Abstract
Recent studies from the Hawaiian Islands showed that pedogenic thresholds demarcate domains in which rock-derived nutrient dynamics remain similar across wide variations in rainfall. These thresholds appear related to certain aspects of N cycling, but the degree to which they correspond to patterns of biological N fixation (BNF)—the dominant input of N into less-managed ecosystems—remains unclear. We measured aboveground plant biomass, foliar nutrient concentrations, and foliar δ15N along a climate gradient on ~ 150,000-year-old basaltic substrate to characterize foliar N sources and spatially relate them to soil nutrients. Patterns in legume δ15N correspond to known pedogenic thresholds along the rainfall gradient, with low δ15N values (~ 0 to − 2‰) occurring in the dry, biologically inactive domain and the wet, highly weathered domain. Elevated δ15N in the middle, fertile domain suggests a greater reliance of legumes on soil N where it has accumulated over time. Non-legume face N deficiencies throughout most of the gradient while legumes maintain low C:N ratios via symbiotic BNF. However, legume abundance declines outside the fertile domain, limiting ecosystem N inputs. Breakpoints in legume δ15N data suggest that P (and potentially other nutrients) limits BNF and, by extension, legume abundance in wet region. Nutrients may also constrain legume abundance in the dry domain, but pedogenic effects could not be isolated from climatic constraints at the dry sites. We conclude that pedogenic thresholds defined by climate can be informative of foliar δ15N patterns in cases where legumes are not directly constrained by climate, land use, or other external factors.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by United States National Science Foundation grant ETBC1020791 to Stanford University. MWB, AEB, and CEB were supported by the Stanford Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) Biology and Stanford Earth Summer Undergraduate Research (SESUR) programs. MWB received additional funding from an Undergraduate Advising and Research (UAR) Small Grant and a Volpert Scholarship, both from Stanford University. We thank Isabella Badia-Bellinger, Natasha Batista, Duncan Coleman, Mark Matten, Tyler McIntosh, and Ryan Petterson for assistance in the field and Scott Fendorf for providing valuable input on the thesis from which this article was derived. Juan Lezama Pacheco, Guangchao Li, David Mucciarone, and Douglas Turner are gratefully acknowledged for their assistance with the laboratory analyses. We also thank Parker Ranch, Ponoholo Ranch, and Kamehameha Schools for access to the research sites, and the Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy for access to equipment and facilities.
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This work was funded by National Science Foundation (Grant no. ETBC1020791); Stanford University (Grant no. VPUE-2015, SESUR-2015, Volpert Scholarship)
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MWB, AEB, CEB, and PMV designed the study. All authors conducted the fieldwork. MWB, CvS, and ELP conducted the laboratory analyses. MWB analyzed the data and wrote the article with contributions from ELP, CvS, KM, and PMV.
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Communicated by Duncan Menge.
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Burnett, M.W., Bobbett, A.E., Brendel, C.E. et al. Foliar ẟ15N patterns in legumes and non-N fixers across a climate gradient, Hawaiʻi Island, USA. Oecologia 198, 229–242 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-021-05089-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-021-05089-1