Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of [CO2] and nitrogen fertilization on soils planted with ponderosa pine

  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effects of six years treatment with elevated [CO2] (350, 525, and 700 μl l-1) and nitrogen (N) (0, 10, and 20 g N m-2 yr-1) on soils, soil solution, and CO2 efflux in an open-top chamber study with ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) are described. The clearest [CO2] effect was in year 6, when a pattern of lower soil N concentration and higher C/N ratio with elevated [CO2] emerged. Statistically significant effects of elevated [CO2] on soil total C, extractable P, exchangeable Mg2+, exchangeable Ca2+, base saturation, and soil solution HCO3 - and NO3 - were also found in various treatment combinations and at various times; however, these effects were inconsistent among treatments and years, and in many cases (P, Mg2+, Ca2+, base saturation) reflected pre-treatment differences. The use of homogenized buried soil bags did not improve the power to detect changes in soil C and N or help resolve the inconsistencies in soil C patterns. Nitrogen fertilization had the expected negative effects on exchangeable Ca2+, K+, and Mg2+ in year 6, presumably because of increased NO3 - leaching, but had no consistent effect on soil C, N, or extractable P.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bernston G M and Bazzaz F A 1996 Belowground positive and negative feedbacks on CO2 and growth enhancement. Plant Soil 187, 119–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Bormann B T, Bormann F H, Pierce R S, Hamberg S P, Wang D, Snyder M C and Ingersoll R C 1993 Rapid N2 fixation in pines, alder, and locust: Evidence from the sandbox ecosystem study. Ecology 74, 583–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng W W and Johnson D W 1998 Elevated CO2, rhizosphere proceses, and soil organic matter decomposition. Plant Soil 202, 167–174.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Collins M, and Rasmuson A 1988 A comparison of gas diffusivity models for unsaturated porous media. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 52, 1559–1656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotrufo M F, Ineson P and Rowland A P 1994 Decomposition of tree leaf litters grown under elevated CO2: Effect of litter quality. Plant Soil 163, 121–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • David M B, Fuller R D, Fernandez I J, Mitchell M J, Rustad L E, Vance G F, Stam A C and Nodvin S C 1990 Spodosol variability and assessment of response to acidic deposition. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 54, 541–548.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong E and Schappert H J V 1972 Calculation of soil respiration and activity from CO2 profiles in the soil. Soil Sci. 119, 328–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jong E, Schappert H J V and MacDonald K B 1974. Carbon dioxide evolution from virgin and cultivated soil as affected by management practices and climate. Can. J. Soil Sci. 54, 299–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz S, Grime J P, Harris J and McPherson E 1993 Evidence for feedback mechanism limiting plant response to elevated carbon dioxide. Nature 365, 616–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hungate B A, Canadell J and Chapin F S III 1996a Plant species mediate changes in soil microbial N in response to elevated CO2. Ecology 77, 2505–2515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hungate B A, Holland E A, Jackson R B, Chapin F S III, Field C B and Mooney H A 1997 The fate of carbon in grasslands under carbon dioxide enrichment. Nature 388, 576–579.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hungate B A, Jackson R B, Field C B and Chapin F S III 1996b Detecting changes in soil carbon in CO2 enrichment experiments. Plant Soil 187, 135–145

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ineson, P, Cotrufo M F, Bol R, Harkness D D and Blum H 1996 Quantification of soil carbon inputs under elevated CO2: C3 plants in a C4 soil. Plant Soil 187, 345–350.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson D W, Ball J T and Walker R F 1997 Effects of CO2 and nitrogen fertilization on vegetation and soil nutrient content in juvenile ponderosa pine. Plant Soil 190, 29–40.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson D W, Cole D W, Gessel S P, Singer M J and Minden R V 1977 Carbonic acid leaching in a tropical, temperate, subalpine, and northern forest soil. Arctic Alpine Res. 9, 329–343.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson D W, Geisinger D R, Walker R F, Newman J, Vose J M, Elliot K J and Ball J T 1994 Soil pCO2, soil respiration, and root activity in CO2-fumigated and nitrogen-fertilized ponderosa pine. Plant Soil 165, 111–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson D W, Henderson P H, Ball J T and Walker R F 1996 Effects of CO2 and N on growth and N dynamics in ponderosa pine: Results from the first two growing seasons. In Carbon Dioxide and Terrestrial Ecosystems. Eds G W Koch G W and H A Mooney. pp 23–40. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson D W, Henderson G S and Todd D E Jr. 1988 Changes in nutrient distribution in forests and soils of Walker Branch watershed, Tennessee, over an eleven-year period. Biogeochem. 5, 275–293.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson D W, Walker R F and Ball J T 1995 Combined effects of nitrogen and elevated CO2 on forest soils. Water Air Soil Pollut. 85, 1551–1556

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Körner C and Arnone J A 1992 Responses to elevated carbon dioxide in artificial tropical ecosystems. Science 257, 1672–1675.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mattson K G 1995 CO2 efflux from coniferous forest soils: Comparison of measurement methods and effects of added nitrogen. In Soils and Global Change Eds R. Lal, J. Kimble E Levine, and B A Stewart pp. 329–341. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.

    Google Scholar 

  • McColl J G and Cole D W 1968 A mechanism of cation transport in a forest soil. Northwest Sci. 42, 132–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Moldrup P, Kruse C W, Rolston D E and Yamaguchi T 1996 Modeling diffusion and reaction in soils: III. Predicting gas diffusivity from the Campbell soil-water model. Soil Sci 161, 366–375.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norby R J, O'Neill E G and Luxmoore R J 1986 Effects of atmospheric CO2 enrichment on the growth and mineral nutrition of Quercus alba seedlings in nutrient-poor soil. Plant Physiol. 82, 83–89.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen S R and Sommers L E 1982 Phosphorus. In Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties. Eds A L Page, R H Miller and D R Keeney pp 403–430. 2nd Edn. Number 9 in the Series, Agronomy. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Neill E G 1994 Responses of soil biota to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. Plant Soil 165, 55–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raich J W and Nadelhoffer K J 1989 Belowground carbon allocation in forest ecosystems: Global trends. Ecology 70, 1346–1354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Randlett D L, Zak D R, Pregitzer K S and Curtis P S 1996 Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and leaf litter chemistry: Influences on microbial respiration and net nitrogen mineralization. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 60, 1571–1577.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Torbert H A, Rogers H H, Prior S A, Schlesinger W H and Runion G B 1997. Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 in agroecosystems on soil carbon storage. Global Change Biology 3, 513–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torbert H A, Prior S A, Rogers H H, Schlesinger W H, Mullins G L and Runion G B 1996. Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide in agroecosystems affects groundwater quality. J. Environ. Qual. 25, 720–726.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vose J M, Elliot K J, Johnson D W, Walker R F, Johnson M G and Tingey D T 1995 Effects of elevated CO2 and N fertilization on soil respiration from ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Doug. ex Laws.) Can. J. For. Res. 25, 1243–1251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zak D R, Pregitzer K S, Curtis P S, Teeri J A, Fogel R and Randlett D L 1993 Elevated atmospheric CO2 and feedback between carbon and nitrogen cycles. Plant Soil 151, 105–117.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. D. W. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. W. Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. T. Ball
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Johnson, D.W., Cheng, W. & Ball, J.T. Effects of [CO2] and nitrogen fertilization on soils planted with ponderosa pine. Plant and Soil 224, 99–113 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004781810465

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004781810465

Search

Navigation