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Does nitrogen transfer between plants confound 15N-based quantifications of N2 fixation?

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Abstract

Background and aims

Transfer of fixed N from legumes to non-legume reference plants may alter the 15N signature of the reference plant as compared to the soil N available to the legume. This study investigates how N transfer influences the result of 15N-based N2 fixation measurements.

Methods

We labelled either legumes or non-legumes with 15N and performed detailed analyses of 15N enrichment in mixed plant communities in the field. The results were used in a conceptual model comparing how different N transfer scenarios influenced the 15N signatures of legumes and reference plants, and how the resulting N2 fixation estimate was influenced by using reference plants in pure stand or in mixture with the legume.

Results

Based on isotopic signatures, N transfer was detected in all directions: from legume to legume, from legume to non-legume, from non-legume to legume, from non-legume to non-legume. In the scenario of multidirectional N transfer, N2 fixation was overestimated by using a reference plant in pure stand.

Conclusions

Fixed N transferred to neighbouring reference plants modifies the 15N signature of the soil N available both to the reference plant and the N2-fixing legume. This provides strong support for using reference plants growing in mixture with the legumes for reliable quantifications of N2 fixation.

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Abbreviations

δ15N:

Part per thousands deviation from the 15N/14N ratio of atmospheric N2

ID:

Isotope dilution

NA:

Natural abundance

pNdfa:

Proportion of N derived from atmosphere (i.e. from N2 fixation)

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Acknowledgments

We thank Lars Ericson, Kent Dryler, Per-Erik Nemby and their co-workers in management of the field experiments and Ann-Sofi Hahlin and assistants in sample preparation. We are grateful to Sigrun Dahlin for helpful comments about 15N labeling of plants, Erik Steen Jensen for providing valuable comments on the manuscript and to Marney Isaac for performing the pre-submission review. Financial support from C L Behms fond för baljväxtodling (to GC) and from Regional Jordbruksforskning för norra Sverige, RJN, (to GC and KHD) is gratefully acknowledged. We thank three anonymous reviewers whose comments on the first submitted version led to considerable improvements of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden

    Georg Carlsson & Kerstin Huss-Danell

  2. Department of Biosystems and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 103, 230 53, Alnarp, Sweden

    Georg Carlsson

Authors
  1. Georg Carlsson
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  2. Kerstin Huss-Danell
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Correspondence to Georg Carlsson.

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Responsible Editor: Euan K. James.

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Carlsson, G., Huss-Danell, K. Does nitrogen transfer between plants confound 15N-based quantifications of N2 fixation?. Plant Soil 374, 345–358 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1802-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1802-1

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