Mr Xiaodong Yao1,2, Dr Wenjing Zeng1, Miss Xinyue Chen1, Mr Yanyu Deng1,2, Prof. Wei Wang1
1Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environment Sciences and Key Laboratory for Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China, 2Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School Shenzhen University Town, Shenzhen, China
Soil nitrogen (N) availability becomes the main regulator of carbon (C) cycling. At present, most researches focus on the effects of N addition on soil organic C (SOC) decomposition, but the study of N loss was very lacking. Actually, there are many processes of N loss in ecosystem, such as nitrification and denitrification, volatilization of ammonium and nitrate N, leaching/surface runoff and soil erosion, and nutrient uptake by plant roots. In addition, N availability has a significant interaction with temperature and moisture. Therefore, An ion exchange membrane technique will be used to absorb inorganic N in the soil to simulate N loss, and examine the effect of N loss on SOC decomposition and its mechanism. We collect 240 soil samples from 60 plots in the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China. Soil samples will be subject to long-term indoor incubation experiment, which combined with N addition and N loss treatment and different temperature and water gradients. Variations of soil microbial respiration rate, decomposition rate of different carbon pools, and biotic and abiotic factors will be measured. This study will contribute to the C process simulation and theoretical improvement of terrestrial ecosystems, accurately predict the relationships among SOC dynamics and N, water and temperature and their feedback on climate change.
Biography:
XIAODONG YAO, PhD Student of School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University and Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. My academic interests are soil ecology and global change ecology. My research focuses on the following aspects. 1) effects of nitrogen availability on soil organic carbon stability and its mechanism; 2) stoichiometry and driving mechanism of soil, microorganism and extracellular enzyme activity. I have published papers in Science of The Total Environment and Pedosphere.
