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Table 1 Effects of different forms of N addition on soil, plant and microbial properties

From: Nitrogen deposition experiment mimicked with NH4NO3 overestimates the effect on soil microbial community composition and functional potential in the Eurasian steppe

Indices

Mean (± se) under each treatment

General lineal models

Control

NH4NO3

Slow-released urea

Urea

NH4HCO3

(NH4)2SO4

Block

N addition

Soil total organic carbon content (g kg−1)

42.509 (4.332)

35.292 (1.609)

40.679 (2.912)

40.329 (2.287)

37.47 (1.409)

37.462 (0.622)

0.304

0.358

Soil total N content (g kg−1)

2.555 (0.070)

2.593 (0.137)

2.940 (0.169)

2.753 (0.072)

2.705 (0.038)

2.788 (0.104)

0.325

0.183

C/N

16.608 (1.578)

13.72 (0.895)

13.905 (0.923)

14.643 (0.697)

13.88 (0.702)

13.512 (0.677)

0.645

0.302

Soil total phosphorus content (g kg−1)

0.118 (0.008)

0.108 (0.001)

0.111 (0.003)

0.108 (0.003)

0.105 (0.002)

0.109 (0.002)

0.421

0.383

Soil NO3−-N content (mg kg−1)

11.295 (1.556)c

29.540 (5.842)b

49.817 (2.790)a

45.975 (5.173)ab

29.924 (1.236)b

34.050 (5.987)ab

0.43

< 0.001

Soil NH4+-N content (mg kg−1)

1.673 (0.316)d

28.950 (6.953)b

22.750 (3.562)bc

6.513 (1.379)cd

2.213 (0.224)d

115.240 (12.247)a

0.237

< 0.001

Soil dissolved organic carbon content (mg g−1)

351.345 (61.620)

258.636 (50.380)

260.702 (39.512)

235.843 (34.609)

216.965 (28.755)

222.135 (16.549)

0.414

0.268

Soil available phosphorus content (mg kg−1)

6.450 (1.393)

6.775 (0.642)

7.050 (0.972)

6.650 (0.096)

6.900 (0.670)

6.275 (0.256)

0.486

0.984

Soil pH

6.888 (0.081)a

6.590 (0.079)b

6.735 (0.093)ab

6.548 (0.094)b

6.668 (0.029)ab

6.030 (0.094)c

0.111

< 0.001

Soil moisture (%)

15.392 (0.271)

15.414 (0.264)

15.705 (0.229)

14.791 (0.747)

15.401 (0.179)

15.799 (0.401)

0.791

0.633

Aboveground plant biomass (g m−2)

130.283 (11.184)b

240.610 (40.884)a

209.565 (25.066)ab

214.028 (27.775)ab

169.780 (19.101)ab

146.265 (23.029)b

0.178

0.040

Belowground plant biomass (g m−2)

110.650 (6.916)a

57.340 (5.901)b

115.420 (27.360)a

93.663 (6.534)ab

63.250 (6.680)b

48.168 (10.128)b

0.598

0.009

Plant species richness

14.750 (2.462)

16.500 (1.500)

13.000 (1.291)

11.250 (1.031)

13.750 (1.652)

15.750 (3.227)

0.638

0.408

Microbial biomass carbon (mg g−1)

0.927 (0.081)

0.779 (0.067)

0.957 (0.091)

0.873 (0.069)

0.993 (0.037)

0.810 (0.044)

0.988

0.313

  1. Different letters within a row indicate significant differences between treatments (P < 0.05)