Abstract. Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) has exceeded its
demand for plant increment in forest ecosystems in Germany. High N inputs
increased plant growth, the internal N cycling within the ecosystem, the
retention of N in soil and plant compartments, and the N output by seepage
water. But the processes involved are not fully understood, notably the
effect of fructification in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) on N fluxes. The frequency
of fructification has increased together with air temperature and N
deposition, but its impact on N fluxes and the sequestration of carbon (C) and N in
soils have been hardly studied. A field experiment using 15N-labeled leaf
litter exchange was carried out over a 5.5-year period at seven long-term
European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) monitoring sites to study the impact of current mast
frequency on N cycling. Mean annual leaf litterfall contained 35 kg N ha−1, but about one-half of that was recovered in the soil 5.5 years
after the establishment of the leaf litter 15N exchange experiment. In
these forests, fructification occurred commonly at intervals of 5 to 10 years, which has now changed to every 2 years as observed during this
study period. Seed cupules contributed 51 % to the additional litterfall
in mast years, which creates a high nutrient demand during their decomposition
due to the very high ratios of C to N and C to phosphorus (P).
Retention of leaf litter 15N in the soil was more closely related to
the production of total litterfall than to the leaf litterfall, indicating
the role of seed cupules in the amount of leaf N retained in the soil.
Higher mast frequency increased the mass of mean annual litterfall by about
0.5 Mg ha−1 and of litterfall N by 8.7 kg ha−1. Mean net primary
production (NPP) increased by about 4 %. Mean total N retention in soils
calculated by input and output fluxes was unrelated to total litterfall,
indicating that mast events were not the primary factor controlling total N
retention in soils. Despite reduced N deposition since the 1990s, about 5.7 out of 20.7 kg N ha−1 deposited annually between 1994
and 2008 was retained in soils, notably at acid sites with high N/P and C/P
ratios in the organic layers and mineral soils, indicating P limitation for
litter decomposition. Trees retained twice as much N compared to soils by
biomass increment, particularly in less acidic stands where the mineral soils
had low C/N ratios. These results have major implications for our
understanding of the C and N cycling and N retention in forest ecosystems.
In particular the role of mast products in N retention needs more research in
the future.
Soil C and N isotope composition after a centennial Scots pine afforestation in podzols of native European beech forests in NE-Spain
