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Changes to the N cycle following bark beetle outbreaks in two contrasting conifer forest types

  • Ecosystem Ecology - Original Research
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Abstract

Outbreaks of Dendroctonus beetles are causing extensive mortality in conifer forests throughout North America. However, nitrogen (N) cycling impacts among forest types are not well known. We quantified beetle-induced changes in forest structure, soil temperature, and N cycling in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests of Greater Yellowstone (WY, USA), and compared them to published lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) data. Five undisturbed stands were compared to five beetle-killed stands (4–5 years post-outbreak). We hypothesized greater N cycling responses in Douglas-fir due to higher overall N stocks. Undisturbed Douglas-fir stands had greater litter N pools, soil N, and net N mineralization than lodgepole pine. Several responses to disturbance were similar between forest types, including a pulse of N-enriched litter, doubling of soil N availability, 30–50 % increase in understory cover, and 20 % increase in foliar N concentration of unattacked trees. However, the response of some ecosystem properties notably varied by host forest type. Soil temperature was unaffected in Douglas-fir, but lowered in lodgepole pine. Fresh foliar %N was uncorrelated with net N mineralization in Douglas-fir, but positively correlated in lodgepole pine. Though soil ammonium and nitrate, net N mineralization, and net nitrification all doubled, they remained low in both forest types (<6 μg N g soil−1 NH4 +or NO3 −; <25 μg N g soil−1 year−1 net N mineralization; <8 μg N g soil−1 year−1 net nitrification). Results suggest that beetle disturbance affected litter and soil N cycling similarly in each forest type, despite substantial differences in pre-disturbance biogeochemistry. In contrast, soil temperature and soil N–foliar N linkages differed between host forest types. This result suggests that disturbance type may be a better predictor of litter and soil N responses than forest type due to similar disturbance mechanisms and disturbance legacies across both host–beetle systems.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Gary Lovett, Bill Romme, Dan Donato, Jason Kaye and four anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that improved this manuscript. We also thank Emily Stanley, James Thoyre, and the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin for use of the NTL-LTER laboratory. For help in the field and the laboratory, we appreciate the assistance of several University of Wisconsin students: Heather Lumpkin, Erin Mellenthin, Alex Rahmlow, Amanda Rudie, and Ben Ruh. This research was funded by grants from the US Forest Service Western Wildlands Environmental Threat Assessment Center, US Forest Service Joint Fire Science Program, and the University of Wisconsin Graduate School.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Jacob M. Griffin & Monica G. Turner

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  1. Jacob M. Griffin
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Correspondence to Jacob M. Griffin.

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Communicated by Jason Kaye.

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Griffin, J.M., Turner, M.G. Changes to the N cycle following bark beetle outbreaks in two contrasting conifer forest types. Oecologia 170, 551–565 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2323-y

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