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Nitrogen transformations in boreal forest soils—does composition of plant secondary compounds give any explanations?

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Abstract

Two major groups of plant secondary compounds, phenolic compounds and terpenes, may according to current evidence mediate changes in soil C and N cycling, but their exact role and importance in boreal forest soils are largely unknown. In this review we discuss the occurrence of these compounds in forest plants and soils, the great challenges faced when their concentrations are measured, their possible effects in regulating soil C and N transformations and finally, we attempt to evaluate their role in connection with certain forest management practices. In laboratory experiments, volatile monoterpenes, in the concentrations found in the coniferous soil atmosphere, have been shown to inhibit net nitrogen mineralization and nitrification; they probably provide a C source to part of the soil microbial population but are toxic to another part. However, there is a large gap in our knowledge of the effects of higher terpenes on soil processes. According to results from laboratory experiments, an important group of phenolic compounds, condensed tannins, may also affect microbial processes related to soil C and N cycling; one mechanism is binding of proteins and certain other organic N-containing compounds. Field studies revealed interesting correlations between the occurrence of terpenes or phenolic compounds and C or net N mineralization in forest soils; in some cases these correlations point in the same direction as do the results from laboratory experiments, but not always. Different forest management practices may result in changes in both the quantity and quality of terpenes and phenolic compounds entering the soil. Possible effects of tree species composition, clear-cutting and removal of logging residue for bioenergy on plant secondary compound composition in soil are discussed in relation to changes observed in soil N transformations.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. Oili Kiikkilä and Prof. Heljä-Sisko Helmisaari for thoughtful comments, Dr. Joann von Weissenberg for checking the English language of this paper, to Anne Siika for making the figures and to previous members of the research group, particularly Dr. Laura Höijer and Dr. Outi Priha, for their contribution. The Finnish Forest Research Institute, Academy of Finland and Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation have funded several studies discussed in this paper.

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  1. Vantaa Research Unit, The Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O.Box 18, FI-01301, Vantaa, Finland

    Aino Smolander, Sanna Kanerva, Bartosz Adamczyk & Veikko Kitunen

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O.Box 55, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Sanna Kanerva

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  1. Aino Smolander
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  2. Sanna Kanerva
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Correspondence to Aino Smolander.

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Smolander, A., Kanerva, S., Adamczyk, B. et al. Nitrogen transformations in boreal forest soils—does composition of plant secondary compounds give any explanations?. Plant Soil 350, 1–26 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-0895-7

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