Abstract
In an effort to elucidate the factors affecting soil N dynamics in the Dry Chaco ecosystem, soil respiration and microbial biomass N were measured for one year underneath 5 vegetation types: a leguminous tree (Prosopis flexuosa DC), a non-leguminous tree (Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco Schlecht.), a non leguminous shrub (Larrea spp.), the open interspaces, and a pure grassland. Ammonifier and nitrifier densities and N content in litter were also measured in some cases. Results were compared with previously reported N mineralization rates and soil fertility.
During the dry season microbial biomass N and net N mineralization were low, while accretion of easily mineralizable C occurred (estimated through soil respiration rates in lab under controlled temperature and moisture). With the onset of rain, microbial biomass N and N mineralization increased markedly, resulting in a decrease in easily mineralizable C. Throughout the wet season N mineralization varied with soil moisture while microbial biomass N remained consistently high. Mean values of immobilized N in this ecosystem were high (20–140 mg kg−1), of about the same order of magnitude as accumulated net N mineralization (50–150 mg kg−1 yr−1). Microbial decay in the dry season, considered as a source of easily mineralizable N, accounted for only 40% of gross N mineralization increase at the beginning of the wet season. Ammonifier densities correlated significantly with soil moisture and N mineralization, but nitrifiers did not.
The highest values of total N, N mineralization, inorganic N, microbial biomass N, nitrifier densities, N content in litter, total organic C and easily mineralizable C were found under Prosopis and the lowest values under shrubs and the interspaces. The main differences between tree species were in N mineralization at the beginning of the wet season, in total and inorganic N pools, and in nitrifier densities; all of which were significantly lower under Aspidosperma than under Prosopis.
N mineralization in the pure grassland was very low despite high values of total N and C sources. Although N immobilized in microbial biomass was similarly high under Aspidosperma, Prosopis and the pure grassland, net N mineralization rates were quite different.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Belser L W 1979 Population ecology of nitrifying bacteria. Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 33, 309–333.
Belser L W and Schmidt E L 1978 Diversity in the ammonia oxidizing nitrifier population of a soil. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 36, 584–588.
Bernhard-Reversat F 1982 Biochemical cycle of nitrogen in a semiarid savanne. Oikos 38, 321–332.
Bernhard-Reversat F 1988 Soil nitrogen mineralization under a Eucalyptus plantation and a natural Acacia forest in Senegal. For. Ecol. Manage. 23, 233–244.
Bernhard-Reversat F and Poupon H 1980 Nitrogen cycling in a soil-tree system in a Sahelian savanna: Example of Acacia senegal. In Nitrogen Cycling in West African Ecosystems. SCOPE/UNEP Workshop, Ibadan, December 1978. Ed. T Rosswall. pp 363–370. Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm.
Birch H F 1960 Nitrification in soils after different periods of dryness. Plant and Soil 12, 81–96.
Bolton HJr, Smith J L and Wildung R E 1990 Nitrogen mineralization potentials of shrub-steppe soils with different disturbance histories. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54, 887–891.
Bonde T A, Schnürer J and Rosswall T 1988 Microbial biomass as a fraction of potentially mineralizable nitrogen in soils from long-term field experiments. Soil Biol. Biochem. 20, 447–452.
Bottner P 1985 Response of microbial biomass to alternate moist and dry conditions in a soil incubated with 14C- and 15N-labelled plant material. Soil Biol. Biochem. 17, 329–337.
Cabrera A L 1976 Regiones fitogeográficas argentinas. ACME 1–85, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Charley J L and West N E 1977 Micropatterns of N-mineralization activity in soils of some shrub-dominated semidesert ecosystems of Utah. Soil. Biol. Biochem. 9, 357–365.
Cochran W G 1950 Estimation of bacterial densities by means of the ‘most probable number’. Biometrics 6, 105–116.
Cox J R, Parker J M and Strohlein J L 1984 Soil properties in creosotebush communities and their relative effects on the growth of seeded range grasses. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 48, 1442–1445.
