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Nitrogen Fertilizer Effects on Microbial Respiration, Microbial Biomass, and Carbon Sequestration in a Mediterranean Grassland Ecosystem

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Abstract

Natural grasslands represent the second largest ecosystem in Turkey. However, the impact of varying nitrogen (N) fertilization rates on overall soil health indicators have not been reported in the country. A 2-year study was conducted in the Kahramnmaraş Plateau region in Turkey to evaluate the impacts of seven N application rates [i.e., 0 (N0), 50 (N50), 100 (N100), 150 (N150), 200 (N200), 250 (N250), and 350 (N350) kg N ha−1] on physical, chemical, and biological parameters of soil health. Nitrogen addition decreased bulk density by 8–12%, and increased aggregate stability by 3–5% and EC up to 110%. Application of ≥ 100 kg N ha−1 increased soil porosity up to 6.7%. Soil pH and C:N ratios were not affected by N addition. The lowest plant available water occurred with the N0 and N50 treatments, decreasing around 24% and 17% compared to N300. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and C and N stocks increased with increasing N addition. Application of N300 rates increased C stocks between 4 and 34%, and N stocks between 15 and 22% compared to all other treatments. Compared to control, N250 increased microbial biomass carbon by 349% and nitrogen by 250%. Microbial respiration in the N250 and the N300 treatments was 97% and 129% greater than control. Addition of N fertilization for a first time in a grassland ecosystem with a previous history of long-term overgrazing, even at low rates, positively impacted several parameters of soil health, a positive impact that could ensure a greater sustainability of these fragil systems over the long-term.

Article Highlights

  • Microbial respiration (MR) in positively linked with the application of nitrogen as fertilizers in grasslands.

  • N fertilization, even at low rates, positively impacted several parameters of soil health in grassland ecosystems that have typically been exposed to intense overgrazing without addition of fertilizers in the past.

  • Balance N in soil also played imperative role in maintained of C stock in grasslands.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Forestry, Forest Engineering, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

    Emre Babur

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, Field Plants, Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

    Ömer Süha Uslu

  3. Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA

    Martín Leonardo Battaglia

  4. Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Main Campus, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Zahid Mumtaz

  5. Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab, 60800, Pakistan

    Subhan Danish

  6. Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresource, College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou , 570228, Hainan, China

    Shah Fahad

  7. Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA

    Andre Amakobo Diatta

  8. Department of Geology and Pedology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic

    Rahul Datta

  9. Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, 49060, USA

    Ekrem Ozlu

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  1. Emre Babur
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  2. Ömer Süha Uslu
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Babur, E., Uslu, Ö.S., Battaglia, M.L. et al. Nitrogen Fertilizer Effects on Microbial Respiration, Microbial Biomass, and Carbon Sequestration in a Mediterranean Grassland Ecosystem. Int J Environ Res 15, 655–665 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-021-00336-y

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