Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Potential nitrogen mineralization responses of urban and rural forest soils to elevated temperature in Louisville, KY

  • Published:
Urban Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Soil nitrogen (N) mineralization is an important process determining terrestrial N availability, and evidence suggests elevated temperatures will enhance N mineralization rates. Along a 40 km urban-rural gradient of chestnut oak forest stands in Louisville, KY, we expected N mineralization rates would be higher in urban than in rural forests in part due to increased temperatures caused by the urban heat island. However, a 12-month field study along this Louisville gradient showed that annual N mineralization rates were lower in urban than in rural stands. Since variation in precipitation inputs and other factors across this land-use gradient may be influencing soil N mineralization rates, we conducted a three-month soil incubation experiment in the lab to determine the extent to which a + 2 °C temperature difference could affect soil N mineralization in urban and rural soils. Across the range of temperatures tested, rural soils mineralized N at twice the rate of urban soils under base (7.86 vs. 3.65 mg N kg−1 AFDW soil d−1) and elevated (9.08 vs. 4.76 mg N kg−1 AFDW soil d−1) temperatures (p < 0.01). A 2 °C temperature difference, did not significantly alter total inorganic N production in urban (p = 0.272) or rural soils (p = 0.293). The proportion of nitrate produced was lower in the urban (15.1 %) than in the rural soils (72.3 %; p < 0.01). These results suggest that differences in soil organic matter quality and potentially decomposer community composition are the primary explanatory factors for forests along this Louisville gradient.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • APHA (American Public Health Association) (1999) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bääth E (1989) Effects of heavy metals in soil on microbial processes and populations (a review). Water Air Soil Pollut 47:335–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonan GB (2002) Ecological climatology. Concepts and applications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Bundy LG, Meisinger JJ (1994) Nitrogen availability indices. In: Weaver RW, Angle JS, Bottomly PS (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp. 951–984

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler SM, Melillo JM, Johnson JE, Mohan J, Steudler PA, Lux H, Burrows E, Smith RM, Vario CL, Scott L, Hill TD, Aponte N, Bowles F (2012) Soil warming alters nitrogen cycling in a New England forest: implications for ecosystem function and structure. Oecologia 168:819–828

  • Carreiro MM, Howe K, Parkhurst DF, Pouyat RV (1999) Variation in quality and decomposability of red oak leaf litter along an urban-rural gradient. Biol Fertil Soils 30:258–268

  • Carreiro MM, Tripler CE (2005) Forest remnants along urban-rural gradients: examining their potential for global change research. Ecosystems 8:568–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carreiro MM, Pouyat RV, Tripler CE, Zhu W (2009) Carbon and nitrogen cycling in soils of remnant forests along urban-rural gradients: case studies in the New York metropolitan area and Louisville, Kentucky. In: McDonnell MJ, Hahs AK, Breuste JH (eds) Ecology of cities and towns: a comparative approach. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 308–328

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Chen F-S, Fahey TJ, M-Y Y, Gan L (2010) Key nitrogen cycling processes in pine plantations along a short urban-rural gradient in Nanchang, China. For Ecol Manag 259:477–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalias P, Anderson JM, Bottner P, Coûteaux M-M (2002) Temperature responses of net nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in conifer forest soils incubated under standard laboratory conditions. Soil Biol Biochem 34:691–701

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Enloe HA, Lockaby BG, Zipperer WC, Somers GL (2015) Urbanization effects on soil nitrogen transformations and microbial biomass in the subtropics. Urban Ecosyst 18:963–976

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Findlay S, Carreiro MM, Krischik V, Jones CG (1996) Effects of damage to living plants on leaf litter quality. Ecol Appl 6:269–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franzluebbers AJ, Haney RL, Honeycutt CW, Arshad MA, Schomberg HH, Hons FM (2001) Climatic influences on active fractions of soil organic matter. Soil Biol Biochem 33:1103–1111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonçlaves JLM, Carlyle JC (1994) Modelling the influence of moisture and temperature on net nitrogen mineralization in a forested sandy soil. Soil Biol Biochem 26(11):1557–1564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregg JW, Jones CG, Dawson TE (2003) Urbanization effects on tree growth in the vicinity of New York City. Nature 424:183–187

  • Grimm NB, Faeth SH, Golubiewski NE, Redman CL, Wu J, Bai X, Briggs JM (2008) Global change and the ecology of cities. Science 319:756–760

  • Grimm NB, Grove JM, Pickett STA, Redman CL (2000) Integrated approaches to long-term studies of urban ecological systems. Bioscience 50(7):571–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Pouyat RV, Cadenasso ML, Zipperer WC, Szlavecz K, Yesilonis ID, Band LE, Brush GS (2006) Land use context and natural soil controls on plant community composition and soil nitrogen and carbon dynamics in urban and rural forests. For Ecol Manag 236:177–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gundersen P, Callesen I, de Vries W (1998) Nitrate leaching in forest ecosystems is related to forest floor C/N ratios. Environ Pollut 102:403–407

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • KY Geological Survey (2001) Maps and GIS. University of Kentucky. Available at: http://www.uky.edu/KGS/gis

  • Lovett GM, Weathers KC, Arthur MA (2002) Control of nitrogen loss from forested watersheds by soil carbon:nitrogen ratio and tree species composition. Ecosystems 5:712–718

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell MJ, Pickett STA (1990) Ecosystem structure and function along urban-rural gradients: an unexploited opportunity for ecology. Ecology 71:1232–1237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell MJ, Pickett STA, Groffman P, Bohlen P, Pouyat RV, Zipperer WC, Parmelee RW, Carreiro MM, Medley K (1997) Ecosystem processes along an urban-to-rural gradient. Urban Ecosyst 1:21–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Medley KE, McDonnell MJ, Pickett STA (1995) Forest-landscape structure along an urban-to-rural gradient. Prof Geogr 47:159–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The National Atlas of the United States (2013) Available at: http://www.nationalatlas.gov/mld/ecoomrp.html

  • National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) (2009) NOAA Satellite and Information Service. Available at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html

  • Oke TR (1995) The heat island of the urban boundary layer: characteristics, causes and effects. In: Cermak JE, Davenport AG, Plate EJ, Viegas DX (eds) Wind climate in cities. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 81–107

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ollinger SV, Smith ML, Martin ME, Hallett RA, Goodale CL, Aber JD (2002) Regional variation in foliar chemistry and N cycling among forests of diverse history and composition. Ecology 83:339–355

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavao-Zuckerman MA, Coleman DC (2005) Decomposition of chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) leaves and nitrogen mineralization in an urban environment. Biol Fertil Soils 41:343–349

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peterjohn WT, Melillo JM, Steudler PA, Newkirk KM, Bowles FP, Aber JD (1994) Responses of trace gas fluxes and N availability to experimentally elevated soil temperatures. Ecol Appl 4:617–625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickett STA, Cadenasso ML, Grove JM, Boone CG, Groffman PM, Irwin E, Kaushal SS, Marshall V, McGrath BP, Nilon CH, Pouyat RV, Szlavecz K, Troy A, Warren P (2011) Urban ecological systems: scientific foundations and a decade of progress. J Environ Manag 92:331–362

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pouyat RV, Carreiro MM (2003) Controls on mass loss and nitrogen dynamics of oak leaf litter along an urban-rural land-use gradient. Oecologia 135:288–298

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pouyat RV, Turechek WW (2001) Short- and long-term effects of site factors on net N-mineralization and nitrification rates along an urban-rural gradient. Urban Ecosyst 5:159–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pouyat RV, McDonnell MJ, Pickett STA (1997) Litter decomposition and nitrogen mineralization in oak stands along an urban-rural land use gradient. Urban Ecosyst 1:117–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pouyat RV, Yesilonis ID, Golubiewski NE (2009) A comparison of soil organic carbon stocks between residential turf grass and native soil. Urban Ecosyst 12:45–62

  • Rustad LE, Campbell JL, Marion GM, Norby RJ, Mitchell MJ, Hartley AE, Cornelissen JHC, Gurevitch J (2001) A meta-analysis of the response of soil respiration, net nitrogen mineralization, and aboveground plant growth to experimental ecosystem warming. Oecologia 126:543–562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg DA, Pouyat RV, Parmelee RW, Groffman PM (1997) Earthworm abundance and nitrogen mineralization rates along an urban-rural land use gradient. Soil Biol Biochem 29:427–430

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Szlavecz K, Placella SA, Pouyat RV, Groffman PM, Csuzdi C, Yesilonis I (2006) Invasive earthworm species and nitrogen cycling in remnant forest patches. Appl Soil Ecol 32:54–62

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2000) Geography. Maps and Data. Available at: https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/

  • U.S. Census Bureau (2008) The 2009 Statistical Abstract. Available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/stlocgov.pdf/

  • Verburg PSJ, van Breemen N (2000) Nitrogen transformations in a forested catchment in southern Norway subjected to elevated temperature and CO2. For Ecol Manag 129:31–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Z-F, Hu R, Xiong P, Wan C, Cao G, Liu Q (2010) Initial soil responses to experimental warming in two contrasting forest ecosystems, Eastern Tibetan Plateau, China: nutrient availabilities, microbial properties and enzyme activities. Appl Soil Ecol 46:291–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu W-X, Carreiro MM (1999) Chemoautotrophic nitrification in acidic forest soils along an urban-to-rural transect. Soil Biol Biochem 31:1091–1100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu W-X, Carreiro MM (2004) Temporal and spatial variations in nitrogen transformations in deciduous forest ecosystems along an urban-rural gradient. Soil Biol Biochem 36:267–278

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The University of Louisville Research Foundation supported this study. We thank Chad Ladusaw and Juliane Amlacher for field and laboratory assistance and Rich Schultz for soil nitrogen analysis. We also thank Louisville Metro Parks and the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest for permission to conduct research in urban and rural forests, respectively.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    T. L. E. Trammell

  2. Endicott College, 376 Hale Street, Beverly, MA, 01915, USA

    C. E. Tripler

  3. Department of Biology Life Sciences, 139, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA

    S. C. Carper & M. M. Carreiro

Authors
  1. T. L. E. Trammell
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. E. Tripler
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. C. Carper
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. M. Carreiro
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to T. L. E. Trammell.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Trammell, T.L.E., Tripler, C.E., Carper, S.C. et al. Potential nitrogen mineralization responses of urban and rural forest soils to elevated temperature in Louisville, KY. Urban Ecosyst 20, 77–86 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-016-0580-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-016-0580-y

Keywords