Abstract
Fires may greatly alter the N budget of a plant community. During fire nitrogen is lost to the atmosphere. Although high light availability after fire promotes N2-fixation, the presumably high soil N availability could limit N2-fixation activity. The latter limitation might be particularly acute in legume seedlings compared with resprouts, which have immediate access to belowground stored carbon. We wished to learn whether early post-fire conditions were conducive to N2-fixation in leguminous seedlings and resprouts in two types of grassland and in a shrubland and whether seedlings and resprouts incurred different amounts of N2-fixation after fire. We set 18 experimental fires in early autumn on 6 plots, subsequently labelling 6 subplots (2 × 2 m2) in each community with 15NH4 +-N (99 atom % excess). For 9 post-fire months we measured net N mineralisation in the top 5 cm of soil and we calculated the fraction of legume N derived from the atmosphere (%Ndfa) in seedlings and resprouts. We used two independent estimates of the amounts of N derived from non-atmospheric sources in potentially N2-fixing plants: mean soil pool abundance and the 15N-enrichment of non-legumes. Despite substantial soil net N mineralisation in all burned community types (about 2.6 g Nm−2 during the first nine months after fire), the %Ndfa of various legume species was 52–99%. Legumes from both grasslands showed slightly higher N2-fixation values than shrubland legumes. As grassland legumes grew in more belowground dense communities than shrubland legumes, we suggest that higher competition for soil resources in well established grass-resprouting communities may enhance the rate of N2-fixation after fire. In contrast to our hypothesis, legume seedlings and resprouts from the three plant communities studied, had similar %Ndfa and apparently acquired most of their N from the atmosphere rather than from the soil.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. Arianoutsou C.A. Thanos (1996) ArticleTitleLegume in the fire-prone Mediterranean regions: an example from Greece Int. J. Wildland Fire 6 IssueID2 77–82 Occurrence Handle10.1071/WF9960077
D. Barraclough (1991) ArticleTitleThe use of mean pool abundance to interpret 15N tracer experiments. I. Theory Plant Soil 131 89–96
D.T. Bell J.M. Koch (1980) ArticleTitlePost-fire succession in the northern jarrah forest of Western Australia J. Ecol. 5 9–14
T.L. Bell F. Ojeda (1999) ArticleTitleUnderground starch storage in Erica species of the Cape Floristic Region – differences between seeders and resprouters New Phytol. 144 143–152 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1469-8137.1999.00489.x
J.M. Blair (1997) ArticleTitleFireN availability, and plant response in grasslands: a test of the transient maxima hypothesis Ecology 78 2359–2368
Bolòs O. de and Vigo J. 1984. Flora dels Països Catalans. Barcino Ed, Barcelona, Spain.
M.D. Busse (2000) ArticleTitleSuitable and use of the 15N-isotope dilution method to estimate nitrogen fixation by actinorhizal shrubs Forest Ecol. Manage. 136 85–95
T.E. Crews (1999) ArticleTitleThe presence of N fixing legumes in terrestrial communities: Evolutionary vs ecological considerations Biogeochemistry 46 233–246
P.M. Chalk C.J. Smith P. Hopmans S.D. Hamilton (1996) ArticleTitleA yield-independent15N-isotope dilution method to estimate legume symbiotic dependence without a non-N2-fixing reference plant Biol. Fert. Soils 23 196–199
S.K.A. Danso G. Hardarson F. Zapata (1993) ArticleTitle Misconceptions and practical problems in the use of 15N soil enrichment techniques for estimating N2-fixation Plant Soil 152 25–52 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00016331
J. DiStefano H.L. Gholz (1986) ArticleTitleA proposed use of the ion exchange resin to measure nitrogen mineralisation and nitrification in intact soil cores Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 17 989–998 Occurrence Handle10.1080/00103628609367767
T.L. Hanes (1971) ArticleTitleSuccession after fire in the chaparral of southern California Ecol. Monogr. 41 27–52
A.P. Hansen J.S. Pate A. Hansen D.T. Bell (1987) ArticleTitleNitrogen economy of post fire stands of shrub legumes in jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Sm.) forest of S.W. Australia J. Exp. Bot. 38 26–41
J.J. Hendicks L.R. Boring (1992) ArticleTitleLitter quality of legumes in a burned pine forest of the Georgia Piedmont Can. J. Forest Res. 22 2007–2010
J.J. Hendricks L.R. Boring (1999) ArticleTitleN2-fixation by native herbaceous legumes in burned pine ecosystems of the southeastern United States Forest Ecol. Manage. 113 167–177
J.E. Keeley P.J. Zedler (1978) ArticleTitleReproduction of chaparral shrubs after fire: a comparison of sprouting and seeding strategies Am. Midland Nat. 99 142–161
