Short-Term Nitrogen Enrichment Reshapes Carbon Allocation and Enhances Synergistic Ecosystem Services in Semi-Arid Sandy Grasslands in China

The capacity to develop resilience to global change, such as nitrogen deposition, is an important topic for the management of key ecological functional zones. In this study, nitrogen enrichment (10 g N m^-2 yr^-1, NE) and control plots (0 g N m^-2 yr^-1, CL), each with eight replications, were randomly established in the Horqin Sandy Land to investigate how grassland carbon sequestration functions and herdsmen's livelihoods respond to nitrogen deposition. In addition, three grazing scenarios (non-grazing, light grazing, and moderate grazing) were simulated to determine whether human activities affect the relationships (trade-off vs. synergistic) among forage supply, carbon sequestration, and windbreak and sand-fixing services under nitrogen deposition. The results showed that NE exhibited a significant increase in aboveground carbon storage (99.40 g C m^-2, 117.34%) and the shoot carbon/root carbon ratio (1.90) when compared to the CL (0.95) (<i>p</i> < 0.05). NE significantly decreased soil carbon storage ability, particularly in the 10-30 cm soil layer (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The reduction in soil carbon storage was offset by increases in plant carbon storage, resulting in a neutral effect of the NE treatment on the total grassland carbon storage (<i>p</i> > 0.05). The synergistic effects of NE on grassland forage supply and windbreak and sand-fixing functions were observed under a light grazing scenario, which balanced ecological safety and livelihood more effectively than the non-grazing and moderate grazing scenarios. These findings indicate that the structure of grassland carbon storage is influenced by nitrogen deposition and that light grazing would enhance ecosystem services and promote sustainable grassland development.