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A Framework to Assess Biogeochemical Response to Ecosystem Disturbance Using Nutrient Partitioning Ratios

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Abstract

Disturbances affect almost all terrestrial ecosystems, but it has been difficult to identify general principles regarding these influences. To improve our understanding of the long-term consequences of disturbance on terrestrial ecosystems, we present a conceptual framework that analyzes disturbances by their biogeochemical impacts. We posit that the ratio of soil and plant nutrient stocks in mature ecosystems represents a characteristic site property. Focusing on nitrogen (N), we hypothesize that this partitioning ratio (soil N: plant N) will undergo a predictable trajectory after disturbance. We investigate the nature of this partitioning ratio with three approaches: (1) nutrient stock data from forested ecosystems in North America, (2) a process-based ecosystem model, and (3) conceptual shifts in site nutrient availability with altered disturbance frequency. Partitioning ratios could be applied to a variety of ecosystems and successional states, allowing for improved temporal scaling of disturbance events. The generally short-term empirical evidence for recovery trajectories of nutrient stocks and partitioning ratios suggests two areas for future research. First, we need to recognize and quantify how disturbance effects can be accreting or depleting, depending on whether their net effect is to increase or decrease ecosystem nutrient stocks. Second, we need to test how altered disturbance frequencies from the present state may be constructive or destructive in their effects on biogeochemical cycling and nutrient availability. Long-term studies, with repeated sampling of soils and vegetation, will be essential in further developing this framework of biogeochemical response to disturbance.

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Acknowledgements

We thank members of the Novus Research Coordination Network for helpful discussion. We also thank the Long-term Soil Productivity network for contributions of site N data, including Andy Scott, Dave Morris, Paul Hazlett, Rob Fleming, Deb Page-Dumerose, Felix Ponder, Mary-Beth Adams, Richard Kabzems, Bill Chapman, and Graeme Hope. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DEB-1145815 and 0949420. Bill Reiners and an anonymous reviewer provided helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, PO Box 9536, Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, British Columbia, V8W 9C4, Canada

    J. Marty Kranabetter

  2. Department of Geography, Kansas State University, 118 Seaton Hall, Manhattan, Kansas, 66506, USA

    Kendra K. McLauchlan & Laci M. Gerhart

  3. Department of Land, Air, & Water Resources, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California, 95616-8627, USA

    Sara K. Enders

  4. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, 1102 South Goodwin Ave, Urbana, Illinois, 61810, USA

    Jennifer M. Fraterrigo

  5. Department of Forest Rangeland and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, Moscow, Idaho, 83844, USA

    Philip E. Higuera

  6. Department of Forest Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, Moscow, Idaho, 83844, USA

    Jesse L. Morris

  7. The Marine Biological Laboratory, The Ecosystem Center, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    Edward B. Rastetter

  8. Environmental Program, Colorado College, 14 E Cache La Poudre, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80903, USA

    Rebecca Barnes

  9. University of Alaska Southeast, 11120 Glacier Hwy, Juneau, Alaska, 99801, USA

    Brian Buma

  10. Department of Geography, 1251 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403-1251, USA

    Daniel G. Gavin

  11. Plant Conservation Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3 7701, Rondebosch, South Africa

    Lindsey Gillson

  12. Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Gregor Mendel-Str. 33, 1180, Vienna, Austria

    Peter Hietz

  13. Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, PO Box 5620, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA

    Michelle C. Mack

  14. Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6300, Morgantown, West Virginia, 26506, USA

    Brenden McNeil

  15. US Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA

    Steven Perakis

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  1. J. Marty Kranabetter
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  2. Kendra K. McLauchlan
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  16. Steven Perakis
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Correspondence to J. Marty Kranabetter.

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Author Contributions

The study was conceived and designed during a Novus-RCN workshop with the full participation of all the authors; JMK, KKM, and JLM analyzed data; SKE, JMF, PEH, EBR contributed new models; JMK and KKM wrote manuscript with contributions from all the co-authors.

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Kranabetter, J.M., McLauchlan, K.K., Enders, S.K. et al. A Framework to Assess Biogeochemical Response to Ecosystem Disturbance Using Nutrient Partitioning Ratios. Ecosystems 19, 387–395 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-015-9934-1

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