Progressive decline in topsoil nitrogen pool upon decadal warming in a permafrost ecosystem

Nitrogen (N) plays an important role in mediating many aspects of permafrost carbon cycle, such as plant productivity, soil organic matter decomposition and the production of greenhouse gases. In contrast to the well-recognized effects of climate warming on soil organic carbon stocks and vulnerability, the fates and pools of soil N has received little attention in permafrost ecosystems.

Here, based on a decadal warming experiment in a permafrost ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau, we assessed changes in soil N stocks over a 10-year time-scale, and in situ measured the majority of N-cycling processes involving biological N fixation and soil N transformation, and the preferential plant uptake of different N forms, and above- and belowground litter decomposition and N release, and N leaching losses as well as high-resolution nitrous oxide (N₂O) flux during the growing season.

Our results showed that experimental warming progressively reduced topsoil N stocks but had no effect in the deeper soils on a 10-year time-scale. The observed decline in topsoil N pools could be due to the fact that decadal warming enhanced plant N uptake and intensified N leaching and gaseous losses. Specifically, warming treatment had a negligible effect on ecosystem biological N fixation rate, but increased the above- and belowground plant N pools. Meanwhile, simulated warming accelerated belowground litter N release and soil N transformation rate, and enhanced plant uptake of organic N. However, warming intensified the topsoil inorganic N leaching losses and N₂O flux during the growing season.

These findings highlight that progressive N limitation could occur in permafrost ecosystems under continuous climate warming due to the re-allocation of N pool from soils to plants and the losses of N through leaching and gases flux, which would make the future trajectory of permafrost carbon cycle and its feedback to climate warming more complex than previously thought.