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Modest Gaseous Nitrogen Losses Point to Conservative Nitrogen Cycling in a Lowland Tropical Forest Watershed

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Abstract

Primary tropical rainforests are generally considered to be relatively nitrogen (N) rich, with characteristically large hydrologic and gaseous losses of inorganic N. However, emerging evidence suggests that some tropical ecosystems can exhibit tight N cycling, with low biologically available losses. In this study, we combined isotopic data with a well-characterized watershed N mass balance to close the N budget and characterize gaseous N losses at the ecosystem scale in a lowland tropical rainforest on the Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica. We measured δ15N and δ18O of nitrate (NO3 −) in precipitation, surface, shallow and deep soil lysimeters and stream water biweekly for 1 year. Enrichment of both isotopes indicates that denitrification occurs predominantly as NO3 − moves from surface soil down to 15 cm depth or laterally to stream water, with little further processing in deeper soil. Two different isotopic modeling approaches suggested that the gaseous fraction comprises 14 or 32% of total N loss (2.7 or 7.5 kg N ha−1 y−1), though estimates are sensitive to selection of isotopic fractionation values. Gas loss estimates using the mass balance approach (3.2 kg N ha−1 y−1) fall within this range and include N2O losses of 0.9 kg N ha−1 y−1. Overall, gaseous and soluble hydrologic N losses comprise a modest proportion (~ 25%) of the total N inputs to this ecosystem. By contrast, relatively large, episodic hydrologic losses of non-biologically available particulate N balance the majority of N inputs and may contribute to maintaining conservative N cycling in this lowland tropical forest. Similar patterns of N cycling may occur in other tropical forests with similar state factor combinations—high rainfall, steep topography, relatively fertile soils—such as the western arc of the Amazon Basin and much of IndoMalaysia, but this hypothesis remains untested.

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Acknowledgements

We thank W. Combronero-Castro for his invaluable assistance with fieldwork in Costa Rica. We thank M. Jimenez and the late H. Michaud of the Drake Bay Wilderness Camp for providing field access and logistical support and we also thank F. Campos Rivera, the Organizaciόn para Estudios Tropicales (OET) and the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energia (MINAE) for assisting with research permits and logistics in Costa Rica. This study was supported by a National Science Foundation GK-12 fellowship, the Andrew Mellon Foundation and an NSF DEB Award (# 0919080) to CC and NSF DEB Award (# 0918387) to SP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, Montana, 59808, USA

    Fiona M. Soper & Cory C. Cleveland

  2. The Institute of Artic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80303, USA

    Phillip G. Taylor & Alan R. Townsend

  3. Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, 80307, USA

    William R. Wieder

  4. National Ecological Observatory Network, Boulder, Colorado, 80301, USA

    Samantha R. Weintraub

  5. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, 02912, USA

    Stephen Porder

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  1. Fiona M. Soper
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  2. Phillip G. Taylor
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  3. William R. Wieder
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  5. Cory C. Cleveland
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Correspondence to Fiona M. Soper.

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Author Contributions

PGT and ART conceived of and designed the study. PGT and WW performed the research. FS and PGT analyzed the data. All authors interpreted results and contributed to the MS—writing led by FS and PGT.

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Soper, F.M., Taylor, P.G., Wieder, W.R. et al. Modest Gaseous Nitrogen Losses Point to Conservative Nitrogen Cycling in a Lowland Tropical Forest Watershed. Ecosystems 21, 901–912 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-017-0193-1

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