title: [Advances in study of factors affecting soil N mineralization in grassland ecosystems].
abstract: The biological and non-biological factors affecting soil N availability in grassland ecosystems were reviewed in this paper. Nitrogen cycling in grassland ecosystems is one of the focuses widely concerned. Nitrogen mineralization is affected by many factors in grassland ecosystem, which can be classified into biological and non-biological ones. Biological factors include soil animals, soil microorganisms and plants. Soil animals could accelerate the organic matter to degrade. The species, structure and function of soil microorganisms correlate significantly with N degradation and mineralization. Different vegetation has different effects on soil nitrogen mineralization. The non-biological factors include environmental factors and anthropogenic disturbance, which have direct and obvious effects on N mineralization. The effects of soil temperature and moisture on N mineralization are given more attention, but many phenomena, such as the effects of soil type, soil structure and vegetation type on N mineralization still could not be explained clearly, and no general agreements were reached. Anthropogenic disturbance such as grazing, firing and fertilization influence N mineralization evidently. It is of great significance to understand the N cycling pattern and N availability in different grassland ecosystems all around the world.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China. wangch@ibcs.ac.cn
authors.forename: Changhui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xuerong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Xingguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D009348:Nematoda / Q000502:physiology; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D006109:Poaceae / Q000254:growth & development*; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis* / Q000469:parasitology; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D009584:Nitrogen