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Short-term uptake of 15NH4 + into soil microbes and seedlings of pine, spruce and birch in potted soils

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Abstract

Short-term competition between soil microbes and seedlings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) for N was assessed in a pot study using (15NH4)2SO4 as a tracer. Seedlings were grown in organic and mineral soil, collected from a podsol soil; 3.18 mg (15NH4)2SO4 per pot were injected into the soil, corresponding to 4 µg 15N g-1 d.m. (dry matter) mineral soil and 17 µg 15N g-1 d.m. organic soil. The amounts of N and 15N in the seedlings and in microbial biomass derived from fumigation-extraction were measured 48 h after addition of 15N. In the mineral soil, 19–30% of the added 15N was found in the plants and 14–20% in the microbial biomass. There were no statistically significant differences between the tree species. In the organic soil, 74% of the added 15N was recovered in the microbial biomass in birch soil, compared to 26% and 17% in pine and spruce soils, respectively. Correspondingly, about 70% of the 15N was recovered in pine and spruce seedlings, and only 23% in birch seedlings. In conclusion, plants generally competed more successfully for added 15NH4 + than soil microbes did. An exception was birch growing in organic soil, where the greater amount of available C from birch root exudates perhaps enabled micro-organisms to utilise more N.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff at Ruotsinkylä field station for taking care of the plants. Thanks to Anneli Rautiainen for excellent help with the 15N additions and in harvesting the experiment, Jussi Heinonsalo for giving comments on the manuscript, and Dr Joann von Weissenberg for revising the language. We are grateful to the Academy of Finland, Metsämiesten säätiö and Emil Aaltosen säätiö for supporting this work.

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Correspondence to Outi Priha.

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Priha, O., Smolander, A. Short-term uptake of 15NH4 + into soil microbes and seedlings of pine, spruce and birch in potted soils. Biol Fertil Soils 37, 324–327 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-003-0601-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-003-0601-x

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