Dommergues Y 1968 Degagement tellurique du CO2: Mesure et signification. Ann. Inst. Pasteur 115, 627–656.
Dommergues Y, Garcia J L and Ganry F 1980 Microbiological considerations of the N-cycle in West African ecosystems. In Nitrogen Cycling in West African Ecosystems. SCOPE/UNEP Workshop, Ibadan, December 1978. Ed. T Rosswall. pp 55–72. Royal Swedish Academy of Science. Stockholm.
Donaldson J M and Henderson G S 1990 Nitrification potential of secondary-succession upland oak forests. I. Mineralization and nitrification during laboratory incubations. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54, 892–897.
Fisher F M, Parker L W, Anderson J P and Whitford W G 1987 Nitrogen mineralization in a desert soil: Interacting effects of soil moisture and nitrogen fertilizer. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 51, 1033–1041.
Focht D D and Verstraete W 1977 Biochemical ecology of nitrification and denitrification. Adv. Microbiol. Ecol. 1. 135–214.
Gutierrez J R and Whitford W G 1987 Chihuahuan desert annuals: Importance of water and nitrogen. Ecology 68, 2032–2045.
Jenkinson D S and Powlson D S 1976 The effects of biocidal treatments on metabolism in soil. I. Fumigation with chloroform. Soil Biol. Biochem. 8, 167–177.
Karlin O and Diaz R 1984 Potencialidad y manejo de algarrobos en el árido subtropical argentino. SECYT (Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica), Programa Nacional Recursos Naturales Renovables. Proyecto especial OEA No. 53, Argentina. 59 p.
Keeney D R and Nelson D W 1982 Nitrogen-inorganic forms. In Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2, Second Edition. Eds. A L Page, R H Miller and D R Keeney. pp 643–698. Series Agronomy Nr. 9. ASA-SSSA, Madison. WI.
Kieft T L, Soroker E and Firestone M K 1987 Microbial biomass response to a rapid increase in water potential when dry soil is wetted. Soil Biol. Biochem. 19, 119–126.
Kovda V A, Samoilova E M, Charley J L and Skujins J J 1979. Soil processes in arid lands. In Arid-Land Ecosystems. Vol. 1 Eds. D W Goodall, R A Perry and K M W Howes. pp 439–470. Cambridge University Press, UK.
Ladd J N, Amato M and Oades J M 1985 Decomposition of plant material in Australian soils. III. Residual organic and microbial biomass C and N from isotope-labelled legume material and soil organic matter decomposing under field conditions. Aust. J. Soil Res. 23, 603–611.
Matson P A, Vitousek P M, Ewel J J, Mazzarino M J and Robertson P 1987 Nitrogen transformations following tropical forest felling and burning on a volcanic soil. Ecology 68, 491–502.
Mazzarino M J, Oliva L, Nuñez A, Nuñez G and Buffa E 1991 Nitrogen mineralization and soil fertility in the Dry Chaco Ecosystem (Argentina). Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55, 515–522.
McGill W B, Shields J A and Paul E A 1975 Relation between C and N turnover in soil fractions of microbial origin. Soil Biol. Biochem. 7, 57–63.
Melillo J M, Aber J D and Muratore J F 1982 Nitrogen and lignin control of hardwood leaf litter decomposition dynamics. Ecology 63, 621–626.
Morello J, Sancholuz L A and Blanco C A 1977 Estudio macroecológico de los Llanos de La Rioja. IDIA (Revista Oficial del INTA, Arg.) 34, 242–248.
Orchard V A and Cook F J 1983 Relationship between soil respiration and soil moisture. Soil Biol. Biochem. 15, 447–453.
Palm C 1988 Mulch Quality and N Dynamics in an Alley Cropping System in the Peruvian Amazon. Ph. D. Diss. North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
Pochon J and Tardieux P 1962 Techniques d'analyse en microbiologie du sol. Ed. de la Tourelle, Saint Mande.
Purchase B S 1974 The influence of phosphate deficiency on nitrification. Plant and Soil 41, 541–547.
Ragonese A E and Castiglioni J C 1969 La vegetación del Parque Chaqueño. Boletín Sociedad Argentina de Botánica 11, 133–160.
Robertson G P and Vitousek P M 1981 Nitrification potentials of primary and secondary vegetation. Ecology 62, 376–386.
Robertson K, Schnürer J, Clarholm M, Bonde T A and Rosswall T 1988 Microbial biomass in relation to C and N mineralization during laboratory incubations. Soil Biol. Biochem. 20, 281–286.
Schmidt E L 1982 Nitrification in soil. In Nitrogen in Agricultural Soils. Ed. F J Stevenson. pp 253–288. Agronomy Series 22. ASA-CSSA-SSSA, Madison, WI.
Singh A and Balasubramanian V 1980 Nitrogen cycling in the savanna zone of Nigeria. In Nitrogen Cycling in West African Ecosystems. SCOPE/UNEP Workshop, Ibadan, December 1978. Ed. T Rosswall. pp 377–392. Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm.
Skujins J 1981 Nitrogen cycling in arid ecosystems. In Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles. Eds. F E Clark and T Rosswall. Ecolog. Bulletin 33, 477–491, Stockholm.
Sollins P, Spycher G and Glassman C A 1984 Net nitrogen mineralization from light and heavy-fraction forest soil organic matter. Soil Biol. Biochem. 16, 31–37.
Sparling G P and West A W 1989 Importance of soil water content when estimating soil microbial C, N and P by the fumigation-extraction methods. Soil Biol. Biochem. 21, 245–253.
SPSS-PC 1984 SPSS User's Guide by M.J. Norusis. SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL.
Sylvester-Bradley R, Mosquera D and Mendez J E 1988 Inhibition of nitrate accumulation in tropical grassland soils: Effect of N-fertilization and soil disturbance. J. Soil Sci. 39, 407–416.
Tiedemann A R and Klemmedson J O 1973 Nutrient availability in desert grassland soils under mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) trees and adjacent open areas. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 37, 107–110.
Van Veen J A, Ladd J N and Amato M 1985 Turnover of C and N through the microbial biomass in a sandy loam and a clay soil incubated with (14C) glucose and (15N) (NH4)2SO4 under different moisture regimes. Soil Biol. Biochem. 17, 747–756.
Virginia R A 1986 Soil development under legume tree canopies. For. Ecol. Manage. 16, 69–79.
Virginia R A and Jarrell W M 1983 Soil properties in a mesquite-dominated Sonoran Desert ecosystem. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 47, 138–144.
Vitousek P M and Matson P A 1982 Causes of delayed nitrate production in two Indiana forests. For. Sci. 31, 122–131.
Vitousek P M, Gosz J R, Grier C C, Melillo J M and Reiners W A 1982 A comparative analysis of potential nitrification and nitrate mobility in forest ecosystems. Ecol. Monogr. 52, 155–177.
Vitousek P M and Matson P A 1985 Disturbance, N-availability and N-losses: An experimental study in an intensively managed loblolly pine plantation. Ecology 66, 1360–1376.
Vlek P L G, Fillery I R P and Burford J R 1981 Accession, transformation and loss of N in soils of the arid region. Plant and Soil 58, 33–175.
West N E and Skujins J J 1978 Nitrogen in Desert Ecosystems. US/IBP Synthesis Ser. 9. Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Inc., Stroudsburg, PA.
Witkamp M 1966 Decomposition of leaf litter in relation to environment microflora and microbial respiration. Ecology 47, 194–201.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mazzarino, M.J., Oliva, L., Abril, A. et al. Factors affecting nitrogen dynamics in a semiarid woodland (Dry Chaco, Argentina). Plant Soil 138, 85–98 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011811
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011811