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N2(C2H2−C2H4) fixation in two species of Ceanothus seedlings in second year postfire chaparral

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Abstract

Nitrogen fixation in excised root nodules of 2-year-old, postfireCeanothus tomentosus andC. leucodermis seedlings was measured over an 8-month period using the acetylene reduction method. High levels of NO3−N and NH4−N present in postfire soils were limited to the upper 10 cm and did not inhibit nodulation in these deeper-rooting seedlings. Decreases in acetylene reduction activity occurred with decreased soil moisture and increased soil temperature. Nitrogen gains from these two Ceanothus shrub seedlings totalled 1.6 kg N ha−1 yr−1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. San Diego State University, 92182, San Diego, CA, USA

    B. A. Ellis & J. Kummerow

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  1. B. A. Ellis
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  2. J. Kummerow
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Ellis, B.A., Kummerow, J. N2(C2H2−C2H4) fixation in two species of Ceanothus seedlings in second year postfire chaparral. Plant Soil 109, 207–213 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02202086

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02202086

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