Expanding agroforestry can increase nitrate retention and mitigate the global impact of a leaky nitrogen cycle in croplands.

ABSTRACT: The internal soil nitrogen (N) cycle supplies N to plants and microorganisms but may induce N pollution in the environment. Understanding the variability of gross N cycling rates resulting from the global spatial heterogeneity of climatic and edaphic variables is essential for estimating the potential risk of N loss. Here we compiled 4,032 observations from 398 published ¹⁵N pool dilution and tracing studies to analyse the interactions between soil internal potential N cycling and environmental effects. We observed that the global potential N cycle changes from a conservative cycle in forests to a less conservative one in grasslands and a leaky one in croplands. Structural equation modelling revealed that soil properties (soil pH, total N and carbon-to-N ratio) were more importa

SUBMITTER: Elrys AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10154242 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature