Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Soil retention of 15N in a simulated N deposition study: effects of live plant and soil organic matter content

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and aims

The impacts of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on terrestrial ecosystem processes remain controversial, mostly because of the uncertainty regarding the fates of deposited N. We conducted a 16-week simulated deposition study to experimentally trace N in a greenhouse plant-soil system.

Methods

Using a two-way factorial design, we added (15NH4)2SO4 solution twice a week to pots containing different soil organic matter (SOM) content and with or without a live plant (Salix dasyclados). The recoveries of 15N in soil, plant biomass, and leaching solution were quantified.

Results

We found most 15N was retained in soil (18.0–59.2%), with significantly more 15N recovered from high-SOM soils than from low-SOM soils. Plant presence significantly increased 15N retention in soil. Plant biomass accounted for 10–20% of the 15N input, with proportionally more 15N assimilated when plants were grown in low-SOM soils. Leaching loss of 15N was relatively low (10–17%).

Conclusion

Our study suggests that SOM content and plant presence significantly affect the fates of deposited N. Indeed, N would be preferentially retained in soils with high SOM content and live plant, while plants would assimilate more deposited N when grown in low SOM soils. Global biogeochemical models thus need to incorporate such soil-specific N retention and plant N assimilation.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aber JD, Melillo JM, McClaugherty CA, Eshleman KN (1983) Potential sinks for mineralized nitrogen following disturbance in forest ecosystems. Ecol Bull 35:179–192

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aber JD, Mcdowell W, Nadelhoffer KJ, Magill AH, Berntson G, Kamakea M, McNulty S, Currie W, Rustad L, Fernandez I (1998) Nitrogen saturation in temperate forest ecosystems–hypotheses revisited. Bioscience 48:921–934

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agner H, Schenk MK (2006) Plant effects on variability of denitrification N emissions in cultures of potted ornamental plants. Eur J Hortic Sci 71:15–20

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett JE, Burke IC (2000) Potential nitrogen immobilization in grassland soils across a soil organic matter gradient. Soil Biol Biochem 32:1707–1716

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brookes PC, Landman A, Prudue G, Jenkinson DS (1985) Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen, a rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 17:837–842

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann N, Gebauer G, Schulze ED (1996) Partitioning of N-15-labeled ammonium and nitrate among soil, litter, below- and above-ground biomass of trees and understory in a 15-year-old Picea abies plantation. Biogeochemistry 33:1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Currie WS, Nadelhoffer KJ, Aber JD (2004) Redistributions of N-15 highlight turnover and replenishment of mineral soil organic N as a long-term control on forest C balance. For Ecol Manag 196:109–127

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Damin V, Trivelin PCO, Franco HCJ, Barbosa TG (2010) Nitrogen (15N) loss in the soil-plant system after herbicide application on Pennisetum glaucum. Plant Soil 328:245–252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • de Graaff M-A, van Kessel C, Six J (2008) The impact of long-term elevated CO2 on C and N retention in stable SOM pools. Plant Soil 303:311–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Vries W, Solberg S, Dobbertin M, Sterba H, Laubhann D, van Oijen M, Evans C, Gundersen P, Kros J, Wamelink G, Reinds G, Sutton M (2009) The impact of nitrogen deposition on carbon sequestration by European forests and heathlands. For Ecol Manag 58:1814–1823

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn RM, Mikola J, Bol R, Bardgett RD (2006) Influence of microbial activity on plant-microbial competition for organic and inorganic nitrogen. Plant Soil 289:321–334

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein HE, Burke IC, Mosier AR (1998) Plant effects on spatial and temporal patterns of nitrogen cycling in shortgrass steppe. Ecosystems 1:374–385

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang H, Mo J, Peng S, Li Z, Wang H (2009) Cumulative effects of nitrogen additions on litter decomposition in three tropical forests in southern China. Plant Soil 297:233–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fog K (1988) The effect of added nitrogen on the rate of decomposition of organic-matter. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 63:433–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galloway JN, Dentener FJ, Capone DG, Boyer EW, Howarth RW, Seitzinger SP, Asner GP, Cleveland CC, Green PA, Holland EA, Karl DM, Michaels AF, Porter JH, Townsend AR, Vorosmarty CJ (2004) Nitrogen cycles, past, present, and future. Biogeochemistry 70:153–226

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gunderson P, Sevel L, Christiansen JR, Vesterdal L, Hansen K, Bastrup-Birk A (2009) Do indicators of nitrogen retention and leaching differ between coniferous and broadleaved forests in Denmark? For Ecol Manag 258:1137–1146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaeger CH III, Monson RK, Fisk MC, Schmidt SK (1999) Seasonal partitioning of nitrogen by plants and soil microorganisms in an alpine ecosystem. Ecology 80:1883–1891

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johannisson C, Myrold DD, Hogberg P (1999) Retention of nitrogen by a nitrogen-loaded Scotch pine forest. Soil Sci Soc Am 63:383–389

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Likens GE, Bormann FH, Johnson NM, Fisher DW, Pierce RS (1970) Effects of forest cutting and herbicide treatment on nutrient budgets in the Hubbard brook watershed-ecosystem. Ecol Monogr 40:23–47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo YQ, Su B, Currie WS, Dukes JS, Finzi A, Hartwig U, Hungate B, Murtrie RE, Oren R, Parton WJ, Pataki DE, Shaw MR, Zak DR, Field CB (2004) Progressive nitrogen limitation of ecosystem responses to rising atmospheric C dioxide. Bioscience 54:731–739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magill AH, Aber JD, Berntson GM, McDowell WH, Nadelhoffer KJ, Melillo JM, Steudler P (2000) Long-term nitrogen additions and nitrogen saturation in two temperate forests. Ecosystems 3:238–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnani F, Mencuccini M, Borghetti M, Berbigier P, Berninger F, Delzon S, Grelle A, Hari P, Jarvis PG, Kolari P, Kowalski AS, Lankreijer H, Law BE, Lindroth A, Loustau D, Manca G, Moncrieff JB, Rayment M, Tedeschi V, Valentini R, Grace J (2007) The human footprint in the carbon cycle of temperate and boreal forests. Nature 447:849–850

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer KJ, Aber JD, Downs M, Fry B, Melillo JM (1992) Biological sinks for N additions to a forested catchment. In: Rasmussen L, Bridges T, Mathy P (eds) Experimental manipulations of biota and biogeochemical cycling in ecosystems. Copenhagen, Denmark, pp 64–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer KJ, Emmett BA, Gunderson P, Kjønaas OJ, Koopmans CJ, Schleppi P, Tietema A, Wright RF (1999) Nitrogen deposition makes a minor contribution to carbon sequestration in temperate forests. Nature 398:145–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Patricia M, Downs MR, Magill AH, Nadelhoffer KJ, Aber JD (2004) Decomposing litter as a sink for 15N-enriched additions to an oak forest and a red pine plantation. For Ecol Manag 196:71–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perakis SS, Compton JE, Hedin LO (2005) Nitrogen retention across a gradient of 15N additions to an unpolluted temperate forest soil in Chile. Ecology 86:96–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piirainen S, Finér L, Mannerkoski H, Starr M (2002) Effects of forest clear-cutting on the carbon and nitrogen fluxes through podzolic soil horizons. Plant Soil 239:301–311

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tietema A, Emmett BA, Gundersen P, Kjonaas OJ, Koopmans CJ (1998) The fate of N-15-labelled nitrogen deposition in coniferous ecosystems. For Ecol Manag 101:19–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend AR, Braswell BH, Holland EA, Penner JE (1996) Spatial and temporal patterns in terrestrial C storage due to deposition of fossil fuel nitrogen. Ecol Appl 6:806–814

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, Aber JD, Howarth RW, Likens GE, Matson PA, Schindler DW, Schlesinger WH, Tilman DG (1997) Technical report, human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle, sources and consequences. Ecol Appl 7:737–750

    Google Scholar 

  • Zar JR (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edn. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhu W-X, Wang W (2011) Does soil organic matter variation affect the retention of 15NH +4 and 15NO −3 in forest ecosystems? For Ecol Manag 261:675–682

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank many students from the Dept. of Biological Sciences, Binghamton University for helping collecting and assembling soils for this study. Dr. Kao-Kniffin from Cornell University provided a critical review. We would also like to acknowledge the critical comments from reviewers and editors that have improved the quality of this paper. This work was supported by the USDA National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program–Soils and Soil Biology.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Wenwen Wang

    Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York–Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA

    Wenwen Wang & Weixing Zhu

Authors
  1. Wenwen Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Weixing Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Weixing Zhu.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Katja Klumpp.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, W., Zhu, W. Soil retention of 15N in a simulated N deposition study: effects of live plant and soil organic matter content. Plant Soil 351, 61–72 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0929-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0929-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation