ArticleScience China. Life sciences2026
Precipitation reduction mitigates the negative impact of nitrogen deposition on soil nitrogen fixation in subtropical Chinese fir plantations.
Article in Science China. Life sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is a key process that supplies nitrogen (N) to terrestrial ecosystems, yet its capacity to supply N can be suppressed by global change drivers that increase soil N availability. For example, atmospheric N deposition (N+) can directly raise soil N concentrations, whereas decreases in precipitation (Rain-) may indirectly raise soil N concentrations by constraining plant and microbial N uptake. Biotic interactions, including N inputs or N uptake from plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi, can also interact to mediate N availability and BNF responses under these global change factors, though their interactions on BNF remain poorly understood. Here, we show that in a humid subtropical forest, N+ significantly reduced BNF rates by 43% (P=0.03) and nitrogenase gene (nifH) abundance by 57% (P <0.001), whereas Rain- increased BNF rates by 55% without altering nifH abundance (P=0.03). Notably, the combined N+Rain- treatment neutralized the inhibitory effect of N+, producing BNF rates similar to those under ambient conditions. Structural equation modeling revealed that Rain- indirectly enhanced BNF by increasing soil water-extractable organic carbon (WEOC), whereas N+ directly impaired diazotrophic activity, indicating a novel buffering mechanism that balances opposing effects of these global change drivers. Root and mycorrhizal exclusion treatments showed negligible effects on BNF or nifH abundance, and did not interact with N+ or Rain-, indicating that diazotrophic activity is largely independent of plant root and mycorrhizal inputs. Taken together, our findings highlight the nonlinear outcomes of multi-factor global changes: while N+ can suppress diazotrophic functioning, concomitant declines in precipitation may, paradoxically, sustain BNF via a carbon-mediated facilitation in humid subtropical soils. This apparent buffering capacity, related to WEOC dynamics, highlights how changes in precipitation can mitigate disruptions in N cycling caused by N deposition, with implications for incorporating hydroclimatic-carbon-nitrogen relationships into Earth system models.
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