Urea fertilization and grass species alter microbial nitrogen cycling capacity and activity in a C(4) native grassland

Soil microbial transformation of nitrogen (N) in nutrient-limited native C(4) grasslands can be affected by N fertilization rate and C(4) grass species. Here, we report in situ dynamics of the population size (gene copy abundances) and activity (transcript copy abundances) of five functional genes involved in soil N cycling (nifH, bacterial amoA, nirK, nirS, and nosZ) in a field experiment with two C(4) grass species (switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)) under three N fertilization rates (0, 67, and 202 kg N ha(−1)). Diazotroph (nifH) abundance and activity were not affected by N fertilization rate nor grass species. However, moderate and high N fertilization promoted population size and activity of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB, quantified via amoA genes and transcripts) and nitrification potential. Moderate N fertilization increased abundances of nitrite-reducing bacterial genes (nirK and nirS) under switchgrass but decreased these genes under big bluestem. The activity of nitrous oxide reducing bacteria (nosZ transcripts) was also promoted by moderate N fertilization. In general, high N fertilization had a negative effect on N-cycling populations compared to moderate N addition. Compared to big bluestem, the soils planted with switchgrass had a greater population size of AOB and nitrite reducers. The significant interaction effects of sampling season, grass species, and N fertilization rate on N-cycling microbial community at genetic-level rather than transcriptional-level suggested the activity of N-cycling microbial communities may be driven by more complex environmental factors in native C(4) grass systems, such as climatic and edaphic factors.