Leaching of nutrient cations from the forest floor: effects of nitrogen saturation in two long-term manipulations

Nitrogen saturation results in greater mobility of nitrate, which in turn is often correlated with concentrations of nutrient cations in soil solution and streamwater. At the Harvard Forest, U.S.A., under long-term NH4NO3 inputs, a Pinus resinosa Ait. forest has exhibited signs of N saturation more rapidly than a mixed-Quercus forest. We test the hypothesis that increased nitrate leaching causes increased concentrations of nutrient cations in soil solution. Over 2 years (years 6 and 7 of treatment) we measured SO42-, NO3-, Cl-, Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, Na+, H+, and NH4+ in throughfall solution and in forest-floor (Oa) leachate. Concentrations of NO3- in forest-floor leachate increased with rates of N amendment and correlated positively with cation concentrations, with stronger overall correlations in the pine forest: r2 values were 0.51 (pine forest) and 0.39 (oak forest) for Ca2+, 0.45 (pine) and 0.16 (oak) for K+, and 0.62 (pine) and 0.50 (oak) for Mg2+. In summer and fall, the oak forest showed some negative re...

[1]  W. McDowell,et al.  Nitrogen Saturation in Temperate Forest Ecosystems Hypotheses revisited , 2000 .

[2]  K. Nadelhoffer,et al.  SINKS FOR 15N‐ENRICHED ADDITIONS TO AN OAK FOREST AND A RED PINE PLANTATION , 1999 .

[3]  J. Aber,et al.  SOIL DETRITAL PROCESSES CONTROLLING THE MOVEMENT OF 15N TRACERS TO FOREST VEGETATION , 1999 .

[4]  J. Aber,et al.  DETRITAL PROCESSES CONTROLLING THE MOVEMENT OF 15 N TRACERS TO FOREST VEGETATION , 1999 .

[5]  William H. McDowell,et al.  Nitrogen Saturation in Temperate Forest Ecosystems , 1998 .

[6]  B. Emmett,et al.  Predicting the Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition in Conifer Stands: Evidence from the NITREX Ecosystem-Scale Experiments , 1998, Ecosystems.

[7]  B. Emmett,et al.  Impact of nitrogen deposition on nitrogen cycling in forests : a synthesis of NITREX data , 1998 .

[8]  Jerry M. Melillo,et al.  BIOGEOCHEMICAL RESPONSE OF FOREST ECOSYSTEMS TO SIMULATED CHRONIC NITROGEN DEPOSITION , 1997 .

[9]  Charles T. Driscoll,et al.  Factors regulating throughfall flux in a New Hampshire forested landscape , 1996 .

[10]  W. McDowell,et al.  Vertical transport of dissolved organic C and N under long-term N amendments in pine and hardwood forests , 1996 .

[11]  H. Shugart,et al.  Watershed base-cation cycle dynamics modeled over forest regrowth in a Central Appalachian ecosystem , 1996 .

[12]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Biogeochemistry of a forested watershed in the central Adirondack Mountains: Temporal changes and mass balances , 1996 .

[13]  James N. Galloway,et al.  Acid deposition: Perspectives in time and space , 1995 .

[14]  M. Hornung,et al.  The effects of natural and anthropogenic environmental changes on ecosystem processes at the catchment scale. , 1995, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[15]  J. Compton,et al.  Relationships between cation and nitrate concentrations in soil solutions from mature and harvested red alder stands , 1994 .

[16]  J. Aber,et al.  Experimental inducement of nitrogen saturation at the watershed scale , 1993 .

[17]  Richard D. Boone,et al.  Plant and Soil Responses to Chronic Nitrogen Additions at the Harvard Forest, Massachusetts. , 1993, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[18]  J. Aber,et al.  PLANT AND SOIL RESPONSES TO CHRONIC NITROGEN ADDITIONS AT THE HARVARD FOREST , 1993 .

[19]  C. Cronan,et al.  Effects of disturbance and soil amendments on dissolved organic carbon and organic acidity in red pine forest floors , 1992 .

[20]  J. Verstraten,et al.  Nitrate production in nitrogen-saturated acid forest soils: Vertical distribution and characteristics , 1992 .

[21]  I. Morrison,et al.  Influence of acid deposition on element cycling in mature sugar maple forest, Algoma, Canada , 1992 .

[22]  Dale W. Johnson.  Nitrogen Retention in Forest Soils , 1992 .

[23]  R. Qualls,et al.  Fluxes of Dissolved Organic Nutrients and Humic Substances in a Deciduous Forest , 1991 .

[24]  L. Rustad,et al.  Spodosol variability and assessment of response to acidic deposition , 1990 .

[25]  J. Aber,et al.  Nitrogen cycling in high elevation forests of the northeastern US in relation to nitrogen deposition. , 1990 .

[26]  C. Wayne Martin,et al.  Long-term depletion of calcium and other nutrients in eastern US forests , 1989 .

[27]  J. Aber,et al.  Nitrogen saturation in northern forest ecosystems , 1989 .

[28]  P. Hazlett,et al.  Temporal Variation in Nitrate and Nutrient Cations in Drainage Waters from a Deciduous Forest , 1989 .

[29]  T. Fahey,et al.  Root Decomposition and Nutrient Flux Following Whole-Tree Harvest of Northern Hardwood Forest , 1988, Forest Science.

[30]  Dale W. Johnson,et al.  The Effects of Leaching and Whole-Tree Harvesting on Cation Budgets of Several Forests , 1988 .

[31]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater : supplement to the sixteenth edition , 1988 .

[32]  G. Ågren,et al.  Nitrogen saturation of terrestrial ecosystems. , 1988, Environmental pollution.

[33]  J. O. Reuss,et al.  Acid Deposition and the Acidification of Soils and Waters , 1986, Ecological Studies.

[34]  B. Berg.  Nutrient release from litter and humus in coniferous forest soils—a mini review , 1986 .

[35]  R. Schultz,et al.  Comparing treatment means correctly and appropriately , 1985 .

[36]  J. Hornbeck,et al.  The buffer capacity of forest soils in new England , 1985 .

[37]  C. Cronan,et al.  Chemistry and transport of soluble humic substances in forested watersheds of the Adirondack Park, New York , 1985 .

[38]  J. D. Helvey,et al.  Laboratory investigation of leachate chemistry from six Appalachian forest floor types subjected to simulated acid rain , 1985 .

[39]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Short-term changes in the base neutralizing capacity of an acid Adirondack lake, New York , 1984, Nature.

[40]  D. Richter,et al.  Effects of Acid Rain Forest Nutrient Status , 1982 .

[41]  P. Vitousek,et al.  A Comparative Analysis of Potential Nitrification and Nitrate Mobility in Forest Ecosystems , 1982 .

[42]  D. Raynal,et al.  Acid Precipitation and Ionic Movements in Adirondack Forest Soils1 , 1982 .

[43]  D. Cole,et al.  Elemental cycling in forest ecosystems , 1981 .

[44]  E. L. Stone,et al.  Cation exchange capacity of acid forest humus layers. , 1980 .

[45]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Nitrate Losses from Disturbed Ecosystems , 1979, Science.

[46]  R. C. Reynolds,et al.  Forest Floor Leaching: Contributions from Mineral, Organic, and Carbonic Acids in New Hampshire Subalpine Forests , 1978, Science.

[47]  G. Likens,et al.  Acid Precipitation in the Northeastern United States: pH and Acidity , 1976, Science.

[48]  G. Likens,et al.  Nutrient Release From Decomposing Leaf and Branch Litter in the Hubbard Brook Forest, New Hampshire , 1973 .