Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Biogeochemical Hotspots in Forested Landscapes: The Role of Vernal Pools in Denitrification and Organic Matter Processing

  • Published:
Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Quantifying spatial and temporal heterogeneity in ecosystem processes presents a challenge for conserving ecosystem function across landscapes. In particular, many ecosystems contain small features that play larger roles in ecosystem processes than their size would indicate; thus, they may represent “hotspots” of activity relative to their surroundings. Biogeochemical hotspots are characterized as small features within a landscape that show comparatively high chemical reaction rates. In northeastern forests in North America, vernal pools are abundant, small features that typically fill in spring with snow melt and precipitation and dry by the end of summer. Ephemeral flooding alters soil moisture and the depth of the soil’s oxic/anoxic boundary, which may affect biogeochemical processes. We studied the effects of vernal pools on leaf-litter decomposition rates, soil enzyme activity, and denitrification in vernal pools to assess whether they function as biogeochemical hotspots. Our results indicate that seasonal inundation enhanced leaf-litter decomposition, denitrification, and enzyme activity in vernal pools relative to adjacent forest sites. Leaves in seasonally flooded areas decomposed faster than leaves in terra firme forest sites. Flooding also influenced the C, N, and P stoichiometry of decomposing leaf litter and explained the variance in microbial extracellular enzyme activity for phosphatase, β-d-glucosidase, and β-N-acetylglucosaminidase. Additionally, denitrification rates were enhanced by seasonal flooding across all of the study pools. Collectively, these data suggest that vernal pool ecosystems may function as hotspots of leaf-litter decomposition and denitrification and play a significant role in decomposition and nutrient dynamics relative to their size.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abenspergtraun M. 1993. A comparison of 2 methods for sampling assemblages of subterranean, wood-eating termites (Isoptera). Aust J Ecol 18:317–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JM. 1991. The effects of climate change on decomposition processes in grassland and coniferous forests. Ecol Appl 1:326–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APHA. 1998. Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water. Association APH editor. Washington, DC: American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation. p 1268.

  • Baldwin DS, Rees GN, Mitchell AM, Watson G. 2005. Spatial and temporal variability of nitrogen dynamics in an upland stream before and after a drought. Mar Freshw Res 56:457–64.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baron JS, Hall EK, Nolan BT, Finlay JC, Bernhardt ES, Harrison JA, Chan F, Boyer EW. 2013. The interactive effects of excess reactive nitrogen and climate change on aquatic ecosystems and water resources of the United States. Biogeochemistry 114:71–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Battle JM, Golladay SW. 2007. How hydrology, habitat type, and litter quality affect leaf breakdown in wetlands on the gulf coastal plain of Georgia. Wetlands 27:251–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzer DP, Palik BJ. 2007. Variable response by aquatic invertebrates to experimental manipulations of leaf litter input into seasonal woodland ponds. Fundam Appl Limnol 168:155–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell CW, Fricks BE, Rocca JD, Steinweg JM, McMahon SK, Wallenstein MD. 2013. High-throughput fluorometric measurement of potential soil extracellular enzyme activities. J Vis Exp. http://www.jove.com/video/50961/high-throughput-fluorometric-measurement-potential-soil-extracellular.

