Abstract
Nitrogen fixation rates, as estimated by the acetylene reduction technique, were determined in conifer wood litter being decayed by brown- and white-rot fungi. Average ethylene production rates were significantly higher in white-rotted wood (15.1 nmol g−1 day−1) than in brown-rotted wood (2.3 nmol g−1 day−1). This difference may be related to a higher soluble sugar content in white-versus brown-rotted wood. The nitrogen-fixing bacteriumAzospirillum was not detected in any of the decaying wood samples examined. Greater nitrogen additions from nitrogen-fixing bacteria may be a factor in the more rapid white-rot decay of hardwood litter, as compared to the slower brown-rot decay of conifer wood.
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Jurgensen, M.F., Larsen, M.J., Wolosiewicz, M. et al. A comparison of dinitrogen fixation rates in wood litter decayed by white-rot and brown-rot fungi. Plant Soil 115, 117–122 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02220701
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02220701