RL, Repert DA, Parkhurst DF (2000) Microbial enzyme shifts explain litter decay responses to simulated nitrogen deposition. Ecology 81:2359–2365

    Google Scholar 

  • Compton JE, Watrud LS, Porteous LA, DeGrood S (2004) Response of soil microbial biomass and community composition to chronic nitrogen additions at Harvard forest. For Ecol Manag 196:143–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Corre MD, Beese FO, Brumme R (2003) Soil nitrogen cycle in high nitrogen deposition forest: changes under nitrogen saturation and liming. Ecol Appl 13:287–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Corre MD, Brumme R, Veldkamp E, Beese FO (2007) Changes in nitrogen cycling and retention processes in soils under spruce forests along a nitrogen enrichment gradient in Germany. Glob Chang Biol 13:1509–1527

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Swank WT, Perry TO (1986) Distinguishing between nitrification and denitrification as sources of gaseous nitrogen production in soil. Appl Environ Microbiol 52:1280–1286

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De Boer W, Kowalchuk GA (2001) Nitrification in acid soils: micro-organisms and mechanisms. Soil Biol Biochem 33:853–866

    Google Scholar 

  • DeForest JL, Smemo KA, Burke DJ, Elliott HL, Becker JC (2012) Soil microbial responses to elevated phosphorus and pH in acidic temperate deciduous forests. Biogeochemistry 109:189–202

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Demoling F, Nilsson LO, Baath E (2008) Bacterial and fungal response to nitrogen fertilization in three coniferous forest soils. Soil Biol Biochem 40:370–379

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eickenscheidt N, Brumme R, Veldkamp E (2011) Direct contribution of nitrogen deposition to nitrous oxide emissions in a temperate beech and spruce forest—a 15 N tracer study. Biogeosciences 8:621–635

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenlord SD, Freedman Z, Zak DR, Xue K, He ZL, Zhou JZ (2013) Microbial Mechanisms Mediating Increased Soil C Storage under Elevated Atmospheric N Deposition. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 79:1191–1199

  • Enowashu E, Poll C, Lamersdorf N, Kandeler E (2009) Microbial biomass and enzyme activities under reduced nitrogen deposition in a spruce forest soil. Appl Soil Ecol 43:11–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Ernfors M, Rutting T, Klemedtsson L (2011) Increased nitrous oxide emissions from a drained organic forest soil after exclusion of ectomycorrhizal mycelia. Plant Soil 343:161–170

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eylar OR Jr, Schmidt EL (1959) A survey of heterotrophic micro-organisms from soil for ability to form nitrite and nitrate. J Gen Microbiol 20:473–481

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang YT, Mo JM, Gundersen P, Zhou GY, Li DJ (2004) Nitrogen transformations in forest soils and its responses to atmospheric nitrogen deposition: a review (in Chinese). Acta Ecol Sin 2004:1523–1531

    Google Scholar 

  • Fang YT, Yoh M, Koba K, Zhu WX, Takebayashi Y, Xiao YH, Lei CY, Mo JM, Zhang W, Lu XK (2011) Nitrogen deposition and forest nitrogen cycling along an urban-rural transect in southern China. Glob Chang Biol 17:872–885

    Google Scholar 

  • Fluckiger W, Braun S (1998) Nitrogen deposition in Swiss forests and its possible relevance for leaf nutrient status, parasite attacks and soil acidification. Environ Pollut 102:69–76

  • Fog K (1988) The effect of added nitrogen on the rate of decomposition of organic-matter. Biol Rev 63:433–462

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey SD, Knorr M, Parrent JL, Simpson RT (2004) Chronic nitrogen enrichment affects the structure and function of the soil microbial community in temperate hardwood and pine forests. For Ecol Manag 196:159–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Galloway JN, Aber JD, Erisman JW, Seitzinger SP, Howarth RW, Cowling EB, Cosby BJ (2003) The nitrogen cascade. Bioscience 53:341–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Galloway JN, Townsend AR, Erisman JW, Bekunda M, Cai ZC, Freney JR, Martinelli LA, Seitzinger SP, Sutton MA (2008) Transformation of the nitrogen cycle: recent trends, questions, and potential solutions. Science 320:889–892

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao W, Cheng S, Fang H, Chen Y, Yu G, Zhou M, Zhang P, Xu M (2013) Effects of simulated atmospheric nitrogen deposition on inorganic nitrogen content and acidification in a cold-temperate coniferous forest soil. Acta Ecol Sin 33:114–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Goulding KWT, Bailey NJ, Bradbury NJ, Hargreaves P, Howe M, Murphy DV, Poulton PR, Willison TW (1998) Nitrogen deposition and its contribution to nitrogen cycling and associated soil processes. New Phytol 139:49–58

