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The Fate and Retention of Organic and Inorganic 15N-Nitrogen in an Old-Growth Forest Soil in Western Oregon

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Abstract

Forests in the American Pacific Northwest receive very little nitrogen (N) through atmospheric deposition; therefore, they can provide insights into how the N cycle functioned in other regions before heavy atmospheric deposition of inorganic N began. Our objectives were to determine (a) if the fate of organic N differed from the fate of inorganic N, (b) the effect that polyphenols have on the fate of organic N, and (c) the effect of season of addition on the fate of N inputs. We traced N added to in situ soil cores as ammonium, organic N, tannin-complexed organic N, and the N2-fixing lichen Lobaria oregana. Total 15N recovery was between 74% and 109% for all N additions. Total 15N recovery did not vary significantly from the first sampling date to the last date. The litter/organic horizon, as a bulk pool, was the largest N retention pool for all forms of N addition. Within the litter/organic horizon, the chloroform-extractable microbial biomass initially accounted for nearly all of the added N from the ammonium additions. On a different time scale, microbial biomass also played a noteworthy role in the retention of N from organic N, tannin-complexed organic N, and Lobaria. Complexing organic matter with tannin appeared to slow N cycling, but it did not significantly change the ultimate distribution of added organic N. Season of N addition had little effect on the retention of added N; however, where differences did occur, spring additions had lower recoveries than autumn additions.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the following people and organizations for physical, intellectual, and/or financial assistance: Julie D. H. Spears, Kermit Cromack, Jr., Bruce McCune, David Myrold, Richard Waring, William Denison, David Harris, Bruce Caldwell, George Carrol, Steve Perakis, Teresa Sawyer, S. Michal Jazwinski, Art McKee, Nan Richtie, Yuriko Yano, Maureen Minister, Donald Armstrong, Charlie W. Stone, the H. J. Andrews working group, the Portland Garden Club, and the Roth Forest Fellowship. We also acknowledge the assistance of two anonymous reviewers and the editors. Meteorological data for H. J. Andrews LTER were provided by the Forest Science Data Bank, a partnership between the Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, and the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, Corvallis, Oregon. Funding was provided by the LTER program and other National Science Foundation (NSF) programs, (grants no. DEB = 7611978 and BSR-9011663) Oregon State University, and the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station.

The research was developed by S. M. H., an employee of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), prior to his employment with EPA. It was conducted independent of EPA employment and has not been subjected to the agency’s peer and administrative review. Therefore, the conclusions and opinions are solely those of the author and are not necessarily the views of the agency.

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  1. Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97330, USA

    Scott M. Holub & Kate Lajtha

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  1. Scott M. Holub
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Correspondence to Scott M. Holub.

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Holub, S., Lajtha, K. The Fate and Retention of Organic and Inorganic 15N-Nitrogen in an Old-Growth Forest Soil in Western Oregon. Ecosystems 7, 368–380 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-004-0239-z

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