Abstract
Fire disturbance and atmosphere nitrogen (N) deposition could profoundly impact terrestrial ecosystem function. A field manipulative experiment was conducted in a coniferous-broadleaved mixed forest of the subtropical-temperate transition zone in Central China to evaluate the responses of soil respiration to fire and N addition from July 2014 to December 2018. The results showed that fire significantly stimulated soil respiration by 17.5% whereas N addition had no effects across the whole experimental period. The enhancement of soil respiration intensified with year after fire, being neutral during the first two years but statistically significant in the later three years, which could be attributable to interannual variations of the changes in soil temperature and the cover of woody species. By contrast, a global meta-analysis on soil respiration responses to fire in forests revealed no overall changes in soil respiration and the negative effects were observed between one and three years after the fire and in subtropical forests (-36.6%) only. The contrast findings highlight that general patterns revealed by meta-analyses may not be able to predict ecosystem responses to environment change at a specific site.
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