{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "10.1007/s10533-015-0157-5", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-06-23T16:15:20Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2015-11-14", "title": "Chronic Nitrogen Fertilization And Carbon Sequestration In Grassland Soils: Evidence Of A Microbial Enzyme Link", "description": "Chronic nitrogen (N) fertilization can greatly affect soil carbon (C) sequestration by altering biochemical interactions between plant detritus and soil microbes. In lignin-rich forest soils, chronic N additions tend to increase soil C content partly by decreasing the activity of lignin-degrading enzymes. In cellulose-rich grassland soils it is not clear whether cellulose-degrading enzymes are also inhibited by N additions and what consequences this might have on changes in soil C content. Here we address whether chronic N fertilization has affected (1) the C content of light versus heavier soil fractions, and (2) the activity of four extracellular enzymes including the C-acquiring enzyme \u03b2-1,4-glucosidase (BG; necessary for cellulose hydrolysis). We found that 19\u00a0years of chronic N-only addition to permanent grassland have significantly increased soil C sequestration in heavy but not in light soil density fractions, and this C accrual was associated with a significant increase (and not decrease) of BG activity. Chronic N fertilization may increase BG activity because greater N availability reduces root C:N ratios thus increasing microbial demand for C, which is met by C inputs from enhanced root C pools in N-only fertilized soils. However, BG activity and total root mass strongly decreased in high pH soils under the application of lime (i.e. CaCO3), which reduced the ability of these organo-mineral soils to gain more C per units of N added. Our study is the first to show a potential \u2018enzyme link\u2019 between (1) long-term additions of inorganic N to grassland soils, and (2) the greater C content of organo-mineral soil fractions. Our new hypothesis is that the \u2018enzyme link\u2019 occurs because (a) BG activity is stimulated by increased microbial C demand relative to N under chronic fertilization, and (b) increased BG activity causes more C from roots and from microbial metabolites to accumulate and stabilize into organo-mineral C fractions. We suggest that any combination of management practices that can influence the BG \u2018enzyme link\u2019 will have far reaching implications for long-term C sequestration in grassland soils.", "keywords": ["DECOMPOSITION", "DYNAMICS", "570", "\u03b2-1", "4-Glucosidase", "/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2304", "NUTRIENT RELEASE", "Environmental Sciences & Ecology", "Root C:N ratio", "Extracellular enzyme activity", "LITTER DECAY", "FOREST ECOSYSTEMS", "0399 Other Chemical Sciences", "0402 Geochemistry", "Environmental Chemistry", "Geosciences", " Multidisciplinary", "beta-1", "4-Glucosidase", "Earth-Surface Processes", "Water Science and Technology", "2. Zero hunger", "Multidisciplinary", "Science & Technology", "/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1904", "Geology", "sequestration", "Agronomy & Agriculture", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "Soil carbon", "N DEPOSITION", "ORGANIC-MATTER", "PHOSPHORUS", "Fertilization", "Physical Sciences", "N ratio [Root C]", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Soil carbon sequestration", "Liming", "TURNOVER", "Life Sciences & Biomedicine", "Geosciences", "/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300/2312", "Environmental Sciences", "RESPONSES"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0157-5"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Biogeochemistry", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s10533-015-0157-5", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s10533-015-0157-5", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s10533-015-0157-5"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2015-11-14T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=%CE%B2-1&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=%CE%B2-1&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=%CE%B2-1&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=%CE%B2-1&offset=1", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 1, "numberReturned": 1, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-06-24T10:25:02.408705Z"}