Effects of nitrogen application rate on soil and plant characteristics in pastures of perennial grass mixtures in the alpine region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

To illustrate the effect of nitrogen (N) application on soil physical and chemical characteristics, herbage yield and quality, and nitrogen and water use efficiency in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a 3-year experiment was conducted on 3 mixtures of 4 perennial grasses commonly cultivated on the Plateau, Bromus inermis (BI) + Elymus nutans (EN), BI + E. sibricus (ES) + Agropyron cristatum (AC), and BI + ES + EN + AC by applying 4 levels of N fertiliser, 0, 115, 230, and 345 kg/ha from 1998 to 2000 in a randomised design. At harvesting time, soil pH and soil dry bulk density at 0–30 cm depth did not vary with N application rate. Soil organic carbon at 0–30 cm was not significantly variable under different N rates. Total soil N at 0–30 cm increased with N application rate and application year. After 3 years’ consecutive N treatment, total soil N reached 13 g/kg at an N application rate of 345 kg/ha. Soluble soil N at 0–30 cm increased with application rate but decreased with application year. At 345 kg N/ha application rate, soluble soil N was >100 mg/kg in 1998, but decreased to around 80 mg/kg in 2000. Herbage DM yields increased linearly with the N application rate. Compared with no fertiliser, 1.5 times more DM yield in 1998 and nearly double the DM yield in 1999 and 2000 were harvested for all grass mixtures at 345 kg N/ha. N concentrations in the herbages were significantly improved by N application. Each N fertiliser rate increased N contents in grass herbages by ≈3 g organic matter/kg. Apparent nitrogen recovery (ANR) decreased with N application rate in the establishment year of 1998, but increased with N application rate in 1999 and 2000. N use efficiency (NUE) decreased with N application throughout the experiment. Precipitation use efficiency (PUE) was significantly improved by N application for each grass mixture. Positive residual N-fertiliser effects were observed on herbage DM yield, ANR, NUE, and PUE in this study. BI + ES + AC showed higher DM yields, ANR, NUE, and PUE than the other 2 grass mixtures, and thus was proposed for N-input grassland systems in the alpine region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.