Global Ecosystem Nitrogen Cycling Reciprocates Between Land-Use Conversion and Its Reversal.

Zucong Cai, Yanhui Zhang, Minggang Xu, Meiqi Chen, Liangping Wu, Scott X Chang, Yi Cheng, Yuanyuan Huang, Ahmed S Elrys, Yves Uwiragiye, Christoph Müller, Jing Wang, Jiake Zhou, Hang Jing, Yinfei Qian

Journal: Global change biology 2024;30(10):e17537

PMID: 39425618

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Abstract

Anthropogenic land-use practices influence ecosystem functions and the environment. Yet, the effect of global land-use change on ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling remains unquantified despite that ecosystem N cycling plays a critical role in maintaining food security. Here, we analysed 2430 paired observations globally to show that converting natural to managed ecosystems increases ratios of autotrophic nitrification to ammonium immobilisation and nitrate to ammonium, but decreases soil immobilisation of mineral N, causing increased N losses via leaching and gaseous N emissions, such as nitrous oxide (e.g., via denitrification), resulting in a leaky N cycle. Changing land use from intensively managed to one that resembles natural ecosystems reversed N losses by 108% on average, resulting in a more conservative N cycle. Structural equation modelling revealed that changes in soil organic carbon, pH and carbon to N ratio were more important than changes in soil moisture content and temperature in predicting ecosystem N retention capacities following land-use conversion and its reversion. The hotspots of leaky N cycles were mostly in equatorial and tropical regions, as well as in Western Europe, the United States and China. Our results suggest that whether an ecosystem exhibits a conservative N cycle after land-use reversion depends on management practices.

Address: School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China.; Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Environmental Management and Renewable Energy, University of Technology and Arts of Byumba, Byumba, Rwanda.; Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.; German Centre of Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.; Institute of Biology, Experimental Interaction Ecology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.; School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China.; Soil and Fertilizer & Resources and Environmental Institute, Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanchang, China.; College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, China.; Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.; School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China.; Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing, China.; Key Laboratory of Virtual Geographic Environment (Nanjing Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, China.; Liebig Centre of Agroecology and Climate Impact Research, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.; Shanxi Province Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Nutrient Resources, Engineer and Technology Academy of Ecology and Environment, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan, China.; State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-Arid Arable Land in Northern China, Key Laboratory of Arable Land Quality Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.; Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.; Liebig Centre of Agroecology and Climate Impact Research, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.; Institute of Plant Ecology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.; School of Biology and Environmental Science and Earth Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17537

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MeSH Terms: Nitrogen Cycle, Ecosystem, Soil, Agriculture, Nitrogen, Models, Theoretical, Denitrification