Title | Soil denitrification fluxes from three northeastern North American forests across a range of nitrogen deposition |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2014 |
Authors | Morse, JL, Durán, J, Beall, F, Enanga, EM, Creed, IF, Fernandez, I, Groffman, PM |
Journal | Oecologia |
Pagination | 1 - 11 |
Date Published | 2014/11/19/ |
ISBN Number | 0029-8549, 1432-1939 |
Keywords | Ecology, Hydrology/Water Resources, nitrification, Nitrogen deposition, Nitrogen enrichment, nitrous oxide, Northern forests, Plant Sciences, Soil oxygen |
Abstract | In northern forests, large amounts of missing N that dominate N balances at scales ranging from small watersheds to large regional drainage basins may be related to N-gas production by soil microbes. We measured denitrification rates in forest soils in northeastern North America along a N deposition gradient to determine whether N-gas fluxes were a significant fate for atmospheric N inputs and whether denitrification rates were correlated with N availability, soil O2 status, or forest type. We quantified N2 and N2O fluxes in the laboratory with an intact-core method and monitored soil O2, temperature and moisture in three forests differing in natural and anthropogenic N enrichment: Turkey Lakes Watershed, Ontario; Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire; and Bear Brook Watershed, Maine (fertilized and reference plots in hardwood and softwood stands). Total N-gas flux estimates ranged from 100 kg N ha−1 year−1 in hardwood wetlands at Turkey Lakes. N-gas flux increased systematically with natural N enrichment from soils with high nitrification rates (Bear Brook |
URL | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-014-3117-1 |
Short Title | Oecologia |