Residue decomposition and soil carbon priming in three contrasting soils previously exposed to elevated CO2

摘要

The effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (eCO(2)) on belowground processes are known to occur directly and indirectly via plants. However, the long-term impact of eCO(2) on biochemical properties and processes of agricultural soils in the absence of plants is unclear. The current study investigated whether residue decomposition and the subsequent priming effect' on soil organic C (SOC) mineralisation were altered in three contrasting soils previously exposed to either ambient CO2 (aCO(2); 390ppm) or eCO(2) (550ppm) using free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) for 4years. Surface soils (0-2cm) of calcisol, luvisol and vertisol were amended (0.5% w w(-1)) with C-13-labelled field pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. PBA; C:N 20) or wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Yitpi; C:N 60) residues, and CO2 derived from soil (CO2 soil) and residue (CO2 residue) were quantified over the 96-day incubation study. Field pea decomposition was not affected by soil type or CO2 history, and the decomposition of wheat was similar in all soils previously exposed to aCO(2). However, wheat decomposition was increased in luvisol (14.4%), decreased in vertisol (26.7%) or not affected by eCO(2) in the calcisol. The relative differences between soils were largely driven by labile N content and the potential to replenish inorganic N via mineralisation. Notably, priming was not influenced by residue type, despite their contrasting N content. In the calcisol, lower basal C mineralisation and C priming under eCO(2) were not explained by lower N concentrations. A greater priming effect in field pea-amended vertisol previously exposed to eCO(2) than aCO(2) was likely due to overcoming the N limitation on microbial C mineralisation in this soil. Overall, the study highlighted that C mineralisation was mainly determined by soil N status, less by CO2 history and least by residue quality (C:N ratio).