Nitrogen and calcium additions increase forest growth in northeastern USA spruce–fir forests

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1574-1585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kulmatiski ◽  
Kristiina A. Vogt ◽  
Daniel J. Vogt ◽  
Phillip M. Wargo ◽  
Joel P. Tilley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N ◽  
Nitrogen Treatments ◽  
Forest Species Composition

We determined responses of red spruce ( Picea rubens Sarg.) – balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) forests to 6 years of nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca), and N + Ca treatments (100, 160, and 260 kg·ha–1·year–1 of N, Ca, and N + Ca, respectively) in New York (NY) and New Hampshire (NH). Forest responses to Ca treatments were also determined in Vermont (VT). Nitrogen treatments increased aboveground net primary production (ANPP) by 33% and 25% above controls in NY and NH, respectively. Similarly, N + Ca treatments increased ANPP by 27% and 28% in NY and NH, respectively. Calcium treatments increased ANPP by 25% and 21% above controls in NY and VT. Calcium treatment did not increase ANPP in NH, suggesting N, but not Ca limitation. Leaf-litter quantity and quality, and soil C and N storage were greater in treated than in control plots. Fine-root mass and production did not differ among treatments. Trees, therefore, assimilated more soil nutrients without increasing root growth in treated plots. Red spruce ANPP, however, declined or remained unchanged in response to N and Ca additions. The equivalent of 68–102 years of anthropogenic N addition to soils changed forest species composition without decreasing ANPP, and Ca additions did not prevent this change.

scholarly journals Structural and Functional Organization of the Root System: A Comparative Study on Five Plant Species

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Sofo ◽  
Hazem S. Elshafie ◽  
Ippolito Camele
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N ◽  
C And N Cycling

Plants are affected by soil environments to the same extent that they affect soil functioning through interactions between environmental and genetic factors. Here, five plant species (broad bean, pea, cabbage, fennel, and olive) grown under controlled pot conditions were tested for their ability to differently stimulate the degradation of standard litter. Litter, soil C and N contents were measured for evaluating chemical changes due to plant presence, while soil microbial abundance was evaluated to assess if it had a positive or negative catalyzing influence on litter decomposition. The architecture and morphological traits of roots systems were also evaluated by using specific open-source software (SmartRoot). Soil chemical and microbiological characteristics were significantly influenced by the plant species. Variations in soil C/N dynamics were correlated with the diversity of root traits among species. Early stage decomposition of the standard litter changed on the basis of the plant species. The results indicated that key soil processes are governed by interactions between plant roots, soil C and N, and the microbial metabolism that stimulate decomposition reactions. This, in turn, can have marked effects on soil chemical and microbiological fertility, both fundamental for sustaining crops, and can promote the development of new approaches for optimizing soil C and N cycling, managing nutrient transport, and sustaining and improving net primary production.

scholarly journals Root Traits and Architecture Affect Standard Litter Decomposition: A Comparative Study on Five Plant Species

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Sofo ◽  
Hazem S. Elshafie ◽  
Ippolito Camele
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Root Traits ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Decomposition Reactions ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N ◽  
C And N Cycling

Plants are affected by soil environments to the same extent they affect soil functioning through interactions between environmental and genetic factors. Here, five plant species (broad bean, pea, cabbage, fennel, and olive) grown under controlled pot conditions were tested for their ability to differently stimulate the degradation of standard litter. Litter, soil C and N contents and soil microbial abundance were measured. The architecture and morphological traits of roots systems were also evaluated by using specific open-source software (SmartRoot). Soil chemical and microbiological characteristics were significantly influenced by the plant species. Variations in soil C/N dynamics were correlated with the diversity of root traits among species. Early-stage decomposition of the standard litter changed on the basis of the plant species. The results indicated that key soil processes are governed by interactions between plant roots, soil C and N, and the microbial metabolism that stimulate decomposition reactions. This, in turn, can have marked effects on soil chemical and microbiological fertility, both fundamental for sustaining crops, and can promote the development of new approaches for optimizing soil C and N cycling, managing nutrient transport, and sustaining and improving net primary production.

SOIL C AND N AS INDICATORS OF VINEYARD SOIL QUALITY IN THE RAVNI KOTARI REGION OF CROATIA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia C. Clemens ◽  
◽  
Mia Brkljaca ◽  
Delaina Pearson ◽  
C. Brannon Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Vineyard Soil ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N

scholarly journals Spatially Related Sampling Uncertainty in the Assessment of Labile Soil Carbon and Nitrogen in an Irish Forest Plantation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2139
Author(s):  
Junliang Zou ◽  
Bruce Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variability ◽  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Sampling Area ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N ◽  
Highly Correlated

The importance of labile soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soil biogeochemical processes is now well recognized. However, the quantification of labile soil C and N in soils and the assessment of their contribution to ecosystem C and N budgets is often constrained by limited information on spatial variability. To address this, we examined spatial variability in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved total nitrogen (DTN) in a Sitka spruce forest in central Ireland. The results showed moderate variations in the concentrations of DOC and DTN based on the mean, minimum, and maximum, as well as the coefficients of variation. Residual values of DOC and DTN were shown to have moderate spatial autocorrelations, and the nugget sill ratios were 0.09% and 0.10%, respectively. Distribution maps revealed that both DOC and DTN concentrations in the study area decreased from the southeast. The variability of both DOC and DTN increased as the sampling area expanded and could be well parameterized as a power function of the sampling area. The cokriging technique performed better than the ordinary kriging for predictions of DOC and DTN, which are highly correlated. This study provides a statistically based assessment of spatial variations in DOC and DTN and identifies the sampling effort required for their accurate quantification, leading to improved assessments of forest ecosystem C and N budgets.

Impacts of irrigation on soil C and N stocks in grazed grasslands depends on aridity and irrigation duration

Geoderma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 399 ◽  
pp. 115109
Author(s):  
Paul L. Mudge ◽  
Jamie Millar ◽  
Jack Pronger ◽  
Alesha Roulston ◽  
Veronica Penny ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil C ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N

scholarly journals C and N urban soil budget and its spatial differentiation in comparison with natural areas in the Wroclaw region of Poland

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 00085
Author(s):  
Izabela Sówka ◽  
Yaroslav Bezyk ◽  
Maxim Dorodnikov
Keyword(s):  
Urban Soil ◽  
Spatial Differentiation ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Microbial Biomass C ◽  
Natural Areas ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N ◽  
Natural Grassland

An assessment of C and N balance in urban soil compared to the natural environment was carried out to evaluate the influence of biological processes along with human-induced forcing. Soil C and N stocks were quantified on the samples (n=18) collected at 5 - 10 cm depth from dominated green areas and arable lands in the city of Wroclaw (Poland) and the relatively natural grassland located ca. 36 km south-west. Higher soil carbon and nitrogen levels (C/N ratio = 11.8) and greater microbial biomass C and N values (MBC = 95.3, MBN = 14.4 mg N kg-1) were measured in natural grassland compared with the citywide lawn sites (C/N ratio = 15.17, MBC = 84.3 mg C kg-1, MBN = 11.9 mg N kg-1), respectively. In contrast to the natural areas, the higher C and N concentration was measured in urban grass dominated soils (C = 2.7 % and N = 0.18 % of dry mass), which can be explained mainly due to the high soil bulk density and water holding capacity (13.8 % clay content). The limited availability of soil C and N content was seen under the arable soil (C = 1.23 %, N = 0.13 %) than in the studied grasslands. In fact, the significantly increased C/N ratios in urban grasslands are largely associated with land conversion and demonstrate that urban soils have the potential to be an important reservoir of C.

Simulation of protozoa-induced mineralization of bacterial carbon and nitrogen

1992 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Rutherford ◽  
N. G. Juma
Keyword(s):  
N Mineralization ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Glucose Addition ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N ◽  
Typic Cryoboroll ◽  
Bacterial C

Modelling in soil ecological research is a means of linking the dynamics of microbial and faunal populations to soil processes. The objectives of this study were (i) to simulate bacterial-protozoan interactions and flows of C and N in clay loam Orthic Black Chernozemic soil under laboratory condtions; and (ii) to quantify the flux of C and N (inputs and outputs) through various pools using the simulation model. The unique features of this model are: (i) it combines the food chain with specific soil C and N pools, and (ii) it simultaneously traces the flows of C, 14C, N and 15N. It was possible to produce a model that fitted the data observed for the soil. The simulated CO2-C evolved during the first 12 d was due mainly to glucose addition (171 μg C g−1 soil) and cycling of C in the soil (160 μg C g−1 soil). During this interval, bacterial C uptake was 5.5-fold greater than the initial bacterial C pool size. In the first 12 d protozoa directly increased total CO2-C evolution by 11% and increased NH4-N mineralization 3-fold, compared to soil containing only bacteria. Mineralization of C and N was rapid when bacterial numbers were increased as a result of glucose addition. Key words: Acanthamoeba sp., modelling, N mineralization-immobilization, organic matter, Pseudomonas sp., Typic Cryoboroll

scholarly journals Patterns of water infiltration and soil degradation over a 120-yr chronosequence from forest to agriculture in western Kenya

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 6993-7015 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Nyberg ◽  
A. Bargués Tobella ◽  
J. Kinyangi ◽  
U. Ilstedt
Keyword(s):  
Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Degradation ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Infiltration Rate ◽  
Water Infiltration ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Western Kenya ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Soil C And N ◽  
C And N

Abstract. Soil degradation is commonly reported in the tropics where forest is converted to agriculture. Much of the native forest in the highlands of western Kenya has been converted to agricultural land in order to feed the growing population, and more land is being cleared. In tropical Africa, this land use change results in progressive soil degradation, as the period of cultivation increases. Sites that were converted to agriculture at different times can be evaluated as a chronosequence; this can aid in our understanding of the processes at work, particularly those in the soil. Both levels and variation of infiltration, soil carbon and other parameters are influenced by management within agricultural systems, but they have rarely been well documented in East Africa. We constructed a chronosequence for an area of western Kenya, using two native forest sites and six fields that had been converted to agriculture for varying lengths of time. We assessed changes in infiltrability (the steady-state infiltration rate), soil C and N, bulk density, δ13C, and the proportion of macro- and microaggregates in soil along a 119 yr chronosequence of conversion from natural forest to agriculture. Infiltration, soil C and N, decreased rapidly after conversion, while bulk density increased. Median infiltration rates fell to about 15 % of the initial values in the forest and C and N values dropped to around 60 %, whilst the bulk density increased by 50 %. Despite high spatial variability in infiltrability, these parameters correlated well with time since conversion and with each other. Our results indicate that landscape planners should include wooded elements in the landscape in sufficient quantity to ensure water infiltration at rates that prevent runoff and erosion. This should be the case for restoring degraded landscapes, as well as for the development of new agricultural areas.

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