  • Benke AC, Hall CAS, Hawkins CP, Lowemcconnell RH, Stanford JA, Suberkropp K, Ward JV. 1988. Bioenergetic considerations in the analysis of stream ecosystems. J N Am Benthol Soc 7:480–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bettez ND, Groffman PM. 2012. Denitrification potential in stormwater control structures and natural riparian zones in an urban landscape. Environ Sci Technol 46:10909–17.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bischof MM, Hanson MA, Fulton MR, Kolka RK, Sebestyen SD, Butler MG. 2013. Invertebrate community patterns in seasonal ponds in minnesota, USA: response to hydrologic and environmental variability. Wetlands 33:245–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackwell MSA, Pilgrim ES. 2011. Ecosystem services delivered by small-scale wetlands. Hydrol Sci J 56:1467–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyer EW, Alexander RB, Parton WJ, Li CS, Butterbach-Bahl K, Donner SD, Skaggs RW, Del Gross SJ. 2006. Modeling denitrification in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems at regional scales. Ecol Appl 16:2123–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brady NC, Weil RR. 2007. The nature and properties of soils. Lebanon: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks RT. 2009. Potential impacts of global climate change on the hydrology and ecology of ephemeral freshwater systems of the forests of the northeastern United States. Clim Change 95:469–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burt TP, Pinay G. 2005. Linking hydrology and biogeochemistry in complex landscapes. Prog Phys Geogr 29:297–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calhoun A, deMaynadier PG. 2008. Science and conservation of vernal pools in northeastern North America. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calhoun AJK, Walls TE, Stockwell SS, McCollough M. 2003. Evaluating vernal pools as a basis for conservation strategies: a maine case study. Wetlands 23:70–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capps KA, Graca MAS, Encalada AC, Flecker AS. 2011. Leaf-litter decomposition across three flooding regimes in a seasonally flooded Amazonian watershed. J Trop Ecol 27:205–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardinale BJ, Palmer MA, Swan CM, Brooks S, Poff NL. 2002. The influence of substrate heterogeneity on biofilm metabolism in a stream ecosystem. Ecology 83:412–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen S, Tiedje JM. 1990. Brief and vigorous N2O production by soil at spring thaw. J Soil Sci 41:1–4.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chrost RJ, Ed. 1991. Microbial enzymes in aquatic environments. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cisneros-Dozal LM, Trumbore SE, Hanson PJ. 2007. Effect of moisture on leaf litter decomposition and its contribution to soil respiration in a temperate forest. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 112:10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornejo FH, Varela A, Wright SJ. 1994. Tropical forest litter decompositon under seasonal drought—nutrient release, fungi and bacteria. Oikos 70:183–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cross WF, Benstead JP, Frost PC, Thomas SA. 2005. Ecological stoichiometry in freshwater benthic systems: recent progress and perspectives. Freshw Biol 50:1895–912.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crous CJ, Samways MJ, Pryke JS. 2013. Exploring the mesofilter as a novel operational scale in conservation planning. J Appl Ecol 50:205–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David MB, Wall LG, Royer TV, Tank JL. 2006. Denitrification and the nitrogen budget of a reservoir in an agricultural landscape. Ecol Appl 16:2177–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Day FP. 1982. Litter decomposition rates in the seasonally flooded great dismal swamp. Ecology 63:670–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Earl JE, Semlitsch RD. 2012. Reciprocal subsidies in ponds: does leaf input increase frog biomass export? Oecologia 170:1077–87.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Earl JE, Semlitsch RD. 2013. Spatial subsidies, trophic state, and community structure: examining the effects of leaf litter input on ponds. Ecosystems 16:639–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenner N, Williams R, Toberman H, Hughes S, Reynolds B, Freeman C. 2011. Decomposition ‘hotspots’ in a rewetted peatland: implications for water quality and carbon cycling. Hydrobiologia 674:51–66.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez IJ. 2008. Carbon and nutrients in Maine forest soils. Station MAaFE editor. Technical Bulletin. Orono: Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station.

