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Gross nitrification rates in four Japanese forest soils: heterotrophic versus autotrophic and the regulation factors for the nitrification

  • Special Feature: Original Article
  • Soil nitrogen dynamics of forest ecosystems under environmental changes
  • Published:
Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

Measurements of gross NH +4 and NO −3 production in forest soils were conducted using the 15N pool dilution method. Mineral topsoils (0–10 cm depth) were collected from four forests from northern to southern Japan with a natural climate gradient to elucidate the mechanisms regulating gross nitrification rates in forest soils. Additionally, we attempted to evaluate the relative importance of heterotrophic nitrification in gross total nitrification using acetylene as a specific inhibitor of autotrophic nitrification. Distinct differences were found among sites in the gross rates of NH +4 production (3.1–11.4 mg N kg−1 day−1) and gross total nitrification (0.0–6.1 mg N kg−1 day−1). The rates of gross heterotrophic nitrification were low in this study, indicating that heterotrophic nitrification is of minor importance in most forest mineral topsoils in Japan. Significant relations were found between gross autotrophic nitrification and gross NH +4 production, soil N, and soil C concentrations, but none was found between gross autotrophic nitrification and soil pH. We determined the critical value of the gross NH +4 production rates for gross autotrophic nitrification under which no gross autotrophic nitrification occurred, as well as the critical soil C/N ratio above which gross autotrophic nitrification ceased. Results show that tight coupling of production and consumption of NH +4 prevents autotrophic nitrifiers from utilizing NH +4 as long as NH +4 availability is low.

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted as part of the Regional and Comparative Soil Incubation Study of Nitrogen Dynamics in Forest Ecosystems (ReSIN) project funded by JSPS (19380078 and 22248016). Study sites of Uryu and Kusaki were located in the Japan Long-Term Ecological Research Network (JaLTER). This work was also supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan and Chuo University Joint Research Grant. K.K. was also supported by the Program to Create an Independent Research Environment for Young Researchers from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan. K.I. was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows. We appreciate the technical staffs of Uryu Experimental Forest, Hokkaido University, Field Museum Kusaki, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Kamigamo Experimental Forest, Kyoto University, and Takakuma Experimental Forest, Kagoshima University for their support with field incubation experiments and logistics. We also thank Junko Ikutani, Yu Takebayashi, Yuko Hasagewa, and Tomoko Makita for their analytical support and all members of Yoh Laboratory and Senoo Laboratory for their cooperation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan

    Megumi Kuroiwa, Keisuke Koba, Hiroto Toda, Muneoki Yoh & Rieko Urakawa

  2. Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

    Kazuo Isobe, Shigeto Otsuka & Keishi Senoo

  3. Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Ryunosuke Tateno & Asami Nakanishi

  4. Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, 305-8687, Japan

    Yoshiyuki Inagaki

  5. Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, 112-8551, Japan

    Yuichi Suwa

  6. Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, 250 Tokuda, Nayoro, Hokkaido, 096-0071, Japan

    Hideaki Shibata

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  1. Megumi Kuroiwa
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  2. Keisuke Koba
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  3. Kazuo Isobe
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  4. Ryunosuke Tateno
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  5. Asami Nakanishi
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  6. Yoshiyuki Inagaki
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  7. Hiroto Toda
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  8. Shigeto Otsuka
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  9. Keishi Senoo
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  10. Yuichi Suwa
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  11. Muneoki Yoh
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  12. Rieko Urakawa
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  13. Hideaki Shibata
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Correspondence to Keisuke Koba.

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Kuroiwa, M., Koba, K., Isobe, K. et al. Gross nitrification rates in four Japanese forest soils: heterotrophic versus autotrophic and the regulation factors for the nitrification. J For Res 16, 363–373 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-011-0287-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-011-0287-0

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