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Merging aquatic and terrestrial perspectives of nutrient biogeochemistry

  • Concepts, Reviews, and Syntheses
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Abstract

Although biogeochemistry is an integrative discipline, terrestrial and aquatic subdisciplines have developed somewhat independently of each other. Physical and biological differences between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems explain this history. In both aquatic and terrestrial biogeochemistry, key questions and concepts arise from a focus on nutrient limitation, ecosystem nutrient retention, and controls of nutrient transformations. Current understanding is captured in conceptual models for different ecosystem types, which share some features and diverge in other ways. Distinctiveness of subdisciplines has been appropriate in some respects and has fostered important advances in theory. On the other hand, lack of integration between aquatic and terrestrial biogeochemistry limits our ability to deal with biogeochemical phenomena across large landscapes in which connections between terrestrial and aquatic elements are important. Separation of the two approaches also has not served attempts to scale up or to estimate fluxes from large areas based on plot measurements. Understanding connectivity between the two system types and scaling up biogeochemical information will rely on coupled hydrologic and ecological models, and may be critical for addressing environmental problems associated with locally, regionally, and globally altered biogeochemical cycles.

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Acknowledgements

This paper resulted from discussions and literature research conducted as part of the ATBGC working group supported by the NCEAS, which is funded by the NSF (grant #DEB–0072909), the University of California, and UCSB. Additional post-doctoral support for S.E.G. was also provided. We thank the many persons with whom we exchanged ideas while at the NCEAS, and members of the biogeochemistry group at Arizona State University, Russ Monson, and two anonymous reviewers, all of whose comments improved the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287–4501, USA

    Nancy B. Grimm

  2. Department of Forest Sciences, University of British Columbia, 3008–2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Sarah E. Gergel

  3. Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA

    William H. McDowell

  4. School of Forestry, SUNY-Syracuse, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA

    Elizabeth W. Boyer

  5. Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA

    C. Lisa Dent

  6. Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA

    Peter Groffman

  7. School of Forestry and Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011–5018, USA

    Stephen C. Hart

  8. US Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USA

    Judson Harvey

  9. South Dakota Center for Biocomplexity Studies, South Dakota State University, SH 153B, Box 2202, Brookings, SD 57007–0896, USA

    Carol Johnston

  10. School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

    Emilio Mayorga

  11. Department of Environmental Studies, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA

    Michael E. McClain

  12. Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle & Evolutive, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier, Cedex 5, France

    Gilles Pinay

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  1. Nancy B. Grimm
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  2. Sarah E. Gergel
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  3. William H. McDowell
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  4. Elizabeth W. Boyer
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  5. C. Lisa Dent
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  6. Peter Groffman
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  7. Stephen C. Hart
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  8. Judson Harvey
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  9. Carol Johnston
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  10. Emilio Mayorga
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  11. Michael E. McClain
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  12. Gilles Pinay
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nancy B. Grimm.

Additional information

We dedicate this paper to the memory of Catherine Lisa Dent, a member of our working group who contributed much to the ideas presented herein, and to the joy of developing them together.

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Grimm, N.B., Gergel, S.E., McDowell, W.H. et al. Merging aquatic and terrestrial perspectives of nutrient biogeochemistry. Oecologia 137, 485–501 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1382-5

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