TY - JOUR
T1 - Invasion of Prosopis trees into arid ecosystem alters soil carbon and nitrogen processes and soil trace gases emissions
AU - Yagle, Isaac
AU - Levinzon, Alon
AU - Grünzweig, José M.
AU - Dufour-Dror, Jean Marc
AU - Zurgil, Udi
AU - Grabovsky, Vasily I.
AU - Kravchenko, Alexandra N.
AU - Gelfand, Ilya
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024
PY - 2024/11/1
Y1 - 2024/11/1
N2 - The invasion of drylands by leguminous mesquite (Prosopis spp.) is frequently associated with increases in the soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools. These increases stimulate soil microbial activity and accelerate soil C and N cycling. However, the impact of mesquite invasion on soil biogeochemistry, especially the emission of trace gases, in an ecosystem with an already established population of N-fixing plants is not well studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we quantified the in-situ soil trace gas emissions and the potential microbial activity in soils under invasive mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) trees (Prosopis), native acacia (Acacia tortilis) trees (Acacia), and in unvegetated soil between trees (Bare soil) on the western shore of the Dead Sea. To account for contributions of spatial and weather variabilities to the emission processes we conducted measurements across two geographic sites, 45 km apart, over two years, both under naturally dry soil conditions and after soil wetting. Before wetting, soil emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitric oxide (NOx) followed the order: Acacia > Prosopis ≥ Bare soil, while soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions were low and uniform across the three habitats. The soil inorganic N concentration, microbial biomass, and water-extractable organic C were significantly higher under the A. tortilis canopies compared with P. juliflora and Bare soil. After wetting, soil trace gases emissions increased up to 66, 1534, and 42 times, for CO2, N2O, and NOx, respectively, and remained higher under the native A. tortilis than under P. juliflora and Bare soil (Acacia > Prosopis > Bare soil). The potential soil microbial activity, however, was similar between the soils under the tree canopies. Our results show that the establishment of invasive leguminous trees increase soil CO2 and gaseous N emissions relative to the Bare soils, but not relative to native leguminous trees.
AB - The invasion of drylands by leguminous mesquite (Prosopis spp.) is frequently associated with increases in the soil organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools. These increases stimulate soil microbial activity and accelerate soil C and N cycling. However, the impact of mesquite invasion on soil biogeochemistry, especially the emission of trace gases, in an ecosystem with an already established population of N-fixing plants is not well studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we quantified the in-situ soil trace gas emissions and the potential microbial activity in soils under invasive mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) trees (Prosopis), native acacia (Acacia tortilis) trees (Acacia), and in unvegetated soil between trees (Bare soil) on the western shore of the Dead Sea. To account for contributions of spatial and weather variabilities to the emission processes we conducted measurements across two geographic sites, 45 km apart, over two years, both under naturally dry soil conditions and after soil wetting. Before wetting, soil emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitric oxide (NOx) followed the order: Acacia > Prosopis ≥ Bare soil, while soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions were low and uniform across the three habitats. The soil inorganic N concentration, microbial biomass, and water-extractable organic C were significantly higher under the A. tortilis canopies compared with P. juliflora and Bare soil. After wetting, soil trace gases emissions increased up to 66, 1534, and 42 times, for CO2, N2O, and NOx, respectively, and remained higher under the native A. tortilis than under P. juliflora and Bare soil (Acacia > Prosopis > Bare soil). The potential soil microbial activity, however, was similar between the soils under the tree canopies. Our results show that the establishment of invasive leguminous trees increase soil CO2 and gaseous N emissions relative to the Bare soils, but not relative to native leguminous trees.
KW - Acacia
KW - Invasion
KW - Microbial biomass
KW - N cycle
KW - NO
KW - NO
KW - NO production potential
KW - Native
KW - Net mineralization
KW - Nitrification
KW - Prosopis
KW - Relative response
KW - Soil respiration
KW - Soil rewetting
KW - Water-extractable organic carbon
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85201768059&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109558
DO - 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109558
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85201768059
SN - 0038-0717
VL - 198
JO - Soil Biology and Biochemistry
JF - Soil Biology and Biochemistry
M1 - 109558
ER -