F. Lloret C. Casanovas J. Peñuelas (1999) ArticleTitleSeedling survival of Mediterranean shrubland species in relation to root:shoot ratioseed size and water and nitrogen use Funct. Ecol. 13 210–216 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2435.1999.00309.x
R.M. Masalles J. Vigo (1987) La successió a les terres mediterrànies: sèries de vegetació J. Terradas (Eds) Ecosistemes Terrestres La resposta als incendis i a d’altres pertorbacions Diputació de Barcelona BarcelonaSpain 27–43
M. Marschner (1995) Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants EditionNumber2 Academic Press New York, U.S.A
C. McAuliffe D.S. Chamblee H. Uribe-Arango W.W. Woodhouse SuffixJr. (1958) ArticleTitleInfluence of inorganic nitrogen on nitrogen fixation by legumes as revealed by 15N Agron. J. 50 334–337 Occurrence Handle10.2134/agronj1958.00021962005000060014x
D. McKey (1994) Legumes and nitrogen: the evolutionary ecology of a nitrogen-demanding lifestyle J.I. Sprent D. Mckey (Eds) Legume Systematics, 5. The Nitrogen Factor Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, England 211–228
Z. Naveh (1967) ArticleTitleMediterranean ecosystems and vegetation types in California and Israel Ecology 48 445–459
Z. Naveh (1975) ArticleTitleThe evolutionary significance of fire in the Mediterranean region Vegetatio 9 199–206
D.S. Ojima D.S. Schimel W.J. Parton C.E. Owensby (1994) ArticleTitleLong- and short-term effects of fire on nitrogen cycling in tallgrass prairie Biogeochemistry 24 67–84
S. Papavassiliou M. Arianoutsou (1993) Regeneration of the leguminous herbaceous vegetation following fire in a Pinus halepensis Mill. forest of AtticaGreece L. Trabaud R. Prodon (Eds) Mediterranean Ecosystems Commission of the European Communities Brussels-Luxembourg 119–125
J.S. Pate R.H. Froend B.J. Bowen A. Hansen J. Kuo (1990) ArticleTitleSeedling growth and storage characteristics of seeder and resprouter species of Mediterranean-type ecosystems of S.W. Australia Ann. Bot. 65 585–601
E.B. Rastetter P.M. Vitousek C. Field G.R. Shaver D. Herbert G.I. Ågren (2001) ArticleTitleResource optimization and symbiotic nitrogen fixation Ecosystems 4 369–388 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s10021-001-0018-z
J. Romanyà P. Casals V.R. Vallejo (2001) ArticleTitleShort-term effects of fire on soil nitrogen availability in Mediterranean grasslands and shrublands growing in old fields Forest Ecol. Manage. 147 39–53
P.W. Rundel (1981) The matorral zone of Central Chile F. Castri ParticleDi D.W. Goodall R.L. Specht (Eds) Mediterranean-Type Shrublands Elsevier Amsterdam 175–201
G. Shearer D.H. Kohl (1986) ArticleTitleN2-fixation in field settings: estimations based on natural 15N abundance Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 13 699–756
R.L. Spetch (1981) Responses to fires in heathlands and other related shrublands A.M. Gill R.H. Groves I.R. Noble (Eds) Fire and the Australian biota Australian Academy of Science Canberra, Australia 395–415
J.M. Stark S.C. Hart (1996) ArticleTitleDiffusion technique for preparing salt solutions, kjeldahl digests, and persulfate digests for Nitrogen-15 analysis Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 60 1846–1855 Occurrence Handle10.2136/sssaj1996.03615995006000060033x
P.M. Vitousek R.W. Howarth (1991) ArticleTitleNitrogen limitation on land and in the sea: How can it occur? Biogeochemistry 13 87–115 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00002772
P.M. Vitousek C.B. Field (1999) ArticleTitleEcosystem constraints to symbiotic nitrogen fixers: a simple model and its implications Biogeochemistry 46 179–202
P.M. Vitousek K. Cassman C. Cleveland T. Crews C.B. Field N.B. Grimm R.W. Howarth R. Marino L. Martinelli E.B. Rastetter J.I. Sprent (2002) ArticleTitleTowards an ecological understanding of biological nitrogen fixation Biogeochemistry 57 IssueID58 1–45
J.G. Waterer J.K. Vessey (1993) ArticleTitleEffects of low static nitrate concentration on mineral nitrogen uptakenodulation and nitrogen fixation in field pea J. Plant Nutr. 16 1775–1789 Occurrence Handle10.1080/01904169309364649
J.F. Witty (1983) ArticleTitleEstimating N2-fixation in the field using 15N-labelled fertilizer: some problems and solutions Soil Biol. Biochem. 15 631–639 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0038-0717(83)90026-3
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Casals, P., Romanya, J. & Vallejo, V.R. Short-term Nitrogen Fixation by Legume Seedlings and Resprouts After Fire in Mediterranean Old-fields. Biogeochemistry 76, 477–501 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-8659-1
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-8659-1