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Nitrogen deposition alleviates phosphorus-induced imbalances in soil enzyme stoichiometry

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Abstract

Soil extracellular enzymes are critical drivers of carbon (C) and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the effects of phosphorus (P) additions on soil enzyme activities and stoichiometries, particularly under varying nitrogen (N) addition regimes worldwide, are not well comprehended. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis based on 155 field studies across various ecosystems (forests, croplands and grasslands), which shows that P enrichment conditions enhances C-acquiring enzymes but has no effect on the enzymatic C:N ratio. P addition alone reduces P-acquiring enzymes by 14% without affecting N-acquiring enzymes. In contrast, P combined with N addition boosts N-acquiring enzymes by 21% while leaving P-acquiring enzymes unchanged. Notably, the combined effect of P and N addition on microbial C limitation (assessed via vector length) and enzymatic stoichiometries is less pronounced than that of P addition alone. Key drivers of these responses include mean annual precipitation, soil microbial biomass, and its stoichiometries. These results suggest that N addition mitigates the stoichiometric imbalance and microbial C limitation induced by P addition, potentially promoting soil organic C accumulation. Our findings emphasize the critical need to account for such interactive effects in models predicting soil biogeochemical cycles under future changes in global exogenous N and P inputs.

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The data used can be found in Figshare (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30737228).

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R code used can be found in Figshare (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.30370738).

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2023YFD2200404, 2021YFD2200403); the Key Project of the Open Competition in Jiangsu Forestry (LYKJ【2022】01); the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (KYCX24_1358); the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20250706); and the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (24KJB220005).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Huihui Liu, Tingting Ren.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China

    Huihui Liu, Tingting Ren, Jiahui Liao & Honghua Ruan

  2. Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

    Han Y. H. Chen

  3. Institute for Global Change Biology, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Han Y. H. Chen

  4. Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Nanjing, China

    Xiaoming Zou

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  1. Huihui Liu
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  4. Han Y. H. Chen
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H.L., H.R., H.C., T.R., and X.Z. led the writing of the manuscript and designed the research; H.L. and T.R. collected the data; H.L, J.L., and H.C. analyzed the data. All authors contributed significantly to the drafts and gave final approval for publication.

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Tingting Ren or Honghua Ruan.

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Liu, H., Ren, T., Liao, J. et al. Nitrogen deposition alleviates phosphorus-induced imbalances in soil enzyme stoichiometry.
Commun Earth Environ (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03115-1

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