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gundersen P (1991) Nitrogen deposition and the forest nitrogen-cycle—role of denitrification. For Ecol Manag 44:15–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Gundersen P, Rasmussen L (1995) Nitrogen mobility in a nitrogen limited forest at Klosterhede, Denmark, examined by NH4NO3 addition. For Ecol Manag 71:75–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Gundersen P, Emmett BA, Kjonaas OJ, Koopmans CJ, Tietema A (1998) Impact of nitrogen deposition on nitrogen cycling in forests: a synthesis of NITREX data. For Ecol Manag 101:37–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Gundersen P, Christiansen JR, Alberti G, Bruggemann N, Castaldi S, Gasche R, Kitzler B, Klemedtsson L, Lobo-do-Vale R, Moldan F, Rutting T, Schleppi P, Weslien P, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S (2012) The response of methane and nitrous oxide fluxes to forest change in Europe. Biogeosciences 9:3999–4012

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hagedorn F, Spinnler D, Bundt M, Blaser P, Siegwolf R (2003) The input and fate of new C in two forest soils under elevated CO2. Glob Chang Biol 9:862–872

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall SJ, Matson PA (1999) Nitrogen oxide emissions after nitrogen additions in tropical forests. Nature 400:152–155

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hart SC, Firestone MK, Paul EA, Smith JL (1993) Flow and fate of soil nitrogen in an annual grassland and a young mixed-conifer forest. Soil Biol Biochem 25:431–442

    Google Scholar 

  • Hietz P, Turner BL, Wanek W, Richter A, Nock CA, Wright SJ (2011) Long-term change in the nitrogen cycle of tropical forests. Science 334:664–666

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge A, Robinson D, Fitter A (2000) Are microorganisms more effective than plants at competing for nitrogen? Trends Plant Sci 5:304–308

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hogberg P, Fan HB, Quist M, Binkley D, Tamm CO (2006) Tree growth and soil acidification in response to 30 years of experimental nitrogen loading on boreal forest. Global Change Biol 12:489–499

  • Horváth L, Fuhrer E, Lajtha K (2006) Nitric oxide and nitrous oxide emission from Hungarian forest soils; linked with atmospheric N-deposition. Atmos Environ 40:7786–7795

    Google Scholar 

  • Huygens D, Rütting T, Boeckx P, Van Cleemput O, Godoy R, Mueller C (2007) Soil nitrogen conservation mechanisms in a pristine south Chilean Nothofagus forest ecosystem. Soil Biol Biochem 39:2448–2458

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Inselsbacher E, Wanek W, Strauss J, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S, Muller C (2013) A novel 15 N tracer model reveals: plant nitrate uptake governs nitrogen transformation rates in agricultural soils. Soil Biol Biochem 57:301–310

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Janssens IA, Dieleman W, Luyssaert S, Subke JA, Reichstein M, Ceulemans R, Ciais P, Dolman AJ, Grace J, Matteucci G, Papale D, Piao SL, Schulze ED, Tang J, Law BE (2010) Reduction of forest soil respiration in response to nitrogen deposition. Nat Geosci 3:315–322

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jassal RS, Black TA, Roy R, Ethier G (2011) Effect of nitrogen fertilization on soil CH4 and N2O fluxes, and soil and bole respiration. Geoderma 162:182–186

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan FL, Cantera JJL, Fenn ME, Stein LY (2005) Autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria contribute minimally to nitrification in a nitrogen-impacted forested ecosystem. Appl Environ Microbiol 71:197–206

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kandeler E, Brune T, Enowashu E, Dorr N, Guggenberger G, Lamersdorf N, Philippot L (2009) Response of total and nitrate-dissimilating bacteria to reduced N deposition in a spruce forest soil profile. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 67:444–454

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaye JP, Hart SC (1997) Competition for nitrogen between plants and soil microorganisms. Trends Ecol Evol 12:139–143

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kowalchuk GA, Stephen JR (2001) Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria: a model for molecular microbial ecology. Annu Rev Microbiol 55:485–529

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kulkarni MV, Burgin AJ, Groffman PM, Yavitt JB (2014) A comparison of denitrification rates as measured using direct flux and 15 N tracer methods in northeastern forest soils. Biogeochemistry 117:359–373

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuzyakov Y, Xu XL (2013) Competition between roots and microorganisms for nitrogen: mechanisms and ecological relevance. New Phytol 198:656–669

