Plant and Microbial Carbon Are Important Drivers of Free‐Living Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Forest Soils: A New Discovery of Carbon‐Driven Nitrogen Input

Abstract Nitrogen (N) availability limits plant growth and soil carbon (C) sequestration in N‐limited ecosystems, however, plant and soil C feedback on the free‐living nitrogen fixation (FLNF) process is poorly understood. Moreover, whether this feedback is influenced by initial N availability in le...

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Main Authors: Meichen Xu, Linjie Fan, Andi Li, Qiyan Liu, Guangcan Yu, Senhao Wang, Baixin Zhang, Qing Ye, Jiangming Mo, Mianhai Zheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-10-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111238
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author Meichen Xu
Linjie Fan
Andi Li
Qiyan Liu
Guangcan Yu
Senhao Wang
Baixin Zhang
Qing Ye
Jiangming Mo
Mianhai Zheng
author_facet Meichen Xu
Linjie Fan
Andi Li
Qiyan Liu
Guangcan Yu
Senhao Wang
Baixin Zhang
Qing Ye
Jiangming Mo
Mianhai Zheng
author_sort Meichen Xu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Nitrogen (N) availability limits plant growth and soil carbon (C) sequestration in N‐limited ecosystems, however, plant and soil C feedback on the free‐living nitrogen fixation (FLNF) process is poorly understood. Moreover, whether this feedback is influenced by initial N availability in leguminous and non‐leguminous forest soils has not been clarified. Here, we found that the addition of plant‐ and microbial‐derived C significantly enhanced soil nitrogenase activity (13∼28%) and that microbial‐derived C had a more positive impact. These positive effects were attributed to the direct C‐energy supply (0.49∼0.84) rather than variations in soil microbial activity (−0.01∼0.21) and substrate resources (−0.45∼0.27). Long‐term N addition did not inhibit FLNF. C addition promoted FLNF in soils of the two forests, but the response rate was higher in the leguminous forest soils. Our study reveals that increased soil C availability can drive FLNF in tropical forests, enhancing our understanding of the soil C‐N coupling mechanism.
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institution OA Journals
issn 0094-8276
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language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-0abe67bc2e2d480bb7b0e1fb1eaaf1732025-08-20T02:13:43ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-10-015120n/an/a10.1029/2024GL111238Plant and Microbial Carbon Are Important Drivers of Free‐Living Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Forest Soils: A New Discovery of Carbon‐Driven Nitrogen InputMeichen Xu0Linjie Fan1Andi Li2Qiyan Liu3Guangcan Yu4Senhao Wang5Baixin Zhang6Qing Ye7Jiangming Mo8Mianhai Zheng9Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaSouth China Agricultural University Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaAbstract Nitrogen (N) availability limits plant growth and soil carbon (C) sequestration in N‐limited ecosystems, however, plant and soil C feedback on the free‐living nitrogen fixation (FLNF) process is poorly understood. Moreover, whether this feedback is influenced by initial N availability in leguminous and non‐leguminous forest soils has not been clarified. Here, we found that the addition of plant‐ and microbial‐derived C significantly enhanced soil nitrogenase activity (13∼28%) and that microbial‐derived C had a more positive impact. These positive effects were attributed to the direct C‐energy supply (0.49∼0.84) rather than variations in soil microbial activity (−0.01∼0.21) and substrate resources (−0.45∼0.27). Long‐term N addition did not inhibit FLNF. C addition promoted FLNF in soils of the two forests, but the response rate was higher in the leguminous forest soils. Our study reveals that increased soil C availability can drive FLNF in tropical forests, enhancing our understanding of the soil C‐N coupling mechanism.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111238free‐living nitrogen fixationcarbon additiontropical forestscarbon sourcecarbon and nitrogen couplingnitrogen deposition
spellingShingle Meichen Xu
Linjie Fan
Andi Li
Qiyan Liu
Guangcan Yu
Senhao Wang
Baixin Zhang
Qing Ye
Jiangming Mo
Mianhai Zheng
Plant and Microbial Carbon Are Important Drivers of Free‐Living Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Forest Soils: A New Discovery of Carbon‐Driven Nitrogen Input
Geophysical Research Letters
free‐living nitrogen fixation
carbon addition
tropical forests
carbon source
carbon and nitrogen coupling
nitrogen deposition
title Plant and Microbial Carbon Are Important Drivers of Free‐Living Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Forest Soils: A New Discovery of Carbon‐Driven Nitrogen Input
title_full Plant and Microbial Carbon Are Important Drivers of Free‐Living Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Forest Soils: A New Discovery of Carbon‐Driven Nitrogen Input
title_fullStr Plant and Microbial Carbon Are Important Drivers of Free‐Living Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Forest Soils: A New Discovery of Carbon‐Driven Nitrogen Input
title_full_unstemmed Plant and Microbial Carbon Are Important Drivers of Free‐Living Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Forest Soils: A New Discovery of Carbon‐Driven Nitrogen Input
title_short Plant and Microbial Carbon Are Important Drivers of Free‐Living Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Forest Soils: A New Discovery of Carbon‐Driven Nitrogen Input
title_sort plant and microbial carbon are important drivers of free living nitrogen fixation in tropical forest soils a new discovery of carbon driven nitrogen input
topic free‐living nitrogen fixation
carbon addition
tropical forests
carbon source
carbon and nitrogen coupling
nitrogen deposition
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111238
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