Winter nocturnal warming affects the freeze-thaw frequency, soil aggregate distribution, and the contents and decomposability of C and N in paddy fields.

Climate warming is expected to cause greater increases in nocturnal temperatures than daytime temperatures, thereby altering freeze-thaw cycles. Although the importance of freeze-thaw cycles in regulating soil aggregate stability and nutrient availability has attracted increasing attention, little is known about how winter nocturnal warming modulates freeze-thaw frequency, soil aggregate distribution, or the contents and mineralization of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in paddy fields. The nocturnal soil temperature in the upper 0-2 cm layer in a paddy field was elevated by approximately 2 °C using a passive nocturnal warming method during winter. An anaerobic experiment with a first-order reaction model was conducted to measure the C decomposition (C0) and N mineralization (N0) potentials in bulk soil and four soil aggregate fractions. Winter nocturnal warming significantly decreased freeze-thaw frequency and affected soil aggregate distribution and SOC and TN contents in <0.25 mm aggregate. Both SOC and TN fractions were significantly increased in the 0.25-1 mm aggregate but decreased in the >2 mm aggregate due to winter nocturnal warming. Winter nocturnal warming did not affect C0, N0, C0/SOC, and N0/TN in bulk soil. However, it decreased C0 and C0/SOC in all aggregates except the 0.25-1 mm aggregate, and increased N0 and N0/TN in all aggregates except the >2 mm aggregate. In the nocturnal warming treatment, the highest C0 and N0 values were found in the <0.25 mm aggregate, but only the N0 in the <0.25 mm aggregate was significantly larger than that in the other three soil aggregates. Our study indicated that winter nocturnal warming would reduce the freeze-thaw frequency and change C and N distributions in soil aggregates, resulting in increased soil N availability in the subsequent rice growth season.