Temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter mineralization decreases with long-term N fertilization: Evidence from four Q10 estimation approaches

Climate warming and anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loads are two major global change components interactively affecting carbon cycling. However, the effects of N forms and amounts on temperature sensitivity (Q10) of soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization remain incomplete. With this goal, soil was sampled after 23 years of mineral and (or) organic N fertilization, and then incubated for one year at 10, 20, and 30°C. For the first time, we compared four approaches (Equal time, Equal C, 1-C pool, and 2-C pool model) to evaluate the Q10 of SOM mineralization. All approaches showed that the Q10 decreased by more than one third with N fertilization compared to unfertilized control at low temperatures. The '1-C pool model' was not adequate for Q10 estimation with various C availability. The Q10 estimated by '2-C pool model' was strongly depended on incubation duration. The 'Equal C' approach was more powerful for separating SOM pools and it revealed the decreased Q10 of the recalcitrant pool at high N rates. The impact of N fertilization on Q10 was more evident at high N than at low N. Notably, the Q10 decreased more by mineral N compared to organic fertilizers (~60% vs. ~40% decreased in Q10) at 10–20oC. The added benefit of N fertilization in protecting SOM under climate warming was demonstrated by decreased Q10. Such one-third reduction of temperature sensitivity by N fertilization is large enough to be considered in predictions of global SOM stocks under warming and anthropogenic N loads. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.