Abstract
Nitrogen transformations were studied in the forest floor and mineral soil (0–5 cm) of a Douglas fir forest (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco.) and a Scots pine forest (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the Netherlands. Curren nitrogen depositions (40 and 56 kg N ha-1 yr-1, respectively) were reduced to natural background levels (1–2 kg N ha-1 yr-1) by a roof construction. The study concentrated on rates and dynamic properties of nitrogen transformations and their link with the leaching pattern and nitrogen uptake of the vegetation under high and reduced nitrogen deposition levels. Results of an in situ field incubation experiment and laboratory incubations were compared. No effect of the reduced N deposition on nitrogen transformations was found in the Douglas fir forest. In the Scots pine forest, however, during some periods of the year nitrogen transformations were significantly decreased under the low nitrogen deposition level. At low nitrogen inputs a net immobilization occurred during most of the year leading to a very small net mineralization for the whole year. In laboratory and in individual field plots nitrogen transformations were negatively correlated with initial inorganic nitrogen concentrations. Nitrogen budget estimates showed that nitrogen transformations were probably underestimated by the in situ incubation technique. Nevertheless less nitrogen was available for plant uptake and leaching at the low deposition plots.
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, Nadelhoffer K J, Steudler P and Melillo J M 1989 Nitrogen saturation in Northern forest ecosystems. BioScience 39, 378–386.
Adams M A and Attiwil P M 1986 Nutrient cycling and nitrogen mineralization in eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia. Plant and Soil 92, 341–362.
Adams M A, Polglas P J, Attiwil P M and Weston C J 1989 In situ studies on nitrogen mineralization and uptake in forest soils; some comments on methodology. Soil Biol. Biochem. 21, 423–429.
Boxman A W, Van Dam D, VanDijk H F G, Hogervorst R F and Koopmans C J 1995 Ecosystem responses to reduced nitrogen and sulphur inputs into two coniferous forest stands in the Netherlands. For. Ecol. Manage. 71, 7–29.
Dise N and Wright R F (Eds) 1992 The NITREX project (Nitrogen saturation experiments). CEC Ecosystem Research Report 2, Brussels. 101 p.
Donaldson J M and G SHenderson 1990 Nitrification potential of secondary-succession upland oak forests: I. Mineralization and nitrification during laboratory incubations. Soil. Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54, 892–897.
FAO/UNESCO 1988 Soil Map of the World. Revised legend 1989. Reprint of the World Soil Resources Report 60. FAO, Rome.
Gundersen P, Andersen B R, Beier C and Rasmussen L 1994 Experimental manipulation of water and nutrient input to a Norway spruce plantation at Klosterhede, Denmark: I. Unintended physical and chemical changes by roof experiments. Plant and Soil 168/169, 601–611.
Hart S C and Binkley D 1985 Correlations among indices of forest soil nutrient availability in fertilized and unfertilized loblolly pine plantations. Plant and Soil 85, 11–21.
Houdijk A L F M 1993 Atmospheric ammonium deposition and the nutritional balance of terrestrial ecosystems. PhD thesis, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Hübner C, Redl G and Wurst F 1991 In situ methodology for studying N-mineralization in soils using anion exchange resins. Soil Biol. Biochem. 23, 701–702.
Kjønaas O, Emmett B A Gundersen P Koopmans C J and Tietema A 1992 15N approach within NITREX: 2. Enrichment studies. In Experimental Manipulations of Biota and Biogeochemical Cycling in Ecosystems. Approach, Methodologies, Findings. Eds. L Rasmussen, T Brydges and P Mathy, pp 235–237. Ecosystems Research Report 4. Commission of the European Communities, Brussels.
Kreitinger J P, Klein T M, Novick N J and Alexander M 1985 Nitrification and characteristics of nitrifying microorganisms in an acid forest soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 49, 1407–1410.
Popovic B 1980 Mineralization of nitrogen in incubated soil samples from an old scots pine forest. In Structure and Function of Northern Coniferous Forests-An Ecosystem Study. Ed. T Persson. Ecol. Bull. (Stockholm) 32, 41–418.
Raison R J., Connell M J and Khanna P K 1987 Methodology for studying fluxes of soil mineral-N in situ. Soil Biol. Biochem. 19, 521–530.
SAS Institute Inc. 1988 SAS/STAT™. User's Guide 6.03 Edition. Cary, NC.
Tietema A and Bier C 1995 A correlative evaluation of nitrogen cycling in the forest ecosystems of the EC projects NITREX and EXMAN. For. Ecol. Manage. 71, 143–151.
Tietema A, Riemer L, Verstraten J M, Van der Maas M P, Van Voorthuyzen I and Van Wijk A J 1992 Nitrogen cycling in acid forest soil subject to increased atmospheric nitrogen input. For. Ecol. Manage. 57, 29–44.
Tietema A and Van Dam D 1995 Calculating microbial carbon and nitrogen transformations in acid forest litter with 15N enrichment and dynamic simulation modelling. Soil Biol. Biochem. (Submitted).
Van Breemen N, Burrough P A, Velthorst E J, Van Dobben H F, de Wit T, Ridder T B and Reijnders H F R 1982 Soil acidification from atmospheric ammonium sulphate in forest canopy throughfall. Nature 299, 548–550.
Van Breemen N, Driscoll C T and Mulder J 1984 Acidic deposition and internal proton sources in acidification of soils and waters. Nature 307, 599–604.
Van Breemen N and Verstraten J M 1991 Thematic report on soil acidification and nitrogen cycling. In Acidification Research in the Netherlands. Eds. T Schneider and G T Hey. Studies in Environmental Science 46, 289–352, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Van Dam D and Van Breemen N 1995 NII CCE: A model for turnover of nitrogen and carbon isotopes in coniferous forest ecosystems. Ecol. Model. (In press).
Van der Maas M P 1990 Hydrochemistry of two Douglas fir ecosystems in the Veluwe, The Netherlands. Dutch Priority Programme on Acidification. report no. 102.1.01. National Institute of Public Health and Environmental protection, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. 63 p.
Van Dijk H F G, Boxman A W and Roelofs J G M 1992 Effects of a decrease in atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulphur on the mineral balance and vitality of a Scots pine stand in the Netherlands. For. Ecol. Manage. 51, 207–215.
Van Miegroet H, Homann P S and Cole D W 1992 Soil nitrogen dynamics following harvesting and conversion of Red Alder and Douglas Fir stands. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 56, 1311–1318.
Williams B L 1992 Nitrogen dynamics in humus and soil beneath Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) planted in pure stands and in mixture with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Plant and Soil 144, 77–84.
White C S and Gosz J R 1987 Factors controlling nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in forest ecosystems in New Mexico. Biol. Fertil. Soils 5, 195–202.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Koopmans, C.J., Lubrecht, W.C. & Tietema, A. Nitrogen transformations in two nitrogen saturated forest ecosystems subjected to an experimental decrease in nitrogen deposition. Plant Soil 175, 205–218 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011356
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011356