Long-term N and S addition and changed litter chemistry do not affect trembling aspen leaf litter decomposition, elemental composition and enzyme activity in a boreal forest

Abstract

The effect of long-term nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) deposition on litter mass loss and changes in carbon (C), N, and S composition and enzyme activities during litter decomposition was investigated in a boreal forest. This study included four N × S treatments: control (CK), N application (30 kg N ha−1 yr−1), S application (30 kg S ha−1 yr−1), and N plus S application (both at 30 kg ha−1 yr−1). Two experiments were conducted for 22 months: 1) a common litter decomposition experiment with litter bags containing a common litter (same litter chemistry) and 2) an in-situ litter decomposition experiment with litter from each treatment plot (and thus having different litter chemistry). Litterbags were placed onto the four treatment plots to investigate the direct effect of N and S addition and the combined effect of N and/or S addition and litter chemistry on litter decomposition, respectively. Regardless of the source of litter, N and/or S addition affected C, N and S composition at a certain period of the experiment but did not affect litter mass loss and enzyme activity throughout the experiment, indicating that the N and S addition rates were below the critical level required to affect C and N cycling in the studied ecosystem. However, the greater change in N composition per unit of litter mass loss in the N addition treatment than in the other treatments in the common litter but not in the in-situ litter experiment, suggests that the effect of N addition on N loss and retention depends on the initial litter chemistry. We conclude that the studied N and S addition rates did not affect litter decomposition and elemental cycling in the studied forest ecosystem even though the N and S addition rates were much greater than their ambient deposition rates.