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Direct uptake and rapid decrease of organic nitrogen by Wollemia nobilis

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Abstract

Organic nitrogen (N) can be directly taken up by many plants, particularly under low-temperature and N-limited conditions. The natural environment of Wollemia nobilis, shady conditions and shallow, acidic soils with high organic matter, led to the hypothesis that organic N might be a potential N source, although this species is living in a subtropical area. A pot experiment was carried out to investigate whether W. nobilis seedlings have the capability to take up intact organic N and whether the uptake of organic N contributes significantly to N acquisition for W. nobilis. Three 15N-labeled N forms, ammonium (NH4-N), nitrate (NO3-N), or glycine, were injected into soils separately, and the tissues of plants were then harvested 6 and 48 h after injection. Our results demonstrated that W. nobilis, a subtropical species, has the capability to take up intact glycine as indicated by the enrichment of 13C and 15N in fine roots at a nearly 1:1 ratio. The uptake rate of glycine-N was faster than that of inorganic N, but which was only restricted in the short term (6 h). The absorbed glycine-N reduced quickly (in 48 h), indicating that organic N uptake did not contribute greatly to N acquisition for W. nobilis.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (FT0990547; DP0667184). The authors would like to thank the Toolara Nursery, Queensland, Australia, for providing W. nobilis seedlings; Ms. Marijke Heenan, Dr. Yumei Jiang, Dr. Fangfang Sun, and Dr. Xien Long for their laboratory assistance; and Prof. Gary Bacon for his logistic support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Queensland, 4111, Australia

    Lili Wei & Chengrong Chen

  2. Environmental Futures Centre, Griffith University, Queensland, 4111, Australia

    Lili Wei, Chengrong Chen & Zhihong Xu

  3. School of Bio-molecular and Physical Sciences, Griffith University, Queensland, 4111, Australia

    Zhihong Xu

  4. Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umea, 901 83, Sweden

    Torgny Näsholm

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  1. Lili Wei
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  2. Chengrong Chen
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  3. Zhihong Xu
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  4. Torgny Näsholm
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Correspondence to Lili Wei.

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Wei, L., Chen, C., Xu, Z. et al. Direct uptake and rapid decrease of organic nitrogen by Wollemia nobilis . Biol Fertil Soils 49, 1247–1252 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-013-0818-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-013-0818-2

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