Dataset Information

Chronic Nitrogen Deposition Has a Minor Effect on the Quantity and Quality of Aboveground Litter in a Boreal Forest.

ABSTRACT: There is evidence that anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition enhances carbon (C) sequestration in boreal soils. However, key underlying mechanisms explaining this increase have not been resolved. Two potentially important mechanisms are that aboveground litter production increases, or that litter quality changes in response to N enrichment. As such, our aim was to quantify whether simulated chronic N deposition caused changes in aboveground litter production or quality in a boreal forest. We conducted a long-term (17 years) stand-scale (0.1 ha) forest experiment, consisting of three N addition levels (0, 12.5, and 50 kg N ha-1 yr-1) in northern Sweden, where background N deposition rates are very low. We measured the annual quantity of litter produced for 8 different litter categories, as well as their concentrations of C, N, phosphorus (P), lignin, cellulose and hemi-cellulose. Our results indicate that mosses were the only major litter component showing significant quantitative and qualitative alterations in response to the N additions, indicative of their ability to intercept a substantial portion of the N added. These effects were, however, offset by the other litter fractions where we found no changes in the total litter fluxes, or individual chemical constituents when all litter categories were summed. This study indicates that the current annual litter fluxes cannot explain the increase in soil C that has occurred in our study system in response to simulated chronic N application. These results suggest that other mechanisms are likely to explain the increased soil C accumulation rate we have observed, such as changes in soil microbial activity, or potentially transient changes in aboveground litter inputs that were no longer present at the time of our study.

SUBMITTER: Maaroufi NI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5007034 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Chronic Nitrogen Deposition Has a Minor Effect on the Quantity and Quality of Aboveground Litter in a Boreal Forest.

Maaroufi Nadia I NI Nordin Annika A Palmqvist Kristin K Gundale Michael J MJ

PloS one 20160831 8

There is evidence that anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition enhances carbon (C) sequestration in boreal soils. However, key underlying mechanisms explaining this increase have not been resolved. Two potentially important mechanisms are that aboveground litter production increases, or that litter quality changes in response to N enrichment. As such, our aim was to quantify whether simulated chronic N deposition caused changes in aboveground litter production or quality in a boreal forest. We con ...[more]

PMID: 27580120

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Project description:Atmospheric nitrogen deposition induces a forest carbon sink across broad parts of the Northern Hemisphere; this carbon sink may partly result from slower litter decomposition. Although microbial responses to experimental nitrogen deposition have been well-studied, evidence linking these microbial responses to changes in the degradation of specific compounds in decaying litter is sparse. We used wet chemistry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) methods to study effects of chronic simulated nitrogen deposition on leaf litter and fine root chemistry during a three-year decomposition experiment at four northern hardwood forests in the north-central USA. Leaf litter and fine roots were highly different in initial chemistry, such as concentrations of acid-insoluble fraction (AIF, or Klason lignin) and condensed tannins (CTs). These initial differences persisted over the course of decomposition. Gravimetrically-defined AIF and lignin/carbohydrate reference IR peak ratios both provide evidence that lignin in fine roots was selectively preserved under simulated nitrogen deposition. Lignin/carbohydrate peak ratios were strongly correlated with AIF, suggesting that AIF is a good predictor of lignin. Because AIF is abundant in fine roots, slower AIF degradation was the major driver of the slower fine root decomposition under nitrogen enrichment, explaining 73.5% of the additional root mass retention. Nitrogen enrichment also slowed the loss of CTs and proteins in fine roots. Nitrogen additions initially slowed the loss of AIF, CTs, and proteins in leaf litter, which was comparatively low in AIF, but these effects disappeared at the later stage and did not affect leaf litter mass loss during the experiment. Our results suggest that decomposition of chemical classes subject to oxidative degradation, such as lignin and CTs, is generally inhibited by nitrogen enrichment; but whether this inhibition eventually slows litter mass loss and leads to organic matter accumulation depends on the initial quantities of these classes in litter.

Project description:The Athabasca oil sand deposit is one of the largest single oil deposits in the world. Following surface mining, companies are required to restore soil-like profiles that can support the previous land capabilities. The objective of this study was to assess whether the soil prokaryotic alpha diversity (α-diversity) and β-diversity in oil sand soils reconstructed 20 to 30 years previously and planted to one of three vegetation types (coniferous or deciduous trees and grassland) were similar to those found in natural boreal forest soils subject to wildfire disturbance. Prokaryotic α-diversity and β-diversity were assessed using massively parallel sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. The β-diversity, but not the α-diversity, differed between reconstructed and natural soils. Bacteria associated with an oligotrophic lifestyle were more abundant in natural forest soils, whereas bacteria associated with a copiotrophic lifestyle were more abundant in reconstructed soils. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea were most abundant in reconstructed soils planted with grasses. Plant species were the main factor influencing α-diversity in natural and in reconstructed soils. Nitrogen deposition, pH, and plant species were the main factors influencing the β-diversity of the prokaryotic communities in natural and reconstructed soils. The results highlight the importance of nitrogen deposition and aboveground-belowground relationships in shaping soil microbial communities in natural and reconstructed soils.IMPORTANCE Covering over 800 km2, land disturbed by the exploitation of the oil sands in Canada has to be restored. Here, we take advantage of the proximity between these reconstructed ecosystems and the boreal forest surrounding the oil sand mining area to study soil microbial community structure and processes in both natural and nonnatural environments. By identifying key characteristics shaping the structure of soil microbial communities, this study improved our understanding of how vegetation, soil characteristics and microbial communities interact and drive soil functions.

Dataset Information

Chronic Nitrogen Deposition Has a Minor Effect on the Quantity and Quality of Aboveground Litter in a Boreal Forest.

Publications

Chronic Nitrogen Deposition Has a Minor Effect on the Quantity and Quality of Aboveground Litter in a Boreal Forest.

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