Subtropical urban turfs: Carbon and nitrogen pools and the role of enzyme activity
Ling Kong
,
Leeman Chu
DOI:10.1016/j.jes.2017.04.006
Received December 20, 2016,Revised April 07, 2017, Accepted April 07, 2017, Available online April 19, 2017
Volume 30,2018,Pages 18-28
Urban grasslands not only provide a recreational venue for urban residents, but also sequester organic carbon (OC) in vegetation and soils through photosynthesis, and release carbon dioxide through respiration, which largely contribute to carbon storage and fluxes at regional and global scales. We investigated organic carbon and nitrogen pools in subtropical turfs and found that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) were regulated by several factors including microbial activity which is indicated by soil enzymatic activity. We observed a vertical variation and different temporal patterns in both soil DOC, DON and enzyme activities, which decreased significantly with increasing soil depths. We further found that concentration of soil DON was linked with turf age. There were correlations between grass biomass and soil properties, and soil enzyme activities. In particular, soil bulk density was significantly correlated with soil moisture and soil OC. In addition, DOC correlated significantly with DON. Significant negative correlations were also observed between soil total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) and grass biomass of Axonopus compressus and Zoysia matrella. Specifically, grass biomass was significantly correlated with the soil activity of urease and β-glucosidase. Soil NO3-N concentration also showed negative correlations with the activity of both β-glucosidase and protease but no significant correlation between cellulase and soil properties or grass biomass. Our study demonstrated a relationship between soil C and N dynamics and soil enzymes that could be modulated to enhance soil organic C pools through management and maintenance practices.
