Effects of short-term and long-term warming on soil nutrients, microbial biomass and enzyme activities in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China

Abstract

Two open-top chambers (OTCs) experiments were conducted to assess the impacts of 2-year and 10-year warming on soil biochemistry in the alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) of China. The soil warming at 0.8–1.1 °C above the control in the two experiments did not significantly affect soil pH, bulk density, total carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, organic carbon, available phosphorus, NO3-N, microbial biomass C, N, P, and cellulase, catalase, phosphatase activities. NH4-N and soil urease were significantly increased, but soil moisture was significantly reduced from both short and long-term warming. These findings suggested that short and long-term experimental warming might have the similar effects on soil nutrient levels, microbial biomass and enzyme activities in an alpine meadow ecosystem on the QTP.