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Nitrogen Isotope Patterns in Alaskan Black Spruce Reflect Organic Nitrogen Sources and the Activity of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi

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Abstract

Global patterns in soil, plant, and fungal stable isotopes of N (δ15N) show promise as integrated metrics of N cycling, particularly the activity of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. At small spatial scales, however, it remains difficult to differentiate the underlying causes of plant δ15N variability and this limits the application of such measurements to better understand N cycling. We conducted a landscape-scale analysis of δ15N values from 31 putatively N-limited monospecific black spruce (Picea mariana) stands in central Alaska to assess the two main hypothesized sources of plant δ15N variation: differing sources and ECM fractionation. We found roughly 20% of the variability in black spruce foliar N and δ15N values to be correlated with the concentration and δ15N values of soil NH4 + and dissolved organic N (DON) pools, respectively. However, 15N-based mixing models from 24 of the stands suggested that fractionation by ECM fungi obscures the 15N signature of soil N pools. Models, regressions, and N abundance data all suggested that increasing dependence on soil DON to meet black spruce growth demands predicates increasing reliance on ECM-derived N and that black spruce, on average, received 53% of its N from ECM fungi. Future research should partition the δ15N values within the soil DON pool to determine how choice of soil δ15N values influence modeled ECM activity. The C balance of boreal forests is tightly linked to N cycling and δ15N values may be useful metrics of changes to these connections.

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Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by an NSF Doctoral Dissertation award (DGE-0221599), a Forest Fungal Ecology Research award of the Mycological Society of America, an International Association of GeoChemistry Student Research Grant, a Riewald-Olowo Graduate Research Award, and University of Florida Graduate Student Council Travel awards to JRM; DOE and NSF funding to EAGS; and, the logistical support offered by the Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research site. Martin Lavoie, Emily Tissier, Dominique Ardura, Rady Ho, Dat Nyguen, and Rachel Rubin provided field or laboratory assistance. Gary Laursen assisted with fungal identifications. The manuscript benefited from the input of John Hobbie and two anonymous reviewers. Raw data to be made available at the Bonanza Creek LTER database (http://www.lter.uaf.edu/data_b.cfm).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA

    Jordan R. Mayor, Edward A. G. Schuur & Michelle C. Mack

  2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama, Republic of Panama

    Jordan R. Mayor

  3. USDA Forest Service, Pacific North West Research Station, Boreal Ecology Cooperative Research Unit, University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 756780, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99775, USA

    Terresa N. Hollingsworth

  4. Department of Biology, Microbial Ecology Group, Ecology Building, Lund University, 223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Erland Bååth

Authors
  1. Jordan R. Mayor
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  2. Edward A. G. Schuur
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  3. Michelle C. Mack
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  4. Terresa N. Hollingsworth
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  5. Erland Bååth
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jordan R. Mayor.

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Author contribution

J.M., E.S., and M.M. conceived of the study; JM performed the research and analyzed data; E.B., T.H., and M.M. contributed data; J.M., T.S., and E.B. wrote the manuscript.

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Mayor, J.R., Schuur, E.A.G., Mack, M.C. et al. Nitrogen Isotope Patterns in Alaskan Black Spruce Reflect Organic Nitrogen Sources and the Activity of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi. Ecosystems 15, 819–831 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9548-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9548-9

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