Soil water limitation intensity alters nitrogen cycling at the plant-soil interface in Scots pine mesocosms.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aim

More intense episodes of drought are expected to affect terrestrial nitrogen (N) cycling by altering N transformation rates, the functioning of soil microorganisms, and plant N uptake. However, there is limited empirical evidence of how progressive water loss affects N cycling at the plant-soil interface.

Methods

We adopted ¹⁵N tracing techniques and metagenomic analyzes of microbial genes involved in N cycling to assess how different levels of soil water availability influenced the fate of N derived from decomposing litter in mesocosms with Scots pine saplings.

Results

With increasing water limitation, the release of N from decomposing litter into the soil declined rapidly. However, moderate levels of water limitation barely affected the

SUBMITTER: Solly EF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12764678 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature