The plant–soil system was studied at different topographic levels (i.e. ridge, backslope and footslope) along a slope in a Cryptomeria plantation. Soil solution chemistry at each representative topographic plot was investigated. Tree height and diameter of Cryptomeria decreased upslope. The understory species composition changed along the slope. The upper part of the slope with Oa horizon soil N transformation was characterized by ammonification, while most of the inorganic N in the lower part of the slope without Oa horizon was nitrified. The inorganic N form in the soil solution corresponded with soil N transformation. Ammonium was the dominant inorganic N at the ridge, while NO3 predominated at the foot of the slope. Soil solution chemistry was similar to throughfall at the ridge. At the foot slope, the chemical composition of the soil solution was different from throughfall due to high NO3− concentrations. This suggests that the inorganic N form regulated not only N concentration but also cation concentrations. The soil N transformation pattern is important in nutrient cycling.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bourgeois G. G. & Lankulich L. M. (1972) A study of forest soils and leachate on sloping topography using a tension lysimeter. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 52: 375–391.
Cronan C. S. (1980) Solution chemistry of New Hampshire subalpine ecosystem: A biogeochemical analysis. Oikos 34: 272–281.
Driscoll C. T., Van Breemen N., Mulder J. (1985) Chemistry and transport of aluminum in Spodosols (typic Fragiorthods) at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Soil Science Society of American Journal 49: 437–444.
Frank D. A., Inouye R. S., Huntly N., Minshall G. W., Anderson J. E. (1994) The biogeochemistry of a north-temperate grassland with native ungulates: Nitrogen dynamics in Yellowstone National Park. Biogeochemistry 26: 163–188.
Garten Jr C. T. (1993) Variation in foliar 15N abundance and the availability of soil nitrogen on Walker Branch watershed. Ecology 74: 2098–2113.
Gosz J. R. & White C. S. (1986) Seasonal and annual variation in nitrogen mineralization and nitrification along an elevational gradient in New Mexico. Biogeochemistry 2: 281–297.
Hirobe M., Tokuchi N., Iwatsubo G. (1998) Spatial variability of soil nitrogen transformation patterns along a forest slope in Cryptomeria japonica D. Don. plantation. European Journal of Soil Science 34: 123–131.
Jenny H. (1980) The soil resource: Origin and behavior. Ecological Studies, Vol. 37. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Johnson D. W. & Cole D. W. (1980) Anion mobility in soils: Relevance to nutrient transport from forest ecosystems. Environmental International 3: 79–90.
Jones A. J., Meilke L. N., Bartles C. A., Miller C. A. (1989) Relationships of landscape position and properties to crop production. Journal of Soil Water Conservation 44: 328–332.
Keeney D. R. & Nelson D. W. (1982) Nitrogen-inorganic forms. In: Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2 (eds A. L. Page, R. H. Miller and D. R. Keeney), pp. 643–698. American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Madison.
Killham K. (1994) Soil Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 242.
Likens G. E., Bormann F. H., Pierce R. S., Eaton R. S., Johnson N. M. (1977) Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Pastor J., Aber J. D., McClaugherty C. A. (1984) Aboveground production and N and P cycling along a nitrogen mineralization gradient on Blackhawk Island, Wisconsin. Ecology 65: 256–268.
Rasmussen L. (1986) Soil water samplers in ion balance studies on acidic forest soils. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 36: 563–570.
Robertson G. P. (1982) Nitrification in forested ecosystems. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B296: 445–457.
Schimel J. P. & Firestone M. K. (1989) Inorganic N incorporation by coniferous forest floor material. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 21: 41–46.
Schimel J. P., Louise E. J., Firestone M. K. (1989) Spatial and temporal effects on plant-microbial competition for inorganic nitrogen in a California annual grassland. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 21: 1059–1066.
Schimel D., Stillwell M. A., Woodmansee R. G. (1985) Biogeochemistry of C, N, and P in a soil catena of the shortgrass steppe. Ecology 66: 276–282.
Shaver G. R., Nadelhoffer K. J., Giblin A. E. (1991) Biogeochemical diversity and element transport in a heterogeneous landscape, the north slope of Alaska. In: Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology (ed. M. G. Turner & R. H. Gardner), pp. 105–125. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Sollins P. & McCorinson F. M. (1981) Nitrogen and carbon solution chemistry of an old growth coniferous forest watershed before and after cutting. Water Resource and Research 17: 1409–1418.
Stone J. R., Gilliam J. W., Cassel D. K., Daniels R. B., Nelson L. A., Kleiss H. J. (1985) Effects of erosion and landscape position on the productivity of Piedmont soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 49: 987–991.
Tokuchi N. & Iwatsubo G. (1999) Soil solution chemistry at different positions on slope in a conifer plantation forest. Japanese Journal of Forest Research 4: 99–106.
Tokuchi N., Kuroda Y., Iwatsubo G. (1991) Vertical changes of water-chemicals in a forest ecosystem. (I) Vertical movement of Cl−, Na+ and soil water in a sugi forest. Journal of Japanese Forest Society 72: 135–144 (in Japanese with English summary).
Tokuchi N., Takeda H., Iwatsubo G. (1993) Vertical changes in soil solution chemistry in soil profiles under coniferous forest. Geoderma 59: 57–73.
Trudgill S. T. (1977) Soil and Vegetation Systems. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Zak D. R. & Pregitzer K. S. (1990) Spatial and temporal variability of nitrogen cycling in northern lower Michigan. Forest Science 36: 367–380.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Tokuchi, N., Takeda, H., Yoshida, K. et al. Topographical variations in a plant–soil system along a slope on Mt Ryuoh, Japan. Ecol Res 14, 361–369 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1703.1999.00309.x
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1703.1999.00309.x