Soil nitrogen availability influences seasonal carbon allocation patterns in sugar maple (Acersaccharum)

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne K. Burke ◽  
Dudley J. Raynal ◽  
Myron J. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Fine Roots ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Carbon Allocation ◽  
Root Production ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil N Availability ◽  
Allocation Patterns

The influence of soil N availability on growth, on seasonal C allocation patterns, and on sulfate-S content in sugar maple seedlings (Acersaccharum Marsh.) was tested experimentally. Relative to controls, the production of foliage doubled in response to high N availability, and the production of foliage, stems, coarse roots, and fine roots was halved in response to N deprivation. The period of foliage production was lengthened by fertilization and the period of fine root production was shortened by N deprivation compared with controls. In August, a shift in priority C allocation from foliage to roots occurred in the N-deprivation treatment. Therefore, during this month alone, the shoot to root ratio was greater in fertilized plants (1.0) than in N-deprived plants (0.5). Allocation to storage reserves was highest in N-deprived and lowest in fertilized plants (average 160 vs. 125 mg glucose/g biomass produced), and storage in roots of unfertilized plants commenced earlier (August) than in fertilized plants (after September). This resulted in unfertilized plants having higher fine root starch concentrations (5.2%) than fertilized plants (4.0%) in December, although sugar concentrations were similar (5.7%). The lengthened season of shoot growth and the low starch to sugar ratios in fine roots of fertilized plants are symptoms consistent with a higher risk of frost injury and microbial pathogen infection. Although soil N availability did not influence the sulfate-S content in foliage, N deprivation resulted in higher organic S to N ratios. This suggests that more S-containing proteins are produced when N availability is poor.

scholarly journals INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC CO2AND SOIL-N AVAILABILITY ON FINE ROOTS OFPOPULUS TREMULOIDES

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt S. Pregitzer ◽  
Donald R. Zak ◽  
Jennifer Maziasz ◽  
Jared DeForest ◽  
Peter S. Curtis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fine Roots ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil N Availability

scholarly journals Carbon Mineralization in a Soil Amended with Sewage Sludge-Derived Biochar

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  
pp. 4481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Figueiredo ◽  
Coser ◽  
Moreira ◽  
Leão ◽  
Vale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Carbon Mineralization ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Total N ◽  
Soil N Availability ◽  
Organic Matter Stabilization

Biochar has been presented as a multifunctional material with short- and long-term agro-environmental benefits, including soil organic matter stabilization, improved nutrient cycling, and increased primary productivity. However, its turnover time, when applied to soil, varies greatly depending on feedstock and pyrolysis temperature. For sewage sludge-derived biochars, which have high N contents, there is still a major uncertainty regarding the influence of pyrolysis temperatures on soil carbon mineralization and its relationship to soil N availability. Sewage sludge and sewage sludge-derived biochars produced at 300 °C (BC300), 400 °C (BC400), and 500 °C (BC500) were added to an Oxisol in a short-term incubation experiment. Carbon mineralization and nitrogen availability (N-NH4+ and N-NO3−) were studied using a first-order model. BC300 and BC400 showed higher soil C mineralization rates and N-NH4+ contents, demonstrating their potential to be used for plant nutrition. Compared to the control, the cumulative C-CO2 emissions increased by 60–64% when biochars BC300 and BC400 were applied to soil. On the other hand, C-CO2 emissions decreased by 6% after the addition of BC500, indicating the predominance of recalcitrant compounds, which results in a lower supply of soil N-NH4+ (83.4 mg kg−1) in BC500, being 67% lower than BC300 (255.7 mg kg−1). Soil N availability was strongly influenced by total N, total C, C/N ratio, H, pore volume, and specific surface area in the biochars.

scholarly journals Plant controls on post-fire nitrogen availability in a pine savanna

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cari D. Ficken ◽  
Justin P. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Sink Strength ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Ash Deposition ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Soil N Availability ◽  
Pine Savanna

Abstract. Many ecosystems experience drastic changes to soil nutrient availability associated with fire, but the magnitude and duration of these changes are highly variable among vegetation and fire types. In pyrogenic pine savannas across the south eastern United States, pulses of soil inorganic nitrogen (N) occur in tandem with ecosystem-scale nutrient losses from prescribed burns. Despite the importance of this management tool for restoring and maintaining fire-dependent plant communities, the contributions of different mechanisms underlying fire-associated changes to soil N availability remain unclear. Pulses of N availability following fire have been hypothesized to occur through (1) changes to microbial cycling rates and (2) direct ash deposition; we further hypothesize that (3) changes to plant sink strength may contribute to ephemeral increases in soil N availability. Here, we document fire-associated changes to N availability across the growing season in a longleaf pine savanna in North Carolina. To differentiate between possible mechanisms driving soil N pulses, we measured net microbial cycling rates and changes to soil δ15N before and after a burn. We found no evidence for changes in microbial activity, and limited evidence that ash deposition could account for the increase in ammonium availability to more than 5–25 times background levels. We conclude that a temporary dampening of vegetation demand for N following fire may contribute to the observed increases in inorganic N availability.

scholarly journals Interactive Effects of Atmospheric CO 2 and Soil-N Availability on Fine Roots of Populus tremuloides

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt S. Pregitzer ◽  
Donald R. Zak ◽  
Jennifer Maziasz ◽  
Jared DeForest ◽  
Peter S. Curtis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Fine Roots ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil N Availability

scholarly journals Fine Root Production and Mortality in Apple over Winter

HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 603d-603
Author(s):  
Christina E. Wells ◽  
David M. Eissenstat
Keyword(s):  
Fine Roots ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Cortical Cell ◽  
Root Production ◽  
Bud Burst ◽  
Apple Trees ◽  
Root Mortality ◽  
Root Lifespan ◽  
Central Pennsylvania ◽  
Allocation Patterns

Fine root lifespan has previously been estimated at 3 to 4 weeks for apple trees growing in England. We used nondestructive belowground imaging technology to investigate the accuracy of this estimate for apple trees growing in central Pennsylvania. Eight root observation tubes (minirhizotrons) were installed beneath each of six 20-year-old `Red Delicious' apple trees on M26 rootstock. Videos of roots growing against the tubes were taken at intervals of 14 to 28 days between October to June, depending on the amount of root activity. Images were used to construct a database of life history information for over 500 individual roots. A flush of fine roots was produced in the early fall, followed by a period of low but constant mortality that lasted through December. Roots that survived to this time were generally maintained throughout the winter and following spring. A second flush of root production occurred in the spring, coinciding with bud burst and flowering. Root mortality was highest in late spring following this flush. In contrast to earlier estimates of apple root lifespan, we found that >30% of the fine roots produced in the fall lived for ≥200 days. Most of these roots developed red-brown pigmentation, a feature that previously has been associated with cortical cell death. However, the ability of these pigmented roots to produce new white laterals in the spring argues against categorizing these as dead roots. The information on root demographics provided by this study adds to our understanding of seasonal carbon and nutrient allocation patterns in apple.

Long-term increase of nitrogen availability from fertilization of Douglas-fir

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Binkley ◽  
Paula Reid
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Stem Growth ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Fertilizer Response ◽  
Soil N Availability

Most Douglas-fir stands respond to nitrogen fertilization by increasing stem growth for less than 8 years, but one plantation at the United States Forest Service Wind River Experimental Forest has responded for over 15 years. The nitrogen concentration of foliage and fresh litter were higher in the fertilized (applied at 470 kg N/ha) plots 18 years after fertilization. Retranslocation of N from senescent needles was not affected and stem growth per unit N in the canopy was similar between unfertilized and fertilized plots. An index of soil N availability in the fertilized plots was twice that of unfertilized plots. The higher stem growth, leaf area, and stem growth per unit leaf area appeared related to a sustained increase in soil N availability rather than increased N-use efficiency. Soil N transformation processes need to be examined to complete the explanation of the unusually prolonged fertilizer response in these plots.

Fine-root decomposition and N dynamics in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A.

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Chen ◽  
Mark E Harmon ◽  
Jay Sexton ◽  
Becky Fasth
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Fine Roots ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Root Decomposition ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
N Dynamics ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Fine Root Decomposition

We examined the effects of species, initial substrate quality, and site differences (including temperature, precipitation, and soil N availability) on fine-root (<2 mm diameter) decomposition in litter bags and its N dynamics in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong) Carrière), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) forests in Oregon, U.S.A. Species significantly influenced fine-root mass loss during the first 2 years of decomposition. Over the same period, site differences had little impact on decomposition of fine roots. The percentage of initial mass remaining of decomposing fine roots fitted a single-exponential model. The decomposition rate constant (k) for all 15 species examined ranged from 0.172 year–1 for Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanni Parry ex Engelm.) to 0.386 year–1 for Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia Benth.). Initial C quality indices (e.g., cellulose concentration, lignin concentration) of fine roots were correlated with fine-root decomposition rates. In contrast, initial N concentration and soil N availability were not correlated with fine-root decomposition rates. The rate of N released from decomposing roots was positively correlated with the initial N concentration of the fine roots. The data suggest that decomposing fine roots could release at least 20 kg N/ha annually in mature Douglas-fir forests of the Pacific Northwest.

scholarly journals Contributions of microbial activity and ash deposition to post-fire nitrogen availability in a pine savanna

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 241-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cari D. Ficken ◽  
Justin P. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Sink Strength ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Ash Deposition ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil N Availability ◽  
Pine Savanna

Abstract. Many ecosystems experience drastic changes to soil nutrient availability associated with fire, but the magnitude and duration of these changes are highly variable among vegetation and fire types. In pyrogenic pine savannas across the southeastern United States, pulses of soil inorganic nitrogen (N) occur in tandem with ecosystem-scale nutrient losses from prescribed burns. Despite the importance of this management tool for restoring and maintaining fire-dependent plant communities, the contributions of different mechanisms underlying fire-associated changes to soil N availability remain unclear. Pulses of N availability following fire have been hypothesized to occur through (1) changes to microbial cycling rates and (2) direct ash deposition. Here, we document fire-associated changes to N availability across the growing season in a longleaf pine savanna in North Carolina. To differentiate between possible mechanisms driving soil N pulses, we measured net microbial cycling rates and changes to soil δ15N before and after a burn. Our findings refute both proposed mechanisms: we found no evidence for changes in microbial activity, and limited evidence that ash deposition could account for the increase in ammonium availability to more than 5–25 times background levels. Consequently, we propose a third mechanism to explain post-fire patterns of soil N availability, namely that (3) changes to plant sink strength may contribute to ephemeral increases in soil N availability, and encourage future studies to explicitly test this mechanism.

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