title: A global synthesis of the rate and temperature sensitivity of soil nitrogen mineralization: latitudinal patterns and mechanisms.
abstract: Soil net nitrogen (N) mineralization (Nmin) is a pivotal process in the global N cycle regulating the N availability of plant growth. Understanding the spatial patterns of Nmin,its temperature sensitivity (Q10) and regulatory mechanisms is critical for improving the management of soil nutrients. In this study, we evaluated 379 peer-reviewed scientific papers to explore how Nminand the Q10of Nminvaried among different ecosystems and regions at the global scale. The results showed that Nminvaried significantly among different ecosystems with a global average of 2.41 mg N soil kg-1day-1. Furthermore, Nminsignificantly decreased with increasing latitude and altitude. The Q10varied significantly among different ecosystems with a global average of 2.21, ranging from the highest found in forest soils (2.43) and the lowest found for grassland soils (1.67) and significantly increased with increasing latitude. Path analyses indicated that Nminwas primarily affected by the content of soil organic carbon (C), soil C:N ratio, and clay content, where Q10was primarily influenced by the soil C:N ratio and soil pH. Furthermore, the activation energy (Ea) of soil N mineralization was significantly and negative correlated with the substrate quality index among all ecosystems, indicating the applicability of the carbon quality temperature hypothesis to soil N mineralization at a global scale. These findings provided empirical evidence supporting that soil N availability, under global warming scenarios, is expected to increase stronger in colder regions as compared with that low-latitude regions due to the higher Q10. This may alleviate the restriction of N supply for increased primary productivity at higher latitudes.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.
authors.forename: Changhui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Nianpeng
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Xuefa
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Shenggong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Shuli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 82467, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Butterbach-Bahl
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
authors.forename: Yiqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Guirui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon; D017753:Ecosystem; D009584:Nitrogen; D058458:Nitrogen Cycle; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: activation energy; global pattern; mechanism; mineralization; nitrogen availability; substrate quality; temperature sensitivity