Effects of nitrogen addition and watering on soil seed bank germination in a semiarid grassland on the Loess Plateau of China

Bibliographic Data

ID21647799
AuthorsFurong Niu (0000-0003-3445-4011, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau Northwest A&F University Yangling PR China), Lijuan Huo (0000-0003-3356-6863, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau Northwest A&F University Yangling PR China), Huo Lijuan (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Zhi Wang (0009-0000-2910-4821, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau Northwest A&F University Yangling PR China), Jinbiao Liu (0000-0002-9051-0121, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau Northwest A&F University Yangling PR China), Zhijuan Gao (State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau Northwest A&F University Yangling PR China), Min Li (0000-0002-1163-8961, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau Northwest A&F University Yangling PR China), Bingcheng Xu (0000-0002-1702-491X, State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau Northwest A&F University Yangling PR China, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume34
Issue1
Pages142-155
Publication date2023-01-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLand Degradation and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ldr.4449
OpenAlexW4293394508
LanguageEN
References cited68

Elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has caused many adverse effects on ecosystem services. However, the impacts of N deposition and its interaction with soil moisture on soil seed bank remain largely unknown in semiarid grasslands. Here, we quantified the effects of two soil water regimes (HW: watered to field capacity every day; LW: watered to field capacity every 2 days) and two types of N addition (NO 3 − ‐N and NH 4 + ‐N) with different levels on seed bank germination in two separate trials in April and July 2015 in a semiarid grassland on the Loess Plateau, China. Results showed seed bank germination was remarkably inhibited under the LW soil water regime. Species composition of emerged seedlings significantly differed between the two soil water regimes. N addition promoted seed bank germination under the HW soil water regime. This promoting effect was less noticeable under the LW, while still significant in the high level of NH 4 + ‐N in the July trial. N addition did not alter the species composition of emerged seedlings. Overall, this study suggests that soil moisture controls soil seed bank germination and species composition of emerged seedlings. Soil N addition, for example, by N deposition, greatly promotes soil seed bank germination when soil moisture is high (e.g., during seed germination season in July), and still marginally facilitates seed germination under low soil moisture conditions (e.g., at the beginning of the growing season in April). N deposition may therefore deplete the grassland soil seed bank if other processes (e.g., seed input) remain unchanged

Agronomy · Biology · Ecosystem · Germination · Grassland · Growing season · Loess plateau · Moisture · Soil seed bank · Soil water · Water content · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis · Seed Germination and Physiology · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics · Ecology · Geology · Soil Science

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