NUTRIENT STATUS OF TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS INFLUENCES SOIL N DYNAMICS AFTER N ADDITIONS

Soil nitrogen (N) transformations and N-oxide emissions were measured following N additions in three tropical montane rain forests in the Hawaiian Islands that differed in substrate age and nutrient status. Nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions were negligible following first-time N additions in a forest where N limits primary production, and they increased significantly following 11 yr of N fertilization. Furthermore, N-oxide fluxes in the N-limited forest were relatively low in response to a range of N additions, and all doses of N except the two highest (125 and 175 kg N/ha) resulted in net negative rates of mineralization and nitrification (i.e., soils showed significant N consumption). Short-term laboratory 15N experiments supported these trends by showing that both 15NH4+ and 15NO3− were strongly consumed in soil from both the control and long-term fertilized plots in the N-limited site. Long-term N fertilization in the N-limited forest significantly increased N availability and turnov...

[1]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Production and Resource Use Efficiencies in N- and P-Limited Tropical Forests: A Comparison of Responses to Long-term Fertilization , 2001, Ecosystems.

[2]  S. Frolking,et al.  N2O emissions from humid tropical agricultural soils: effects of soil moisture, texture and nitrogen availability , 2001 .

[3]  E. Davidson,et al.  Nitrogen Oxide Fluxes and Nitrogen Cycling during Postagricultural Succession and Forest Fertilization in the Humid Tropics , 2001, Ecosystems.

[4]  E. Davidson,et al.  Testing a Conceptual Model of Soil Emissions of Nitrous and Nitric Oxides , 2000 .

[5]  M. Keller,et al.  Intensive field measurements of nitrous oxide emissions from a tropical agricultural soil , 2000 .

[6]  Pamela A. Matson,et al.  Nitrogen oxide emissions after nitrogen additions in tropical forests , 1999, Nature.

[7]  William H. McDowell,et al.  The globalization of N deposition: ecosystem consequences in tropical environments , 1999 .

[8]  E. Davidson,et al.  Soil nitrogen cycling and nitrogen oxide emissions along a pasture chronosequence in the humid tropics of Costa Rica , 1999 .

[9]  Patrick M. Crill,et al.  Nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, and methane fluxes from soils following clearing and burning of tropical secondary forest , 1998 .

[10]  J. Aber,et al.  Nitrogen Excess in North American Ecosystems: Predisposing Factors, Ecosystem Responses, and Management Strategies , 1998 .

[11]  J. Aber,et al.  Long-term effects of experimental nitrogen additions on foliar litter decay and humus formation in forest ecosystems , 1998, Plant and Soil.

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

[13]  Albert Tietema,et al.  Microbial carbon and nitrogen dynamics in coniferous forest floor material collected along a European nitrogen deposition gradient , 1998 .

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

[15]  J. Melillo,et al.  Net nitrogen mineralization and net nitrification rates in soils following deforestation for pasture across the southwestern Brazilian Amazon Basin landscape , 1997, Oecologia.

[16]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Nutrient limitation and soil development: Experimental test of a biogeochemical theory , 1997 .

[17]  P. Matson,et al.  NOx EMISSIONS FROM SOIL: Implications for Air Quality Modeling in Agricultural Regions , 1996 .

[18]  S. Hart,et al.  Diffusion Technique for Preparing Salt Solutions, Kjeldahl Digests, and Persulfate Digests for Nitrogen-15 Analysis , 1996 .

[19]  C. Billow,et al.  Fertilization practices and soil variations control nitrogen oxide emissions from tropical sugar cane , 1996 .

[20]  M. Fenn,et al.  Evidence for nitrogen saturation in the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California , 1996 .

[21]  J. Aber,et al.  Forest biogeochemistry and primary production altered by nitrogen saturation , 1995 .

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

[23]  Peter M. Vitousek,et al.  Changes in soil phosphorus fractions and ecosystem dynamics across a long chronosequence in Hawaii. , 1995 .

[24]  J. Fownes,et al.  Phosphorus limitation of forest leaf area and net primary production on a highly weathered soil , 1995 .

[25]  E. Schulze,et al.  Effects of forest decline on uptake and leaching of deposited nitrate determined from 15N and 18O measurements , 1994, Nature.

[26]  Steven G. McNulty,et al.  Effects of chronic nitrogen additions on nitrogen cycling in a high-elevation spruce-fir stand , 1993 .

[27]  F. Beese,et al.  Effects of liming and nitrogen fertilization on emissions of CO2 and N2O from a temperate forest , 1992 .

[28]  E. Davidson,et al.  Measuring gross nitrogen mineralization, and nitrification by 15 N isotopic pool dilution in intact soil cores , 1991 .

[29]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Ecosystem approach to a global nitrous oxide budget , 1990 .

[30]  M. Eichner,et al.  Nitrous oxide emissions from fertilized soils: summary of available data. , 1990 .

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

[32]  E. Schulze,et al.  Air Pollution and Forest Decline in a Spruce (Picea abies) Forest , 1989, Science.

[33]  W. A. Kaplan,et al.  Emissions of N2O from tropical forest soils: Response to fertilization with NH4 +, NO3 −, and PO4 3− , 1988 .

[34]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Cross‐system comparisons of soil nitrogen transformations and nitrous oxide flux in tropical forest ecosystems , 1987 .

[35]  R. Bartha,et al.  The Microbiology of Terrestrial Ecosystems , 1987 .

[36]  Michael Keller,et al.  Emissions of N2O, CH4 and CO2 from tropical forest soils , 1986 .

[37]  P. Grennfelt,et al.  Effects of nitrogen deposition on the acidification of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems , 1986 .

[38]  W. McDowell,et al.  Nitrogen stable isotopic composition of leaves and soil: Tropical versus temperate forests , 1999 .

[39]  Peter M. Vitousek,et al.  EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF NUTRIENT LIMITATION OF FOREST GROWTH ON WET TROPICAL MOUNTAINS , 1998 .

[40]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Mineral control of soil organic carbon storage and turnover , 1997, Nature.

[41]  Richard F. Wright,et al.  Nitrogen leaching from European forests in relation to nitrogen deposition , 1995 .

[42]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Nutrient dynamics and nitrogen trace gas flux during ecosystem development in montane rain forest , 1995 .

[43]  Pamela A. Matson,et al.  Nutrient limitations to plant growth during primary succession in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park , 1993 .

[44]  R. Aerts,et al.  Atmospheric nitrogen deposition and its impact on terrestrial ecosystems , 1993 .

[45]  E. Davidson.  Soil Water Content and the Ratio of Nitrous Oxide to Nitric Oxide Emitted from Soil , 1993 .

[46]  S. Gower,et al.  Soil nitrogen cycling and nitrous oxide flux in a Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir forest: effects of fertilization, irrigation and carbon addition , 1992 .

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

[48]  M. S. Smith,et al.  Soil Denitrification Dynamics: Spatial and Temporal Variations of Enzyme Activity, Populations, and Nitrogen Gas Loss , 1991 .

[49]  J. Kinsman,et al.  Atmospheric pollutant deposition to high-elevation ecosystems , 1990 .

[50]  E. Davidson,et al.  Direct extraction of microbial biomass nitrogen from forest and grassland soils of california , 1989 .

[51]  M. Firestone,et al.  Inorganic N incorporation by coniferous forest floor material , 1989 .

[52]  P. Vitousek,et al.  Nitrogen transformations in a range of tropical forest soils , 1988 .

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

[54]  W. Seiler,et al.  Emission of nitrous oxide from temperate forest soils into the atmosphere , 1988 .

[55]  Robert L. Sanford,et al.  Nutrient Cycling in Moist Tropical Forest , 1986 .

[56]  James M. Tiedje,et al.  Establishment of denitrification capacity in soil: effects of carbon, nitrate and moisture , 1985 .

[57]  A. Page.  Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Chemical and microbiological properties. , 1982 .

[58]  D. Kirkham,et al.  Equations for Following Nutrient Transformations in Soil, Utilizing Tracer Data: II. 1 , 1954 .