Skip to main content
Log in

Drivers of nitrogen leaching from organic layers in Central European beech forests

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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

Access this article

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Anderson J P E, Domsch K H (1980) Quantities of plant nutrients in the microbial biomass of selected soils. Soil Sci 130:211–216. doi:10.1097/00010694-198010000-00008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bardgett R D, Chan K F (1999) Experimental evidence that soil fauna enhance nutrient mineralization and plant nutrient uptake in montane grassland ecosystems. Soil Biol Biochem 31:1007–1014. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00014-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beese F, van der Ploeg R R (1979) Simulation des Anionen-Transports in ungestörten Bodensäulen unter stationären Fließbedingungen. Z Pflanzenernähr Bodenkd 142:69–85. doi:10.1002/jpln.19791420108

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berg B (2000) Litter decomposition and organic matter turnover in northern forest soils. For Ecol Manage 133:13–22. doi:10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00294-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blair B, Parmalee R, Beare M (1990) Decay rates, nitrogen fluxes and decomposer communities of single- and mixed-species foliar litter. Ecology 71:1976–1985. doi:10.2307/1937606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brassard B W, Chen H Y H, Cavard X, Laganiére J, Reich P B, Bergeron Y, Paré D, Yuan Z (2013) Tree species diversity increases fine root productivity through increased soil volume filling. J Ecol 101:210–219. doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brumme R, Khanna P K (2008) Ecological and site historical aspects of. N dynamics and current N status in temperate forests. Global Change Biol 14:125–141. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01460.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain PM, McNamara NP, Chaplow J, Stott AW, Black HIJ (2006) Translocation of surface litter carbon into soil by Collembola. Soil Biol Biochem 38:2655–2664. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.03.021

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Curry J P, Schmidt O (2007) The feeding ecology of earthworms – a review. Pedobiologia 50:463–477. doi:10.1016/j.pedobi.2006.09.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Vries W, Reinds GJ, Gundersen P, Sterba H (2006) The impact of nitrogen deposition on carbon sequestration in European forests and forest soils. Global Change Biol 12:1151–1173. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01151.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durka W, Schulze E D, Gebauer G, Voerkeliust S (1994) Effects of forest decline on uptake and leaching of deposited nitrate determined from15N and18O measurements. Nature 372:765–767. doi:10.1038/372765a0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ehnes R B, Pollierer M M, Erdmann G, Klarner B, Eitzinger B, Digel C, Ott D, Maraun M, Scheu S, Brose U (2014) Lack of energetic equivalence in forest soil invertebrates. Ecology 95:527–537. doi:10.1890/13-0620.1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fern M (1993) Throughfall measurements of nitrogen and sulphur compounds. Intern J Anal Chem 50:29–43. doi:10.1080/03067319308027581

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fornara D, Tilman D, Hobbie S (2009) Linkages between plant functional composition, fine root processes and potential soil. N mineralization rates J Ecol 97(1):48–56. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2008.01453.x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frouz J, Livečková M, Albrechtová J, Chroňáková A, Cajthaml T, Pižl V, Háněl L, Stary̌ J, Baldrian P, Lhotáková Z, Šimáčková H, Cepáková Ṡ (2013) Is the effect of trees on soil properties mediated by soil fauna? A case study from post-mining sites. For Ecol Manage 309:87–95. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.02.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gebauer G, Zeller B, Schmidt G, May C, Buchmann N, Colin-Belgrand M, Dambrine E, Martin F, Schulze E D, Bottner P (2000) The fate of15N-labelled nitrogen inputs to coniferous and broadleaf forests. In: Schulze E D (ed) Carbon and nitrogen cycling in European Forest Ecosystems, Ecological Studies, 142, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 144–170

  • Gerrits A M J, Pfister L, Savenije H H G (2010) Spatial and temporal variability of canopy and forest floor interception in a beech forest. Hydrol Proc 24:3011–3025. doi:10.1002/hyp.7712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hector A, Beale A J, Minns A, Otway S J, Lawton J H (2000) Consequences of the reduction of plant diversity for litter decomposition: effects through litter quality and microenvironment. Oikos 90:357–371. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.900217.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hentschel K, Borken W, Matzner E (2008) Repeated freeze-thaw events affect leaching losses of nitrogen and dissolved organic matter in a forest soil. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 171:699–706. doi:10.1002/jpln.200700154

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Forests ICP (2010) Manual on methods and criteria for harmonized sampling, assessment, monitoring and analysis of the effects of air pollution on forests. UNECE, ICP Forests, Hamburg, Germany. http://www.icp-forests.org/Manual.htm

  • IUSS Working group WRB (2006) Guidelines for soil description, 4th edn. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • Jandl R, Kopeszki H, Glatzel G (1997) Effect of a dense Allium ursinum (L.) ground cover on nutrient dynamics and mesofauna of a Fagus sylvatica (L.) woodland. Plant Soil 189:245–255. doi:10.1023/A:1004223011834

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Judd K E, Likens G E, Groffman P M (2007) High nitrate retention during winter in soils of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Ecosystems 10:217–225. doi:10.1007/s10021-007-9027-x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kahmen A, Renker C, Unsicker SB, Buchmann N (2006) Niche complementarity for nitrogen: an explanation for the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationship? Ecology 87:1244–1255. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87%5B1244:NCFNAE%5D2.0.CO;2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser C, Fuchslueger L, Koranda M, Gorfer M, Stange CF, Kitzler B, Rasche F, Strauss J, Sessitsch A, Zechmeister-Boltenstern S, Richter A (2011) Plants control the seasonal dynamics of microbial N cycling in a beech forest soil by belowground C allocation. Ecology 92:1036–1051. doi:10.1890/10-1011.1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kammer A, Schmidt M W, Hagedorn F (2012) Decomposition pathways of13C-depleted leaf litter in forest soils of the Swiss Jura. Biogeochemistry 108:395–411. doi:10.1007/s10533-011-9607-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khanna P, Fortmann H, Meesenburg H, Eichhorn J, Meiwes K (2009) Biomass and element content of foliage and aboveground litterfall on the three long-term experimental beech sites: dynamics and significance. In: Brumme R, Khanna P K (eds) Functioning and Management of European Beech Ecosystems, Ecological Studies, vol 208, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 183–205

  • Knops J M H, Bradley K L, Wedin D A (2002) Mechanisms of plant species impacts on ecosystem nitrogen cycling. Ecol Lett 5:454–466. doi:10.1046/j.1461-0248.2002.00332.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kooijman A, Kooijman-Schouten M, Martinez-Hernandez G (2008) Alternative strategies to sustain N-fertility in acid and calcaric beech forests: low microbial N-demand versus high biological activity. Basic Appl Ecol 9:410–421. doi:10.1016/j.baae.2007.05.004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Levia D, Frost E (2003) A review and evaluation of stemflow literature in the hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles of forested and agricultural ecosystems. J Hydrol 274:1–29. doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(02)00399-2

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald J A, Dise N B, Matzner E, Armbruster M, Gundersen P, Forsius M (2002) Nitrogen input together with ecosystem nitrogen enrichment predict nitrate leaching from European forests. Global Change Biol 8:1028–1033. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00532.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michalzik B, Dorsch T, Matzner E (1997) Stability of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and mineral nitrogen in bulk precipitation and throughfall. Z Pflanzenernähr Bodenkd 160:433–434. doi:10.1002/jpln.19971600314

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystems and human well-being: synthesis. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment series, Island Press, Washington D.C

  • Molotch N P, Blanken P D, Link T E (2011) Snow: Hydrological and Ecological Feedbacks in Forests. In: Levia D F, Carlyle-Moses D, Tanaka T (eds) Forest Hydrology and Biogeochemistry: Synthesis of Past Research and Future Directions, Ecological Studies, vol 216, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 541–555

  • Morin X, Fahse L, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Bugmann H (2011) Tree species richness promotes productivity in temperate forests through strong complementarity between species. Ecol Lett 14:1211–1219. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01691.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muller R N, Bormann F H (1976) Role of Erythronium americanum Ker. in energy flow and nutrient dynamics of a northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Science 193:1126–1128. doi:10.1126/science.193.4258.1126

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer K J, Downs M R, Fry B, Aber J D, Magill A H, Melillo J M (1995) The fate of15N-labelled nitrate additions to a northern hardwood forest in eastern Maine, USA. Oecologia 103:292–301. doi:10.1007/BF00328617

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer KJ, Downs MR, Fry B (1999) Sinks for15N-enriched addtions to an oak forest and a red pine plantation. Ecol Appl 9:72–86. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(1999)009%5B0072:SFNEAT%5D2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsson M, Falkengren-Grerup U (2003) Partitioning of nitrate uptake between trees and understory in oak forests. For Ecol Manage 179:311–320. doi:10.1016/S0378-1127(02)00544-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paquette A, Messier C (2011) The effect of biodiversity on tree productivity: from temperate to boreal forests. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 20:170–180. doi:10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00592.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park J H, Kalbitz K, Matzner E (2002) Resource control on the production of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in a deciduous forest floor. Soil Biol Biochem 34:813–822. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(02)00011-1

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pollierer M M, Langel R, Körner C, Maraun M, Scheu S (2007) The underestimated importance of belowground carbon input for forest soil animal food webs. Ecol Lett 10:729–736. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01064.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Prietzel J, Bachmann S (2012) Changes in soil organic C and N stocks after forest transformation from Norway spruce and Scots pine into Douglas fir, Douglas fir/spruce, or European beech stands at different sites in southern Germany. For Ecol Manage 269:134–148. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.12.034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenkranz S, Wilcke W, Eisenhauer N, Oelmann Y (2012) Net ammonification as influenced by plant diversity in experimental grasslands. Soil Biol Biochem 48:78–87. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.01.008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schall P, Ammer C (2013) How to quantify forest management intensity in Central European forests. Eur J Forest Res 102:379–396. doi:10.1007/s10342-013-0681-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheu S (1987) The influence of earthworms (Lumbricidae) on the nitrogen dynamics in the soil litter system of a deciduous forest. Oecologia 72:197–201. doi:10.1007/BF00379267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheu S (1997) Effects of litter (beech and stinging nettle) and earthworms (Octolasion lacteum) on carbon and nutrient cycling in beech forests on a basalt-limestone gradient: a laboratory experiment. Biol Fertil Soils 24:384–393. doi:10.1007/s003740050262

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schulze I M, Bolte A, Schmidt W, Eichhorn J, Brumme R, Khanna P (2009) Phytomass, litter and net primary production of herbaceous layer. In: Brumme R, Khanna P (eds) Functioning and Management of European Beech Ecosystems, Ecological Studies, vol 208, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 155–181

  • Schwarz M T, Bischoff S, Blaser S, Boch S, Schmitt B, Thieme L, Fischer M, Michalzik B, Schulze E D, Siemens J, Wilcke W (2014) More efficient aboveground nitrogen use in more diverse Central European forest canopies. For Ecol Manage 313:274–282. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.11.021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solinger S, Kalbitz K, Matzner E (2001) Controls on the dynamics of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in a Central European deciduous forest. Biogeochemistry 55:327–349. doi:10.1023/A:1011848326013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D, Wedin D, Knops J (1996) Productivity and sustainability influenced by biodiversity in grassland ecosystems. Nature 379:718–720. doi:10.1038/379718a0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tørseth K, Aas W, Breivik K, Fjæraa AM, Fiebig M, Hjellbrekke AG, Myhre CL, Solberg S, Yttri KE (2012) Introduction to the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) and observed atmospheric composition change during 1972–2009. Atm Chem Phys 12:5447–5481. doi:10.5194/acp-12-5447-2012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhoef HA, Brussaard L (1990) Decomposition and nitrogen mineralization in natural and agro-ecosystems: the contribution of soil animals . Biogeochemistry 11:175–211. doi:10.1007/BF00004496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vesterdal L, Schmidt IK, Callesen I, Nilsson LO, Gundersen P (2008) Carbon and nitrogen in forest floor and mineral soil under six common European tree species. For Ecol Manage 255:35–48. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2007.08.015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA, Bonner KI, Nicholson KS (1997) Biodiversity and plant litter: experimental evidence which does not support the view that enhanced species richness improves ecosystem function. Oikos 79:247–258. doi:10.2307/3546010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiong Y, Zeng H, Xia H, Guo D (2014) Interactions between leaf litter and soil organic matter on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in six forest litter-soil systems. Plant Soil 379:217–229. doi:10.1007/s11104-014-2033-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zak D R, Holmes W E, Burton A J, Pregitzer K S, Talhelm A F (2008) Simulated atmospheric NO\(_{3}^{-}\)-N deposition increases soil organic matter by slowing decomposition. Ecol Appl 18:2016–2027. doi:10.1890/07-1743.1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank the managers of the three Exploratories, Kirsten Reichel-Jung, Swen Renner, Katrin Hartwich, Sonja Gokkel, Kerstin Wiesner, and Martin Gorke for their work in maintaining the plot and project infrastructure; Christiane Fischer and Simone Pfeiffer for giving support through the central office, Michael Owonibi for managing the central data base, Markus Fischer, Eduard Linsenmair, Dominik Hessenmöller, Jens Nieschulze, Daniel Prati, François Buscot, Wolfgang W. Weisser and the late Elisabeth Kalko for their role in setting up the Biodiversity Exploratories project; and Jörg Hailer for providing forest stand information. We thank Bernhard Eitzinger, Melanie M. Maraun, Georgia Erdmann, Roswitha B. Ehnes, Christoph Digel and David Ott for contributing soil animal biomass data. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. The work has been funded by the DFG Priority Program 1374 “Infrastructure-Biodiversity-Exploratories” (Mi 927/2-2, Si 1106/4-2, Wi1601/12-2). Field work permits were issued by the responsible state environmental offices of Baden-Württemberg and Thüringen (according to § 72 BbgNatSchG).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin T. Schwarz.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Elizabeth M. Baggs.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Schwarz, M.T., Bischoff, S., Blaser, S. et al. Drivers of nitrogen leaching from organic layers in Central European beech forests. Plant Soil 403, 343–360 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2798-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2798-0

Keywords

Navigation