Fertilizer N triggers native soil N-derived N2O emissions by priming gross N mineralization

Recent 15nitrogen (N) tracing studies have shown that unlabeled N2O emissions (UNEs) following 15N fertilizer application tend to be higher than those from zero-N controls, which indicates a potential risk for elevated N2O emissions from native soil. However, researchers do not clearly understand whether these increased UNEs are derived from a priming effect or how interactions between N in fertilizer and native soil affect various sources of N2O emissions. Here, we combined 15N tracing and 15N pool dilution in an incubation study to track gross N transformations, specific sources of N2O emissions, and N2O-production pathways following N fertilization. Four treatments, including two fertilizer N levels (0 and 120 mg N kg−1) in conjunction with two native soil N levels (0.56 and 1.25 g kg−1), were established in the study. Soil gross N mineralization (GM) increased by 33.0%–98.5% (4.59–14.97 mg N kg−1) after N fertilizer addition, which indicated a positive priming effect on soil N turnover and resulted in additional native soil N-derived N2O emissions. In addition to priming GM, the pool substitution effect after 15N addition, which was not triggered by stimulated soil N turnover, also generated substrates for the UNEs. Therefore, overlooking the pool substitution effect might overestimate native soil N-derived emissions by 104%–180%. Differentiation of the specific N2O emission sources showed that both the fertilizer N- and primed native soil N-derived N2O emissions were dominated by nitrifier-mediated processes, which were governed by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. At a specified N fertilizer addition rate, soils with higher native N levels had greater levels of fertilizer N- and native soil N-derived N2O emissions due to the higher GM and gross nitrification rates. The study reveals that fertilizer N application triggers potential N2O emissions from native soil N by stimulating the GM and nitrifier-mediated N2O-production processes. [Display omitted] •An N pool substitution effect causes overestimation of native soil N-derived N2O.•Fertilizer N primes gross N mineralization and enhances native soil N-derived N2O.•Fertilizer N-induced N2O emissions are governed by AOB-mediated processes.•Soils with higher background N levels had greater risks for native N2O emission.