Abstract
Decomposition rates and N dynamics of foliar litter from 4 tree species were measured over a 72 month period on the Chronic Nitrogen Addition plots at the Harvard Forest, Petersham MA, beginning in November 1988. Plots received nitrogen additions of 0, 5 and 15 g N m-2yr-1 in two different stand types: red pine and mixed hardwood. Bags were collected in August and November of each year and litter analysed for mass remaining, nitrogen, cellulose and lignin content. Mass remaining was significantly greater for litter in nitrogen treated plots than in control plots after 48 months. Lignin content of litter was significantly higher with nitrogen treatments but there was little effect of treatment on cellulose content. N concentration was similar between treatments, but greater mass remaining in treated plots resulted in a higher total amount of N in humus produced in the high N plot. This mechanism could be a sink for up to 1.5 g N·m-2yr-1 of the 1.5 g N·m-2yr-1 added annually to the high N plots. Reduced decomposition rates in conjunction with increased lignin accumulation could impact global carbon sequestration as well.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aber J D and Driscoll C T 1997 Effects of land use, climate variation and N deposition on N cycling and C storage in northern hardwood forests. Global Biogeochem. Cycles. 11(4), 639–648.
Aber J D, Melillo J M and McClaugherty C A 1990 Predicting long-term patterns of mass loss, nitrogen dynamics and soil organic matter formation from initial fine litter chemistry in temperate forest ecosystems. Can. J. Bot. 68, 2201–2208.
Aber J D and Driscoll C T 1997 Effects of land use, climate variation, and N deposition on N cycling and C storage in northern hardwood forests. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 11(4), 639–648.
Aber J D, McDowell W H, Nadelhoffer K J, Magill A, Berntson G, Kamakea M, McNulty S G, Currie W, Rustad L and Fernandez I 1998 Nitrogen saturation in temperate forest ecosystems: hypotheses revisited. BioScience. (In Press).
Anderson J M 1973 The breakdown and decomposition of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) leaf litter in two deciduous woodland soils. II. Changes in the carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and polyphenol content. Oecologia 12, 275–288.
Berg B 1986 Nutrient release from litter and humus in coniferous soils — a mini review. Scand. J. For. Res. 1, 359–369.
Berg B and Agren G 1984 Decomposition of needle litter and its organic-chemical components-theory and field experiments. Long-term decomposition in a scots pine forest III. Can. J. Bot. 62, 2880–2888.
Berg B and Staaf H 1980 Decomposition rate and chemical changes in decomposing needle litter of Scots pine: II. Influence of chemical composition. Ecol. Bull. (Stockholm) 32, 373–390.
Blair J M 1988 Nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus dynamics in decomposing deciduous leaf litter in the Southern Appalachians. Soil Biol. Biochem. 20(5), 693–701.
Bocock K L 1964 Changes in the amount of dry matter, nitrogen, carbon and energy in decomposing woodland leaf litter in relation to the activities of the soil fauna. J. Ecol. 52, 273–284.
Bolster K L, Aber J D and Martin M E 1996 Interactions between precision and generality in the development of calibration for the determination of carbon fraction and nitrogen concentration in foliage by near infrared reflectance. Can. J. For. Res. 26, 590–600.
Galloway J N 1995 Acid deposition: perspectives in time and space. Water Air Soil Pollut. 85, 15–24.
Gosz J R, Likens G E and Bormann F H 1973 Nutrient release from decomposing leaf and branch litter in the Hubbard Brook Forest, New Hampshire. Ecol. Monogr. 43, 173–191.
Keyser P, Kirk T K and Zeikus J G 1978 Ligninolytic enzyme systems of Phanerochaete chrysosporium synthesized in the absence of lignin in response to nitrogen starvation. J. Bacter. 135, 790–797.
Magill A H, Aber J D, Hendricks J J, Bowden R D, Melillo J M and Steudler P A 1997 Biogeochemical response of forest ecosystems to simulated chronic nitrogen deposition. Ecol. Appl. 7, 402–415.
McClaugherty C A, Pastor J, Aber J D and Melillo J M 1985 Forest litter decomposition in relation to soil nitrogen dynamics and litter quality. Ecology 66, 266–275.
McLellan T M, Aber J D, Martin M E, Melillo J M and Nadelhoffer K J 1991 Determination of nitrogen, lignin and cellulose content of decomposing leaf material by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Can. J. For. Res. 21, 1684–1688.
Meentemeyer V and Berg B 1986 Regional variation in rate of mass loss of Pinus Sylvestris needle litter in Swedish pine forests as influenced by climate and litter quality. Scand. J. For. Res. 1, 167–180.
Melillo J M, Aber J D and Muratore J M 1982 Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63, 621–626.
Miller J C and Miller J N 1988 Statistics for analytical chemistry. Ellis Horwood Limited, Chichester, England. 227 p.
Ollinger S V, Aber J D, Lovett G M, Millham S E and Lathrop R G 1993 A spatial model of atmospheric deposition for the northeastern U.S. Ecol. Appl. 3, 459–472.
Parton W J, Stewart J W B and Cole C V 1988 Dynamics of C, N, S and P in grassland soils: a model. Biogeochemistry 5, 109–132.
Pastor J and Post W M 1986 Influence of climate, soil moisture, and succession on forest carbon and nitrogen cycles. Biogeochemistry 2, 3–28.
Shannon J D and Sisterson D L 1992 Estimation of S and NOx-N deposition budgets for the United States and Canada. Water Air Soil Pollut. 63, 211–235.
Tien M and Myer S B 1990 Selection and characterization of mutants of Phanerochaete chrysosporium exhibiting ligninolytic activity under nutrient rich conditions. Appl. Eviron. Microbiol. 56, 2540–2544.
Townsend A R, Braswell B H, Holland E A and Penner J E 1996 Spatial and temporal patterns in potential terrestrial carbon storage resulting from deposition of fossil fuel derived nitrogen. Ecol. Appl. 6, 806–814.
Van Cleve K and Martin S 1991 Long term ecological research in the United States. Long Term Ecological Research Network Office, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. 178 p.
Vitousek P M, Aber J D, Howarth R W, Likens G E, Matson P A, Schindler D W, Schlesinger W H and Tilman D 1997 Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: sources and consequences. Ecol. Appl. 7(3), 737–750.
Wright R F and van Breeman N 1995 The NITREX project: an introduction. For. Ecol. Manage. 71, 1–6.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Magill, A.H., Aber, J.D. Long-term effects of experimental nitrogen additions on foliar litter decay and humus formation in forest ecosystems. Plant and Soil 203, 301–311 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004367000041
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004367000041