Nitrogen saturation, soil acidification, and ecological effects in a subtropical pine forest on acid soil in southwest China

Elevated anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition has caused nitrate (NO3-) leaching, an indication of N saturation, in several temperate and boreal forests across the Northern Hemisphere. So far, the occurrence of N saturation in subtropical forests and its effects on the chemistry of the typically highly weathered soils, forest growth, and biodiversity have received little attention. Here we investigated N saturation and the effects of chronically high N inputs on soil and vegetation in a typical, subtropical Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) forest at Tieshanping, southwest China. Seven years of N flux data obtained in ambient conditions and in response to field manipulation, including a doubling of N input either as ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) or as sodium nitrate (NaNO3) solution, resulted in a unique set of N balance data. Our data showed extreme N saturation with near-quantitative leaching of NO3-, by far the dominant form of dissolved inorganic N in soil water. Even after 7 years, NH4+, added as NH4NO3, was nearly fully converted to NO3-, thus giving rise to a major acid input into the soil. Despite the large acid input, the decrease in soil pH was insignificant, due to pH buffering caused by Al3+ mobilization and enhanced SO42- adsorption. In response to the NH4NO3-induced increase in soil acidification and N availability, ground vegetation showed significant reduction of abundance and diversity, while Masson pine growth further declined. By contrast, addition of NaNO3 did not cause soil acidification. The comparison of NH4NO3 treatment and NaNO3 treatment indicated that pine growth decline was mainly attributed to acidification-induced nutrient imbalance, while the loss in abundance of major ground species was the combining effect of N saturation and acidification. Therefore, N emission control is of primary importance to curb further acidification and eutrophication of forest soils in much of subtropical south China.