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lamarque JF et al (2005) Assessing future nitrogen deposition and carbon cycle feedback using a multimodel approach: analysis of nitrogen deposition. J Geophys Res-Atmos 110, D19303. doi:10.1029/2005JD005825

    Google Scholar 

  • Laughlin RJ, Stevens RJ (2002) Evidence for fungal dominance of denitrification and codenitrification in a grassland soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 66:1540–1548

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Levy-Booth DJ, Prescott CE, Grayston SJ (2014) Microbial functional genes involved in nitrogen fixation, nitrification and denitrification in forest ecosystems. Soil Biol Biochem 75:11–25

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lilleskov EA, Fahey TJ, Lovett GM (2001) Ectomycorrhizal fungal aboveground community change over an atmospheric nitrogen deposition gradient. Ecol Appl 11:397–410

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilleskov EA, Fahey TJ, Horton TR, Lovett GM (2002) Belowground ectomycorrhizal fungal community change over a nitrogen deposition gradient in Alaska. Ecology 83:104–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu LL, Greaver TL (2009) A review of nitrogen enrichment effects on three biogenic GHGs: the CO2 sink may be largely offset by stimulated N2O and CH4 emission. Ecol Lett 12:1103–1117

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu LL, Greaver TL (2010) A global perspective on belowground carbon dynamics under nitrogen enrichment. Ecol Lett 13:819–828

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu KH, Fang YT, Yu FM, Liu QA, Li FR, Peng SL (2010) Soil acidification in response to acid deposition in three subtropical forests of subtropical China. Pedosphere 20:399–408

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lovett GM, Rueth H (1999) Soil nitrogen transformations in beech and maple stands along a nitrogen deposition gradient. Ecol Appl 9:1330–1344

    Google Scholar 

  • Lu XK, Mo JM, Gilliam FS, Zhou GY, Fang YT (2010) Effects of experimental nitrogen additions on plant diversity in an old-growth tropical forest. Glob Chang Biol 16:2688–2700

    Google Scholar 

  • Magill AH, Aber JD, Hendricks JJ, Bowden RD, Melillo JM, Steudler PA (1997) Biogeochemical response of forest ecosystems to simulated chronic nitrogen deposition. Ecol Appl 7:402–415

    Google Scholar 

  • Magill AH, Aber JD, Currie WS, Nadelhoffer KJ, Martin ME, McDowell WH, Melillo JM, Steudler P (2004) Ecosystem response to 15 years of chronic nitrogen additions at the Harvard Forest LTER, Massachusetts, USA. For Ecol Manag 196:7–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Matson PA, McDowell WH, Townsend AR, Vitousek PM (1999) The globalization of N deposition: ecosystem consequences in tropical environments. Biogeochemistry 46:67–83

  • Müller C, Rütting T, Kattge J, Laughlin RJ, Stevens RJ (2007) Estimation of parameters in complex N-15 tracing models by Monte Carlo sampling. Soil Biol Biochem 39:715–726

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller C, Laughlin RJ, Christie P, Watson CJ (2011) Effects of repeated fertilizer and cattle slurry applications over 38 years on N dynamics in a temperate grassland soil. Soil Biol Biochem 43:1362–1371

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller C, Laughlin RJ, Spott O, Rutting T (2014) Quantification of N2O emission pathways via a 15 N tracing model. Soil Biol Biochem 72:44–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Nasholm T, Ekblad A, Nordin A, Giesler R, Hogberg M, Bogberg P (1998) Boreal forest plants take up organic nitrogen. Nature (London) 392:914–916

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nie M, Pendall E, Bell C, Wallenstein MD (2014) Soil aggregate size distribution mediates microbial climate change feedbacks. Soil Biol Biochem 68:357–365

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perakis SS, Compton JE, Hedin LO (2005) Nitrogen retention across a gradient of 15 N additions to an unpolluted temperate forest soil in Chile. Ecology 86:96–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilegaard K et al (2006) Factors controlling regional differences in forest soil emission of nitrogen oxides (NO and N2O). Biogeosciences 3:651–661

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Priha O, Smolander A (1995) Nitrification, denitrification and microbial biomass N in soil from two N-fertilized and limed Norway spruce forests. Soil Biol Biochem 27:305–310

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prosser JI (1989) Autotrophic nitrification in bacteria. Adv Microb Physiol 30:125–181

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson D, Felgate H, Watmough N, Thomson A, Baggs E (2009) Mitigating release of the potent greenhouse gas N2O from the nitrogen cycle—could enzymic regulation hold the key? Trends Biotechnol 27:388–397

