Enhanced foliar 15N enrichment with increasing nitrogen addition rates: Role of plant species and nitrogen compounds

Determining the abundance of N isotope (δ15N) in natural environments is a simple but powerful method for providing integrated information on the N cycling dynamics and status in an ecosystem under exogenous N inputs. However, whether the input of different N compounds could differently impact plant growth and their 15N signatures remains unclear. Here, the response of δ15N signatures and growth of three dominant plants (Leymus chinensis, Carex duriuscula, and Thermopsis lanceolata) to the addition of three N compounds (NH4HCO3, urea, and NH4NO3) at multiple N addition rates were assessed in a meadow steppe in Inner Mongolia. The three plants showed different initial foliar δ15N values because of differences in their N acquisition strategies. Particularly, T. lanceolata (N2-fixing species) showed significantly lower 15N signatures than L. chinensis (associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, AMF) and C. duriuscula (associated with AMF). Moreover, the foliar δ15N of all three species ..., ,