•  
  •  
 

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Abstract

As vital components of urban ecosystems, urban green spaces directly affect soil fertility and plant growth through nitrogen transport dynamics. This study addresses the existing methodological gaps in understanding nitrogen cycling within urban green spaces, particularly the unclear interaction mechanisms between vegetation structure and soil physicochemical characteristics. The study was conducted in the Green Expo Park located in Nanjing, China. Using a stratified sampling approach, physicochemical indicators of soil layers were measured and combined with community parameters—including leaf area index, vegetation coverage, and plant density—to identify key drivers through correlation and multiple regression analyses. The regulatory mechanisms of soil physicochemical properties and vegetation traits on the vertical distribution of nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen were systematically examined using interaction effect tests. Results indicate that soil nitrate nitrogen content decreases from 12.66 mg/kg to 3.42 mg/kg with increasing depth, primarily influenced by the inhibitory effect of soil bulk density and the promoting effect of leaf area index (β = 2.32). In contrast, the distribution of ammonium nitrogen is significantly influenced by the interaction between soil moisture content and vegetation coverage (p < 0.05). Vegetation structure plays a significant regulatory role in nitrogen transport, and communities with a high leaf area index effectively enhance soil nitrogen-use efficiency. This study identifies the key driving factors and mechanisms governing nitrogen transport in urban green space soils, providing a theoretical foundation for scientific management and community optimization.

Author ORCID Identifier

SHUJIAN YANG: 0009-0005-9230-5446

BAOXI YU: 0009-0009-3013-2972

ZHENG HE: 0009-0008-6479-0968

BAOCHANG LIU: 0009-0002-5338-1284

CHANG LIU: 0009-0007-5391-3144

DOI

10.55730/1300-011X.3342

Keywords

Urban green space, soil nitrogen, nitrogen transport, community optimization, multifactor coupling analysis

First Page

164

Last Page

176

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Download

Share

COinS