Papers >>
| Title: | Anthropogenic N input increases global warming potential by awakening the sleeping ancient C in deep critical zones |
| Author: | Qin, Shuping; Yuan, Haijing; Hu, Chunsheng; Li, Xiaoxin; Wang, Yuying; Zhang, Yuming; Dong, Wenxu; Clough, Timothy; Luo, Jiafa; Zhou, Shungui; Wrage-Moennig, Nicole; Ma, Lin; Oenema, Oene |
| PubYear: | 2023 |
| Publication Name: | SCIENCE ADVANCES |
| Volume、Issue、Page Number: | 9; 6; |
| Impact Factor: | |
| Abstract: | Even a small net increase in soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization will cause a substantial increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration. It is widely recognized that the SOC mineralization within deep critical zones (2 to 12 m depth) is slower and much less influenced by anthropogenic disturbance when compared to that of surface soil. Here, we showed that 20 years of nitrogen (N) fertilization enriched a deep critical zone with nitrate, almost doubling the SOC mineralization rate. This result was supported by corresponding increases in the ex-pressions of functional genes typical of recalcitrant SOC degradation and enzyme activities. The CO2 released and the SOC had a similar 14C age (6000 to 10,000 years before the present). Our results indicate that N fertil-ization of crops may enhance CO2 emissions from deep critical zones to the atmosphere through a previously disregarded mechanism. This provides another reason for markedly improving N management in fertilized ag-ricultural soils. |
| DOI: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add0041 |
| Download: |