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Russow R, Stange CF, Neue HU (2009) Role of nitrite and nitric oxide in the processes of nitrification and denitrification in soil: results from N-15 tracer experiments. Soil Biol Biochem 41:785–795

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rütting T, Müller C (2008) Process-specific analysis of nitrite dynamics in a permanent grassland soil by using a Monte Carlo sampling technique. Eur J Soil Sci 59:208–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Rütting T, Huygens D, Müller C, Cleemput O, Godoy R, Boeckx P (2008) Functional role of DNRA and nitrite reduction in a pristine south Chilean Nothofagus forest. Biogeochemistry 90:243–258

    Google Scholar 

  • Rütting T, Boeckx P, Müller C, Klemedtsson L (2011) Assessment of the importance of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium for the terrestrial nitrogen cycle. Biogeosciences 8:1779–1791

    Google Scholar 

  • Santoro AE, Buchwald C, McIlvin MR, Casciotti KL (2011) Isotopic signature of N2O produced by marine ammonia-oxidizing archaea. Science 333:1282–1285

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schimel JP, Bennett J (2004) Nitrogen mineralization: challenges of a changing paradigm. Ecology 85:591–602

    Google Scholar 

  • Schindlbacher A, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S, Butterbach-Bahl K (2004) Effects of soil moisture and temperature on NO, NO2, and N2O emissions from European forest soils. J Geophys Res Atmos 1984–2012:109

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt CS, Hultman KA, Robinson D, Killham K, Prosser JI (2007) PCR profiling of ammonia-oxidizer communities in acidic soils subjected to nitrogen and sulphur deposition. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 61:305–316

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Silver WL, Herman DJ, Firestone MK (2001) Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium in upland tropical forest soils. Ecology 82:2410–2416

    Google Scholar 

  • Šimek M, Jisova L, Hopkins DW (2002) What is the so-called optimum pH for denitrification in soil? Soil Biol Biochem 34:1227–1234

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinsabaugh RL, Antibus, RK, Linkins, AE (1993) Wood decomposition: nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics in relation to extracellular enzyme activity. Ecology 74:1586–1593

  • Sinsabaugh RL, Carreiro MM, Repert DA (2002) Allocation of extracellular enzymatic activity in relation to litter composition, N deposition, and mass loss. Biogeochemistry 60:1–24

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Skiba USLJ, MacDonald J, Fowler D (1998) Measurements of nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural and seminatural soils. Atmos Environ 32:3311–3320

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith K, Thomson P, Clayton H, McTaggart I, Conen F (1998) Effects of temperature, water content and nitrogen fertilisation on emissions of nitrous oxide by soils. Atmos Environ 32:3301–3309

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smolander A, Kurka A, Kitunen V, Malkonen E (1994) Microbial biomass C and N, and respiratory activity in soil of repeatedly limed and N-fertilized and P-fertilized Norway spruce stands. Soil Biol Biochem 26:957–962

    Google Scholar 

  • Spott O, Stange CF (2011) Formation of hybrid N2O in a suspended soil due to co-denitrification of NH2OH. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 174:554–567

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spott O, Russow R, Stange CF (2011) Formation of hybrid N2O and hybrid N2 due to codenitrification: first review of a barely considered process of microbially mediated N-nitrosation. Soil Biol Biochem 43:1995–2011

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Templer PH, Lovett GM, Weathers KC, Findlay SE, Dawson TE (2005) Influence of tree species on forest nitrogen retention in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA. Ecosystems 8:1–16

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Templer PH, Silver WL, Pett-Ridge J, DeAngelis KM, Firestone MK (2008) Plant and microbial controls on nitrogen retention and loss in a humid tropical forest. Ecology 89:3030–3040

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiedje JM (1988) Ecology of denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium. Biology of anaerobic microorganisms [C]. Wiley, New York, pp 179–244

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiedje JM, Sexstone AJ, Myrold DD, Robinson JA (1982) Denitrification—ecological niches, competition and survival. Anton Leeuw J Microb 48:569–583

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tietema A (1998) Microbial carbon and nitrogen dynamics in coniferous forest floor material collected along a European nitrogen deposition gradient. For Ecol Manag 101:29–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Treseder KK (2008) Nitrogen additions and microbial biomass: a meta-analysis of ecosystem studies. Ecol Lett 11:1111–1120

    Google Scholar 

  • Treseder KK, Vitousek PM (2001) Effects of soil nutrient availability on investment in acquisition of N and P in Hawaiian rain forests. Ecology 82:946–954

