Effects of nitrogen addition on tree root traits.

Abstract

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition has complex effects on individual plants and terrestrial ecosystems. We synthesized results from 39 published papers (16 papers in English and 23 papers in Chinese) and conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the general responses of tree root traits to nitrogen addition, and further analyzed the difference of N-induced results between English papers and Chinese papers. Our results showed that N addition significantly increased fine root diameter (+6.7%), fine root N content (+8.9%), and root respiration rate (+17.5%), but did not affect fine root biomass, fine root length, specific root length, fine root C content, and fine root C:N ratio. Different climatic zone and fertilizer types had different effects on the experimental results. In addition, experimental results published in English papers were generally more significant than those in Chinese papers. We summarized the general effects of N addition on tree root systems, and further analyzed the mechanisms underlying the effects of N enrichment on forest ecosystem carbon cycle.