Responses of Fine Roots and Soil N Availability to Short-Term Nitrogen Fertilization in a Broad-Leaved Korean Pine Mixed Forest in Northeastern China

Knowledge of the responses of soil nitrogen (N) availability, fine root mass, production and turnover rates to atmospheric N deposition is crucial for understanding fine root dynamics and functioning in forest ecosystems. Fine root biomass and necromass, production and turnover rates, and soil nitrate-N and ammonium-N in relation to N fertilization (50 kg N ha(−1) year(−1)) were investigated in a temperate forest over the growing season of 2010, using sequential soil cores and ingrowth cores methods. N fertilization increased soil nitrate-N by 16% (P<0.001) and ammonium-N by 6% (P<0.01) compared to control plots. Fine root biomass and necromass in 0–20 cm soil were 13% (4.61 vs. 5.23 Mg ha(−1), P<0.001) and 34% (1.39 vs. 1.86 Mg ha(−1), P<0.001) less in N fertilization plots than those in control plots. The fine root mass was significantly negatively correlated with soil N availability and nitrate-N contents, especially in 0–10 cm soil layer. Both fine root production and turnover rates increased with N fertilization, indicating a rapid underground carbon cycling in environment with high nitrogen levels. Although high N supply has been widely recognized to promote aboveground growth rates, the present study suggests that high levels of nitrogen supply may reduce the pool size of the underground carbon. Hence, we conclude that high levels of atmospheric N deposition will stimulate the belowground carbon cycling, leading to changes in the carbon balance between aboveground and underground storage. The implications of the present study suggest that carbon model and prediction need to take the effects of nitrogen deposition on underground system into account.