  • Venterea RT, Groffman PM, Verchot LV, Magill AH, Aber JD, Steudler PA (2003) Nitrogen oxide gas emissions from temperate forest soils receiving long-term nitrogen inputs. Glob Chang Biol 9:346–357

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Howarth RW (1991) Nitrogen limitation on land and in the sea: how can it occur? Biogeochemistry 13:87–115

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Matson PA (1988) Nitrogen transformations in a range of tropical forest soils. Soil Biol Biochem 20:361–367

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Gosz JR, Grier CC, Melillo JM, Reiners WA, Todd RL (1979) Nitrate losses from disturbed ecosystems. Science (New Series) 204:469–474

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wallenstein MD, McNulty S, Fernandez IJ, Boggs J, Schlesinger WH (2006) Nitrogen fertilization decreases forest soil fungal and bacterial biomass in three long-term experiments. For Ecol Manag 222:459–468

    Google Scholar 

  • Wertz S, Leigh AKK, Grayston SJ (2012) Effects of long-term fertilization of forest soils on potential nitrification and on the abundance and community structure of ammonia oxidizers and nitrite oxidizers. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 79:142–154

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wrage N, Velthof GL, van Beusichem ML, Oenema O (2001) Role of nitrifier denitrification in the production of nitrous oxide. Soil Biol Biochem 33:1723–1732

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Y, Xu Z, Cai Z, Reverchon F (2013) Review of denitrification in tropical and subtropical soils of terrestrial ecosystems. J Soils Sediments 13:699–710

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zak DR, Holmes WE, Tomlinson MJ, Pregitzer KS, Burton AJ (2006) Microbial cycling of C and N in northern hardwood forests receiving chronic atmospheric NO3 − deposition. Ecosystems 9:242–253

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zak DR, Holmes WE, Burton AJ, Pregitzer KS, Talhelm AF (2008) Simulated atmospheric NO3 − deposition increases soil organic matter by slowing decomposition. Ecol Appl 18:2016–2027

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang W, Mo J, Yu G, Fang Y, Li D, Lu X, Wang H (2008) Emissions of nitrous oxide from three tropical forests in Southern China in response to simulated nitrogen deposition. Plant Soil 306:221–236

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JB, Cai ZC, Cheng Y, Zhu TB (2009) Denitrification and total nitrogen gas production from forest soils of Eastern China. Soil Biol Biochem 41:2551–2557

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JB, Zhu TB, Cai ZC, Qin SW, Muller C (2012a) Effects of long-term repeated mineral and organic fertilizer applications on soil nitrogen transformations. Eur J Soil Sci 63:75–85

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang LM, Hu HW, Shen JP, He JZ (2012b) Ammonia-oxidizing archaea have more important role than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in ammonia oxidation of strongly acidic soils. Isme J 6:1032–1045

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JB, Cai ZC, Zhu TB, Yang WY, Muller C (2013a) Mechanisms for the retention of inorganic N in acidic forest soils of southern China. Sci Rep-Uk. doi:10.1038/srep02342

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang YC, Zhang JB, Meng TZ, Zhu TB, Muller C, Cai ZC (2013b) Heterotrophic nitrification is the predominant NO3 − production pathway in acid coniferous forest soil in subtropical China. Biol Fertil Soils 49:955–957

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao W, Cai ZC, Xu ZH (2007) Does ammonium-based N addition influence nitrification and acidification in humid subtropical soils of China? Plant Soil 297:213–221

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu TB, Meng TZ, Zhang JB, Yin YF, Cai ZC, Yang WY, Zhong WH (2013) Nitrogen mineralization, immobilization turnover, heterotrophic nitrification, and microbial groups in acid forest soils of subtropical China. Biol Fertil Soils 49:323–331

    Google Scholar 

  • Zogg GP, Zak DR, Pregitzer KS, Burton AJ (2000) Microbial immobilization and the retention of anthropogenic nitrate in a northern hardwood forest. Ecology 81:1858–1866

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31130009) and the National Key Project of Scientific and Technical Supporting Program (Grant No. 2013BAC03B03). We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the two anonymous reviewers and the editor for their insightful comments, which have greatly aided us in improving the quality of our paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101, Beijing, China

    Wenlong Gao, Hao Yang, Liang Kou & Shenggong Li

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China

    Wenlong Gao & Liang Kou

Authors
  1. Wenlong Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hao Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Liang Kou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shenggong Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shenggong Li.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Zhihong Xu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gao, W., Yang, H., Kou, L. et al. Effects of nitrogen deposition and fertilization on N transformations in forest soils: a review. J Soils Sediments 15, 863–879 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1064-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-015-1064-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation