Abstract
The vegetation mosaic of the Alaskan taiga is produced by patterns of disturbance coupled to well-defined successional patterns. In primary succession on river floodplains, one of the critical transitions in succession is that from thinleaf alder (Alnus tenuifolia) to balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera). This is the shift from a N2-fixing shrub to a deciduous tree. Through this transition there are major changes in N cycling including a decrease in N2-fixation, mineralization, and nitrification. Most models of plant effects on soil processes assume that these changes are caused by shifts in litter quality and C/N ratio. This paper reviews several studies examining the effects of balsam poplar secondary chemicals on soil nutrient cycling. Balsam poplar tannins inhibited both N2-fixation in alder, and decomposition and N-mineralization in alder soils. Other poplar compounds, including low-molecular-weight phenolics, were microbial substrates and increased microbial growth and immobilization, thereby reducing net soil N availability. Thus, substantial changes in soil N cycling through succession appear to have been mediated by balsam poplar secondary chemicals.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aber JD, Melillo JM & McClaugherty CA (1990) Predicting long-term patterns of mass loss, nitrogen dynamics, and soil organic matter formation from initial fine litter chemistry in temperate forest ecosystems. Can. J. Bot. 68: 2201-2208
Baldwin IT, Olson RK & Reiners WA (1983) Protein binding phenolics and the inhibition of nitrification in subalpine balsam fir soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 15: 419-423
Belser LW & Mays EL (1980) Specific inhibition of nitrite oxidation by chlorate and its use in assessing nitrification in soils and sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 39: 505-510
Benoit RE & Starkey RL (1968) Enzyme inactivation as a factor in the inhibition of decomposition of organic matter by tannins. Soil Sci. 105: 203-208
Benoit, RE, Starkey RL & Basaraba J (1968) Effect of purified plant tannin on decomposition of some organic compounds and plant materials. Soil Sci. 105: 153-158
Binkley D, Sollins P, Bell R, Sachs D & Myrold D (1992) Biogeochemistry of adjacent conifer and alder-conifer stands. Ecology 73: 2022-2033
Bryant JP, Provenza FD, Pastor J, Reichardt PB, Clausen TP & du Toit JT (1991) Interactions between woody plants and browsing mammals mediated by secondary metabolites. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 22: 431-446
Cates RG, Terry R, Zou J & Wood S (1997) The effect of tannins amd phenolies from Alaska taiga species on nitrogen-fixation in Alnus tenuifolia. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. (submitted)
Clein JS & Schimel JP (1995) Nitrogen turnover and availability during succession from alder to poplar in Alaskan taiga forests. Soil Biol. Biochem. 27: 743-752
Dyrness CT, Viereck LA & Van Cleve K (1986) Fire in taiga communities in interior Alaska. In: Van Cleve K, Chapin FS, III, Flanagan PW, Viereck LA & Dyrness CT (Eds) Forest Ecosystems in the Alaskan Taiga (pp 74-86). Springer-Verlag, New York
Field JA & Lettinga G (1992) Toxicity of tannin compounds to microorganisms. In: Hemingway RW & Laks PE (Eds) Plant Polyphenols (pp 673-692). Plenum Press, NY
Gallardo A & Merino J (1992) Nitrogen immobilization in leaf litter at two Mediterranean ecosystems of SW Spain. Biogeochemistry 15: 213-228
Irons JG, Bryant JP & Oswood MW (1991) Effects of moose browsing on decomposition rates of birch litter in a subarctic stream. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 48: 442-444
Lewis JA & Starkey RL (1968) Vegetable tannins, their decomposition and effects of decomposition of some organic compounds. Soil Sci. 106: 241-247
Lodhi MAK & Killingbeck KT (1980) Allelopathic inhibition of nitrification and nitrifying bacteria in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosaDougl.) community. Am. J. Bot. 67: 1423-1429
Mann DH, Fastie CL, Rowland EL & Bigelow NH (1995) Spruce succession, disturbance, and geomorphology on the tanana river floodplain, Alaska. Ecoscience 2: 184-199
Mead DJ & Preston CM (1992) Nitrogen fixation in Sitka alder by 15N isotope dilution after eight growing seasons in a lodgepole pine site. Can. J. For. Res. 22: 1192-1194
Northrup RR, Yu Z, Dahlgren RA & Vogt KA (1995) Polyphenol control of nitrogen release from pine litter. Nature 377: 227-229
Palm CA & Sanchez PA (1990) Decomposition and nutrient release patterns of the leaves of three tropical legumes. Biotropica 22: 330-338
Palm CA & Sanchez PA (1991) Nitrogen release from the leaves of some tropical legumes as affected by their lignin and polyphenolic contents. Soil Biol. Biochem. 23: 83-88
Post WM, Pastor J, Zinke PJ & Stangenberger AG (1985) Global patterns of soil nitrogen storage. Nature 317: 613-616
Rosenthal GA, Berenbaum ME (1992) Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites. Volume II. Academic Press, San Diego
Schimel DS (1986) Carbon and nitrogen turnover in adjacent grassland and cropland ecosystems. Biogeochemistry 2: 345-357
Schimel JP, Van Cleve K, Cates RG, Clausen TP & Reichardt PB (1996) Effects of balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) tannins and low molecular weight phenolics on microbial activity in taiga floodplain soil: Implications for changes in N cycling during succession. Can. J. Bot. 74: 84-90
Sugai SF & Schimel JP (1993) Decomposition and biomass incorporation of 14C-labeled glucose and phenolics in taiga forest floor: effect of substrate quality, successional state, and season. Soil Biol. Biochem. 25: 1379-1389
Swain T (1979) Tannins and lignins. In: Rosenthal GA & Jansen DH (Eds) Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites (pp 657-682). Academic Press, New York
Swift MJ, Heal OW & Anderson JM (1979) Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems. Univ. California Press, Berkeley
Thibault J-R, Fortin J-A & Smirnoff WA (1982) In vitro allelopathic inhibition of nitrification by balsam poplar and balsam fir. Am. J. Bot. 69: 676-679
Van Cleve K, Chapin FS, III, Flanagan PW, Viereck LA & Dyrness CT (1986) Forest Ecosystems in the Alaskan Taiga. Springer-Verlag, New York
Van Cleve K, Dyrness CT, Marion GM & Erickson R (1993) Control of soil development on the Tanana River floodplain, interior Alaska. Can. J. For. Res. 23: 941-955
Viereck LA, Dyrness CT & Foote MJ (1993) An overview of the vegetation and soils of the floodplain ecosystems of the Tanana River, interior Alaska. Can. J. For. Res. 23: 889-898
White CS (1986) Volatile and water-soluble inhibitors of nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in a ponderosa pine ecosystem. Biol. Fertil. Soils 2: 97-104
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schimel, J.P., Cates, R.G. & Ruess, R. The Role of Balsam Poplar Secondary Chemicals in Controlling Soil Nutrient Dynamics through Succession in the Alaskan Taiga. Biogeochemistry 42, 221–234 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005911118982
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005911118982