  • Fisher SG, Likens GE. 1973. Energy flow in Bear Brook, New Hampshire-integrative approach to stream ecosystem metabolism. Ecol Monogr 43:421–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • German DP, Chacon S, Allison SD. 2011. Substrate concentration and enzyme allocation can affect rates of microbial decomposition. Ecology 92:1471–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glazebrook HS, Robertson AI. 1999. The effect of flooding and flood timing on leaf litter breakdown rates and nutrient dynamics in a river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) forest. Aust J Ecol 24:625–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graca MAS, Ferreira RCF, Coimbra CN. 2001. Litter processing along a stream gradient: the role of invertebrates and decomposers. J N Am Benthol Soc 20:408–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimm NB, Gergel SE, McDowell WH, Boyer EW, Dent CL, Groffman P, Hart SC, Harvey J, Johnston C, Mayorga E, McClain ME, Pinay G. 2003. Merging aquatic and terrestrial perspectives of nutrient biogeochemistry. Oecologia 137:485–501.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Hanson GC. 1997. Wetland denitrification: influence of site quality and relationships with wetland delineation protocols. Soil Sci Soc Am J 61:323–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Hanson GC, Kiviat E, Stevens G. 1996. Variation in microbial biomass and activity in four different wetland types. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60:622–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman P, Holland EA, Myrold DD, Robertson GP, Zou X. 1999. Denitrification. In: Robertson GP, Coleman DC, Bledsoe CS, Sollins P, Eds. Standard soil methods for long-term ecological research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Altabet MA, Bohlke JK, Butterbach-Bahl K, David MB, Firestone MK, Giblin AE, Kana TM, Nielsen LP, Voytek MA. 2006. Methods for measuring denitrification: diverse approaches to a difficult problem. Ecol Appl 16:2091–122.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Butterbach-Bahl K, Fulweiler RW, Gold AJ, Morse JL, Stander EK, Tague C, Tonitto C, Vidon P. 2009. Challenges to incorporating spatially and temporally explicit phenomena (hotspots and hot moments) in denitrification models. Biogeochemistry 93:49–77.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harbott EL, Grace MR. 2005. Extracellular enzyme response to bioavailability of dissolved organic C in streams of varying catchment urbanization. J N Am Benthol Soc 24:588–601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harner MJ, Crenshaw CL, Abelho M, Stursova M, Shah JJF, Sinsabaugh RL. 2009. Decomposition of leaf litter from a native tree and an actinorhizal invasive across riparian habitats. Ecol Appl 19:1135–46.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hill BH, Elonen CM, Jicha TM, Cotter AM, Trebitz AS, Danz NP. 2006. Sediment microbial enzyme activity as an indicator of nutrient limitation in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Freshw Biol 51:1670–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hill BH, Elonen CM, Seifert LR, May AA, Tarquinio E. 2012. Microbial enzyme stoichiometry and nutrient limitation in US streams and rivers. Ecol Ind 18:540–51.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter ML Jr. 1991. Coping with ignorance: the coarse-filter strategy for maintaining biodiversity. Washington, DC): Island Press. pp 266–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter ML. 2005. A mesofilter conservation strategy to complement fine and coarse filters. Conserv Biol 19:1025–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inwood SE, Tank JL, Bernot MJ. 2007. Factors controlling sediment denitrification in midwestern streams of varying land use. Microb Ecol 53:247–58.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson CR, Foreman CM, Sinsabaugh RL. 1995. Microbial enzyme activities as indicators of organic matter processing rates in a Lake Erie coastal wetland. Freshw Biol 34:329–42.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaspar HF. 1982. Denitrification in marine sediment—measurement of capacity and estimate of in situ rate. Appl Environ Microbiol 43:522–7.

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley RH, Jack JD. 2002. Leaf litter decomposition in an ephemeral karst lake (Chaney Lake, Kentucky, USA). Hydrobiologia 482:41–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirchman DL, Dittel AI, Findlay SEG, Fischer D. 2004. Changes in bacterial activity and community structure in response to dissolved organic matter in the Hudson River, New York. Aquat Microb Ecol 35:243–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langhans SD, Tiegs SD, Uehlinger U, Tockner K. 2006. Environmental heterogeneity controls organic-matter dynamics in river-floodplain ecosystems. Pol J Ecol 54:675–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langhans SD, Tiegs SD, Gessner MO, Tockner K. 2008. Leaf-decomposition heterogeneity across a riverine floodplain mosaic. Aquat Sci 70:337–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindquist ED, Foster DK, Wilcock SP, Erikson JS. 2013. Rapid assessment tools for conserving woodland vernal pools in the northern Blue Ridge Mountains. Northeastern Nat 20:397–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovett GM, Jones C, Turner MG, Weathers KC, Eds. 2005. Ecosystem function in heterogenous landscapes. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClain ME, Boyer EW, Dent CL, Gergel SE, Grimm NB, Groffman PM, Hart SC, Harvey JW, Johnston CA, Mayorga E, McDowell WH, Pinay G. 2003. Biogeochemical hot spots and hot moments at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecosystems 6:301–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mulholland PJ, Hall RO, Sobota DJ, Dodds WK, Findlay SEG, Grimm NB, Hamilton SK, McDowell WH, O’Brien JM, Tank JL, Ashkenas LR, Cooper LW, Dahm CN, Gregory SV, Johnson SL, Meyer JL, Peterson BJ, Poole GC, Valett HM, Webster JR, Arango CP, Beaulieu JJ, Bernot MJ, Burgin AJ, Crenshaw CL, Helton AM, Johnson LT, Niederlehner BR, Potter JD, Sheibley RW, Thomas SM. 2009. Nitrate removal in stream ecosystems measured by N-15 addition experiments: denitrification. Limnol Oceanogr 54:666–80.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oscarson DB, Calhoun AJK. 2007. Developing vernal pool conservation plans at the local level using citizen-scientists. Wetlands 27:80–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostojic A, Rosado J, Milisa M, Morais M, Tockner K. 2013. Release of nutrients and organic matter from river floodplain habitats: simulating seasonal inundation dynamics. Wetlands 33:847–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palik B, Batzer D, Kern C. 2006. Upland forest linkages to seasonal wetlands: litter flux, processing, and food quality. Ecosystems 9:142–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer MA, Febria CM. 2012. The heartbeat of ecosystems. Sci China C 336:1393–4.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parkin TB. 1987. Soil microsites as a source of dentrification variability. Soil Sci Soc Am J 51:1194–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paul MJ, Meyer JL, Couch CA. 2006. Leaf breakdown in streams differing in catchment land use. Freshw Biol 51:1684–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen RC, Cummins KW. 1974. Leaf processing in a woodland stream. Freshw Biol 4:343–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pribyl DW. 2010. A critical review of the conventional SOC to SOM conversion factor. Geoderma 156:75–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, Patrick WH. 1984. Nitrogen transformations and loss in flooded soils and sediments. CRC Crit Rev Environ Control 13:273–309.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, Kadlec RH, Flaig E, Gale PM. 1999. Phosphorus retention in streams and wetlands: a review. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 29:83–146.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seitzinger S, Harrison JA, Bohlke JK, Bouwman AF, Lowrance R, Peterson B, Tobias C, Van Drecht G. 2006. Denitrification across landscapes and waterscapes: a synthesis. Ecol Appl 16:2064–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sinsabaugh RL, Findlay S. 1995. Microbial production, enzyme activity, and carbon turnover in surface sediments of the Hudson River estuary. Microb Ecol 30:127–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sinsabaugh RL, Hill BH, Follstad Shah JJ. 2009. Ecoenzymatic stoichiometry of microbial organic nutrient acquisition in soil and sediment. Nature 462:795–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snodgrass JW, Komoroski MJ, Bryan AL, Burger J. 2000. Relationships among isolated wetland size, hydroperiod, and amphibian species richness: implications for wetland regulations. Conserv Biol 14:414–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wieder WR, Cleveland CC, Townsend AR. 2009. Controls over leaf litter decomposition in wet tropical forests. Ecology 90:3333–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yule CM, Gomez LN. 2009. Leaf litter decomposition in a tropical peat swamp forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Wetlands Ecol Manage 17:231–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dennis Anderson for help in the lab and Randi Jackson for help in the field. This work was funded by Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (National Science Foundation Award Number: 0904155). We would also like to thank the subject editor and the anonymous reviewers who provided comments that enhanced the quality of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainability Solutions Initiative, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, 04469, USA

    Krista A. Capps, Thomas B. Parr, Aram J. K. Calhoun & Malcolm Hunter Jr.

  2. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, 04469, USA

    Krista A. Capps, Aram J. K. Calhoun & Malcolm Hunter Jr.

  3. Ecology and Environmental Science Program, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, 04469, USA

    Regina Rancatti, Nathan Tomczyk, Thomas B. Parr & Aram J. K. Calhoun

Authors
  1. Krista A. Capps
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Regina Rancatti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nathan Tomczyk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Thomas B. Parr
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Aram J. K. Calhoun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Malcolm Hunter Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Krista A. Capps.

Additional information

Author contributions

Krista Capps conceived design, performed research, conducted analysis, and wrote paper. Nathan Tomczyk performed research conducted analysis. Regina Ranciatti conceived design, performed research, conducted analysis, and wrote paper. Thomas Parr conducted analysis and wrote paper. Malcolm Hunter conceived design and wrote paper. Aram Calhoun conceived design and wrote paper.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplemental Figure 1

Enzyme activity in soils in each of the three locations in each pool. Dashed lines are the 1:1 ratio. (A) relationship between carbon and nitrogen acquiring activities, (B) relationship between carbon and phosphorus acquiring activities (JPEG 41 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Capps, K.A., Rancatti, R., Tomczyk, N. et al. Biogeochemical Hotspots in Forested Landscapes: The Role of Vernal Pools in Denitrification and Organic Matter Processing. Ecosystems 17, 1455–1468 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-014-9807-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-014-9807-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation