Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Increased soil stable nitrogen isotopic ratio following phosphorus enrichment: historical patterns and tests of two hypotheses in a phosphorus-limited wetland

  • Ecosystem Ecology
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We used a P enrichment gradient in the Everglades to investigate patterns of the stable N isotopic ratio (δ15N) in peat profiles as an indicator of historic eutrophication of this wetland. We also tested two hypotheses to explain the effects of P on increased δ15N of organic matter including: (1) increased N mineralization/N loss, and (2) reduced isotopic discrimination during macrophyte N uptake. Spatial patterns of δ15N in surface litter and soil (0–10 cm) mimic those of the aboveground macrophytes (Typha domingensis Pers. and Cladium jamaicense Crantz). Peat profiles also show increased δ15N in the peat accumulated in areas near the historic P discharges since the early 1960s. The increased δ15N of bulk peat correlated well with both measured increases in soil total P and the historical beginning of nutrient discharges into this wetland. In 15-day bottle incubations of soil, added P had no effect on the δ15N of NH +4 and significantly increased the δ15N of water-extractable organic N. Measurements of surface soils collected during a field mesocosm experiment also revealed no significant effect of P on δ15N even after 5 years of P addition. In contrast, δ15N of leaf and root tissues of hydroponically grown Typha and Cladium were shown to increase up to 12‰ when grown at elevated levels of P and fixed levels of N (as NH +4 ). The magnitude of changes in δ15N resulting from altered discrimination during N uptake is significant compared with other mechanisms affecting plant δ15N, and suggests that this may be the dominant mechanism affecting δ15N of organic matter following P enrichment. The results of this study have implications for the interpretation of δ15N as an indicator of shifts in relative N limitation in wetland ecosystems, and also stress the importance of experimental validation in interpreting δ15N patterns.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amador J, Jones RD (1993) Nutrient limitations on microbial respiration in peat soils with different total phosphorus content. Soil Biol Biochem 25:793–801

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amundson R, Austin AT, Schuur EAG, Yoo K, Matzek V, Kendall C, et al. (2003) Global patterns of the isotopic composition of soil and plant nitrogen. Global Biogeochem Cycles 17

  • Bartow SM, Craft CB, Richardson CJ (1996) Reconstructing historical changes in Everglades plant community composition using pollen distributions in peat. J Lake Reserv Manage 12:313–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bedard-Haughn A, van Groenigen JW, van Kessel C (2003) Tracing 15N through landscapes: potential uses and precautions. J Hydrol 272:175–190

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benner R, Fogel ML, Sprague EK (1991) Diagenesis of belowground biomass of Spartina alterniflora in salt marsh sediments. Limnol Oceanogr 36:1358–1374

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brenner M, Whitmore TJ, Curtis JH, Hodell DA, Schelske CL (1999) Stable isotope (δ13C and δ15N) signatures of sedimented organic matter as indicators of historic lake trophic state. J Paleolimnol 22:205–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Childers DL, Doren RF, Jones R, Noe GB, Rugge M, Scinto LJ (2003) Decadal change in vegetation and soil phosphorus pattern across the Everglades landscape. J Environ Qual 32:344–362

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clarkson BR, Schipper LA, Moyersoen B, Silvester WB (2005) Foliar 15N natural abundance indicates phosphorus limitation in bog species. Oecologia 144:550–557

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Craft CB, Richardson CJ (1997) Relationships between soil nutrients and plant species composition in Everglades peatlands. J Environ Qual 26:224–232

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Evans RD (2001) Physiological mechanisms influencing plant nitrogen isotope composition. Trends Plant Sci 6:121–126

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fogel ML, Tuross N (1999) Transformation of plant biochemicals to geological macromolecules during early diagenesis. Oecologia 120:336–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Handley LL, Raven JA (1992) The use of natural abundance of nitrogen isotopes in plant physiology and ecology. Plant Cell Environ 15:965–985

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hogberg P (1990) Forests losing large quantities of nitrogen have elevated 15N/14N ratios. Oecologia 84:229–231

    Google Scholar 

  • Hogberg P (1991) Development of 15N enrichment in a nitrogen-fertilized forest soil–plant system. Soil Biol Biochem 23:335–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inglett PW, Reddy KR (2006) Investigating the use of macrophyte stable C and N isotopic ratios as indicators of wetland eutrophication: Patterns in the P-affected Everglades. Limnol Oceanogr 51:2380–2387

    Google Scholar 

  • Inglett PW, Reddy KR, McCormick PV (2004) Periphyton chemistry and nitrogenase activity in a northern Everglades ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 67:213–233

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koch MS, Reddy KR (1992) Distribution of soil and plant nutrients along a trophic gradient in the Florida Everglades. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56:1492–1499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehmann MF, Bernasconi SM, Barbieri A, McKenzie JA (2002) Preservation of organic matter and alteration of its carbon and nitrogen isotope composition during simulated and in situ early sedimentary diagenesis. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 66:3573–3584

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Light SS, Dineen JW (1994) Water control in the Everglades: a historical perspective. In: Davis SM, Ogden JC (eds) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St. Lucie Press, Del Ray Beach, pp 47–84

  • Lorenzen B, Brix H, Schierup HH, Madsen TV (1998) Design and performance of the Phyto-Nutri-Tron: a system for controlling the root and shoot environment for whole-plant ecophysiological studies. Environ Exp Bot 39:141–157

