Responses of microbial function, biomass and heterotrophic respiration, and organic carbon in fir plantation soil to successive nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from forest ecosystems originate largely from soil respiration, and microbial heterotrophic respiration plays a critical role in determining organic carbon (C) stock. This study investigated the impacts of successive nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilization after 9 years on soil organic C stock; CO₂ emission; and microbial biomass, community, and function in a Chinese fir plantation. The annual fertilization rates were (1) CK, control without N or P fertilization; (2) N50, 50 kg N ha⁻¹; (3) N100, 100 kg N ha⁻¹; (4) P50, 50 kg P ha⁻¹; (5) N50P50, 50 kg N ha⁻¹ + 50 kg P ha⁻¹; and (6) N100P50, 100 kg N ha⁻¹ + 50 kg P ha⁻¹. The N100P50 treatment had the highest cumulative soil CO₂ emissions, but the CK treatment had the lowest cumulative soil CO₂ emissions among all treatments. The declines of soil organic C (SOC) after successive 9-year fertilization were in the order of 100 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ > 50 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ > CK. Compared to the CK treatment, successive N fertilization significantly changed soil microbial communities at different application rates and increased the relative gene abundances of glycoside hydrolases, glycosyl transferases, carbohydrate-binding modules, and polysaccharide lyases at 100 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹. Relative to P fertilization alone (50 kg P ha⁻¹ year⁻¹), combined N and P fertilization significantly altered the soil microbial community structure and favored more active soil microbial metabolism. Microbial community and metabolism changes caused by N fertilization could have enhanced CO₂ emission from heterotrophic respiration and eventually led to the decrease in organic C stock in the forest plantation soil. KEY POINTS: • N fertilization, alone or with P, favored more active microbial metabolism genes. • 100 kg N ha⁻¹ fertilization significantly changed microbial community and function. • N fertilization led to a “domino effect” on the decrease of soil C stock.