Abstract
Switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) is a promising bioenergy crop owing to high biomass production and ecological adaptability, but long-term evaluations of different ecotypes and nitrogen (N) rates on productivity and soil ecosystem functions are limited. In this six-year field experiment, we assessed the impacts of switchgrass ecotypes (upland and lowland) and N addition levels (0, 60, and 120 kg N ha −1 ) on soil physicochemical properties, nutrient stoichiometry, microbial enzyme activities, nutrient use efficiency, biomass yield, and ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF). Our results indicated that N addition significantly affected soil properties, including soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The lowland ecotype under moderate N (L_60N) produced biomass yields 1.89–2.32 times greater than the upland ecotype, with the maximum yield reaching 31.33 Mg ha⁻¹. Moderate N addition enhanced microbial enzyme activities involved in C and N acquisition, particularly in lowland switchgrass, thereby increasing microbial carbon and N use efficiency and directly promoting biomass production. Biomass yield showed significant positive correlations ( p < 0.05) with SOC, DOC, total N, and enzyme activities. Furthermore, moderate N addition notably enhanced EMF, with the lowland ecotype exhibiting a 16.8-fold increase compared to the upland ecotype, largely due to improved nutrient cycling. Overall, selecting lowland ecotype with moderate N addition can substantially enhance switchgrass productivity, soil carbon sequestration, and ecosystem multifunctionality in acidic soils, providing critical insights for balancing agricultural productivity with ecological sustainability. • Lowland switchgrass with moderate N optimized yield driven by enzyme activities. • Lowland rather than upland ecotype maximized ecosystem multifunctionality. • Long-term moderate N addition enhances soil microbial C and N use efficiency. • Microbial enzyme activities peaked at moderate N, shifting nutrient limitation.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen addition significantly affected soil properties, including soil pH, soil organic carbon and dissolved organic carbon, in the switchgrass field experiment.
- Taxon
- switchgrass
Panicum virgatumt0 - Treatment
- N additione0
- Outcome
- soil properties, including soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)e0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“N addition significantly affected soil properties, including soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)”
Claim · model-written summary
The lowland ecotype under moderate N produced biomass yields 1.89-2.32 times greater than the upland ecotype.
- Taxon
- switchgrassPanicum virgatumt0
- Material
- lowland ecotypee0
- Outcome
- biomass yieldse0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Value
- 1.89–2.32 timese0
- Qualifier
- moderate N (L_60N)e0
- Comparator
- upland ecotypee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“The lowland ecotype under moderate N (L_60N) produced biomass yields 1.89–2.32 times greater than the upland ecotype”
Claim · model-written summary
The maximum biomass yield reached 31.33 Mg per hectare.
- Taxon
- switchgrassPanicum virgatumt0
- Outcome
- maximum yielde0
- Value
- 31.33 Mg ha⁻¹e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“with the maximum yield reaching 31.33 Mg ha⁻¹”
Claim · model-written summary
Moderate N addition enhanced microbial enzyme activities involved in C and N acquisition, particularly in lowland switchgrass.
- Taxon
- switchgrassPanicum virgatumt0
- Treatment
- Moderate N additione0
- Outcome
- microbial enzyme activities involved in C and N acquisitione0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“Moderate N addition enhanced microbial enzyme activities involved in C and N acquisition”
Claim · model-written summary
Enhanced enzyme activities under moderate N increased microbial carbon and N use efficiency and directly promoted biomass production.
- Taxon
- switchgrassPanicum virgatumt0
- Treatment
- Moderate N additione0
- Outcome
- microbial carbon and N use efficiencye0
- Qualifier
- enhanced microbial enzyme activitiese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“Moderate N addition enhanced microbial enzyme activities involved in C and N acquisition, particularly in lowland switchgrass, thereby increasing microbial carbon and N use efficiency and directly promoting biomass production”
Claim · model-written summary
Biomass yield was significantly positively correlated with soil organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, total N and enzyme activities.
- Taxon
- switchgrassPanicum virgatumt0
- Outcome
- Biomass yielde0
- Direction
- positive correlationse0
- Comparator
- SOC, DOC, total N, and enzyme activitiese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“Biomass yield showed significant positive correlations ( p < 0.05) with SOC, DOC, total N, and enzyme activities”
Claim · model-written summary
Moderate N addition notably enhanced ecosystem multifunctionality.
- Taxon
- switchgrassPanicum virgatumt0
- Treatment
- moderate N additione0
- Outcome
- EMFe0
- Direction
- enhancede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“moderate N addition notably enhanced EMF”
Claim · model-written summary
The lowland ecotype showed a 16.8-fold increase in ecosystem multifunctionality compared with the upland ecotype.
- Taxon
- switchgrassPanicum virgatumt0
- Material
- lowland ecotypee0
- Outcome
- EMFe0
- Direction
- increasee0
- Value
- 16.8-folde0
- Comparator
- upland ecotypee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“moderate N addition notably enhanced EMF, with the lowland ecotype exhibiting a 16.8-fold increase compared to the upland ecotype”
Claim · model-written summary
Selecting the lowland ecotype with moderate N can substantially enhance switchgrass productivity, soil carbon sequestration and ecosystem multifunctionality in acidic soils.
- Taxon
- switchgrassPanicum virgatume0
- Outcome
- productivity, soil carbon sequestration, and ecosystem multifunctionalitye0
- Setting
- acidic soilse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Lowland-ecotype switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)”
e0“selecting lowland ecotype with moderate N addition can substantially enhance switchgrass productivity, soil carbon sequestration, and ecosystem multifunctionality in acidic soils”