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lorenzen B, Brix H, Mendelssohn IA, Mckee KL, Miao SL (2001) Growth, biomass allocation and nutrient use efficiency in Cladium jamaicense and Typha domingensis as affected by phosphorus and oxygen availability. Aquat Bot 70:117–133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mariotti A, Germon JC, Hubert P, Kaiser P, Letolle R, Tardieux A, Tardieux P (1981) Experimental-determination of nitrogen kinetic isotope fractionation—some principles—illustration for the denitrification and nitrification processes. Plant Soil 62:413–430

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mariotti A, Landreau A, Simon B (1988) 15N isotope biogeochemistry and natural denitrification process in groundwater—application to the chalk aquifer of northern France. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 52:1869–1878

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martinelli LA, Piccolo MC, Townsend AR, Vitousek PM, Cuevas E, McDowell W et al (1999) Nitrogen stable isotopic composition of leaves and soil: tropical versus temperate forests. Biogeochemistry 46:45–65

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McCormick PV, O’Dell MB (1996) Quantifying periphyton responses to phosphorus in the Florida Everglades: a synoptic-experimental approach. J North Am Benthol Soc 15:450–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCormick PV, Rawlik PS, Lurding K, Smith EP, Sklar FH (1996) Periphyton–water quality relationships along a nutrient gradient in the northern Florida Everglades. J N Am Benthol Soc 15:433–449

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKee KL, Feller IC, Popp M, Wanek W (2002) Mangrove isotopic (δ15N and δ13C) fractionation across a nitrogen vs. phosphorus limitation gradient. Ecology 83:1065–1075

    Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM, Aber JD, Linkins AE, Ricca A, Fry B, Nadelhoffer KJ (1989) Carbon and nitrogen dynamics along the decay continuum: plant litter to soil organic matter. Plant Soil 115:189–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer K, Fry B (1988) Controls on natural nitrogen-15 and carbon-13 abundances in forest soil organic matter. Soil Sci Soc Am J 52:1633–1640

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer K, Shaver G, Fry B, Giblin A, Johnson L, McKane R (1996) 15N natural abundances and N use by tundra plants. Oecologia 107:386–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newman S, McCormick PV, Miao SL, Laing JA, Kennedy WC, O’Dell MB (2004) The effect of phosphorus enrichment on the nutrient status of a northern Everglades slough. Wetl Ecol Manage 12:63–79

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Novak M, Buzek F, Adamova M (1999) Vertical trends in δ13C, δ15N and δ34S ratios in bulk Sphagnum peat. Soil Biol Biochem 31:1343–1346

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Orem WH, Holmes CW, Kendall C, Lerch HE, Bates AL, Silva SR et al (1999) Geochemistry of Florida Bay sediments: nutrient history at five sites in eastern and central Florida Bay. J Coast Res 15:1055–1071

    Google Scholar 

  • Rejmánková E, Komárková J, Rejmanek M (2004) δN15 as an indicator of N2 fixation by cyanobacterial mats in tropical marshes. Biogeochemistry 67:353–368

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, DeLaune RD, Debusk WF, Koch MS (1993) Long-term nutrient accumulation rates in the Everglades. Soil Sci Soc Am J 57:1147–1155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, Wang Y, Debusk WF, Fisher MM, Newman S (1998) Forms of soil phosphorus in selected hydrologic units of the Florida everglades. Soil Sci Soc Am J 62:1134–1147

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, O’Connor GA, Schelske CL (1999) Phosphorus biogeochemistry in subtropical ecosystems. Lewis Publishers. Boca Raton, Fla.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen P, Jensen ES (1991) Sequential diffusion of ammonium and nitrate from soil extracts to a polytetrafluoroethylene trap for 15N determination. Anal Chim Acta 252:201–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stark JM, Hart SC (1996) Diffusion technique for preparing salt solutions, Kjeldahl digests, and persulfate digests for 15N analysis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60:1846–1855

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (1993) Methods for the determination of inorganic substances in environmental samples. EPA/600/R-93/100. EPA, Washington, D.C.

  • White JR, Reddy KR (2000) Influence of phosphorus loading on organic nitrogen mineralization of Everglades soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 64:1525–1534

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • White JR, Reddy KR (2003) Nitrification and denitrification rates of Everglades wetland soils along a phosphorus-impacted gradient. J Environ Qual 32:2436–2443

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wooller M, Smallwood B, Scharler U, Jacobson M, Fogel M (2003) A taphonomic study of δ13C and δ15N values in Rhizophora mangle leaves for a multi-proxy approach to mangrove palaeoecology. Org Geochem 34:1259–1275

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded in part by the National Science Foundation (grant DEB-0078368). The authors thank the following for their assistance in this work: Todd Osborne and Michael Manna for field and sampling assistance, Yu Wang for analytical support, and Bill Pothier for assistance with isotopic analyses. We also gratefully acknowledge Timothy Seastedt and two anonymous reviewers for comments and suggestions which greatly improved the quality of the manuscript. All of the experiments described in this study comply with the laws and regulations of the State of Florida and the United States of America.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wetland Biogeochemistry Laboratory, Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611-0510, USA

    P. W. Inglett & K. R. Reddy

  2. South Florida Water Management District, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL, 33416-4680, USA

    S. Newman

  3. Department of Plant Ecology, University of Aarhus, Nordlandsvej 68, 8240, Risskov, Denmark

    B. Lorenzen

Authors
  1. P. W. Inglett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. R. Reddy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. Newman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. B. Lorenzen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. W. Inglett.

Additional information

Communicated by Tim Seastedt.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Inglett, P.W., Reddy, K.R., Newman, S. et al. Increased soil stable nitrogen isotopic ratio following phosphorus enrichment: historical patterns and tests of two hypotheses in a phosphorus-limited wetland. Oecologia 153, 99–109 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0711-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0711-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation