Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Soil enzyme activities as potential indicators of soluble organic nitrogen pools in forest ecosystems of Northeast China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Annals of Forest Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Context

Soluble organic nitrogen is considered to reflect the effect of forest types on soil nitrogen status. As a major process affecting the soil-soluble organic nitrogen pool, degradation of insoluble organic nitrogen in the production of soluble organic nitrogen is mediated by a suite of soil enzymes.

Aims

This study aims to examine soil-soluble organic nitrogen pools and their relationships with the activities of soil enzymes in natural secondary forest stands and adjacent larch plantation stands.

Methods

Four pairs of larch plantation stands and secondary forest stands were randomly selected from a mountainous area, and the top 15 cm of the mineral soils were sampled from each field.

Results

The soil-soluble organic nitrogen concentrations were up to 2-fold greater in the secondary forest stands than in the larch plantation stands, whereas the ratio of soluble organic nitrogen/total nitrogen was comparable between the two forest types. The concentrations of soluble organic nitrogen were positively correlated with approximately 2-fold differences in urease and protease activities, a 1.2-fold difference in N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase and a 1.7-fold difference in l-asparaginase between the two forest types.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that relationships between soil-soluble organic nitrogen and enzyme activities are independent on sampling time, and that the soil enzyme activities can be used as potential indicators of soil soluble organic nitrogen pools in the temperate forest ecosystem.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allison VJ, Condron LM, Peltzer DA, Richardson SJ, Turner BL (2007) Changes in enzyme activities and soil microbial community composition along carbon and nutrient gradients at the Franz Josef chronosequence, New Zealand. Soil Biol Biochem 39:1770–1781

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boerner REJ, Brinkman JA, Smith A (2005) Seasonal variations in enzyme activity and organic carbon in soil of a burned and unburned hardwood forest. Soil Biol Biochem 37:1419–1426

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Booth MS, Starks JM, Rastetter E (2005) Controls on nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems: a synthetic analysis of literature data. Ecol Monogr 75:139–157

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brookes PC, Landman A, Pruden G, Jenkinson DS (1985) Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: a rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 17:837–842

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burton J, Chen CR, Xu ZH, Ghadiri H (2007a) Soluble organic nitrogen pools in adjacent native and plantation forests of subtropical Australia. Soil Biol Biochem 39:2723–2734

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burton J, Chen CR, Xu ZH, Ghadiri H (2007b) Gross nitrogen transformations in adjacent native and plantation forests of subtropical Australia. Soil Biol Biochem 39:426–433

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen CR, Xu ZH (2008) Analysis and behavior of soluble organic nitrogen in forest soils. J Soils Sediments 8:363–378

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen CR, Xu ZH, Keay P, Zhang SL (2005) Total soluble nitrogen in forest soils as determined by persulfate oxidation and by high temperature catalytic oxidation. Aust J Soil Res 43:515–523

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cookson WR, Osman M, Marschner P, Abaye DA, Clark I, Murphy DV, Stockdale EA, Watson CA (2007) Controls on soil nitrogen cycling and microbial community composition across land use and incubation temperature. Soil Biol Biochem 39:744–756

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farrell M, Hill PW, Wanniarachchi SD, Farrar J, Bardgett RD, Jones DL (2011) Rapid peptide metabolism: a major component of soil nitrogen cycling? Global Biogeochem Cycles 25:11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frankenberger WT Jr, Tabatabai MA (1991) L-Asparaginase activity of soils. Biol Fertil Soils 11:6–12

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman C, Ostle N, Kang H (2001) An enzyme ‘latch’ on a global carbon store. Nature 409:149

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones DL, Willett VB (2006) Experimental evaluation of methods to quantify dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 38:991–999

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kalbitz K, Solinger S, Park JH, Michalzik B, Matzner E (2000) Controls on the dynamics of dissolved organic matter in soils: a review. Soil Sci 165:277–304

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaye JP, Hart SC (1997) Competition for nitrogen between plants and soil microorganisms. Trends Ecol Evol 12:139–143

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kranabetter JM, Dawson CR, Dunn DE (2007) Indices of dissolved organic nitrogen, ammonium and nitrate across productivity gradients of boreal forests. Soil Biol Biochem 39:3147–3158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ladd JN, Butler JHA (1972) Short-term assays of soil proteolytic enzyme activities using proteins and dipeptide derivatives as substrates. Soil Biol Biochem 4:19–30

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • LeDuc SD, Rothstein DE (2010) Plant-available organic and mineral nitrogen shift in dominance with forest stand age. Ecology 91:708–720

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas RW, Casper BB, Jackson JK, Balser TC (2007) Soil microbial communities and extracellular enzyme activity in the New Jersey Pinelands. Soil Biol Biochem 39:2508–2519

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy DV, Macdonald AJ, Stockdale EA, Goulding KWT, Fortune S, Gaunt JL, Poulton PR, Wakefield JA, Webster CP, Wilmer WS (2000) Soluble organic nitrogen in agricultural soil. Biol Fertil Soils 30:374–387

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Näsholm T, Ekblad A, Nordin A, Giesler R, Högberg M, Högberg P (1998) Boreal forest plants take up organic nitrogen. Nature 392:914–916

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neff JC, Chapin FS III, Vitousek PM (2003) Breaks in the cycle: dissolved organic nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems. Front Ecol Environ 1:205–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimel JP, Bennett J (2004) Nitrogen mineralization: challenges of a changing paradigm. Ecology 85:591–602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott EE, Rothstein DE (2011) Amino acid uptake by temperate tree species characteristic of low- and high-fertility habitats. Oecologia 167:547–557

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sinsabaugh RL, Antibus RK, Linkins AE (1991) An enzymic approach to the analysis of microbial activity during plant litter decomposition. Agric Ecosyst Environ 34:43–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sinsabaugh RL, Lauber CL, Weintraub MN, Ahmed B, Allison SD, Crenshaw C, Cusack D, Frey S, Gallo ME, Gartner TB, Hobbie SE, Holland K, Keeler BL, Powers JS, Stursova M, Takacs-Vesbach C, Waldrop MP, Wallenstein MD, Zak DR, Zeglin LH (2008) Stoichiometry of soil enzyme activity at global scale. Ecol Lett 11:1252–1264

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smolander A, Kitunen V (2002) Soil microbial activities and characteristics of dissolved organic C and N in relation to tree species. Soil Biol Biochem 34:651–660

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Šnajdr J, Valášková V, Merhautová V, Herinková J, Cajthaml T, Baldrian P (2008) Spatial variability of enzyme activities and microbial biomass in the upper layers of Quercus petraea forest soil. Soil Biol Biochem 40:2068–2075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabatabai MA (1994) Soil enzymes. In: Weaver RW, Angle JS, Bottomley PS (eds) Methods of soil analysis: microbiological and biochemical properties. Part 2. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp 775–833

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabatabai MA, Bremner JM (1972) Assay of urease activity in soils. Soil Biol Biochem 4:479–487

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weand MP, Arthur MA, Lovett GM, McCulley RL, Weathers KC (2010) Effects of tree species and N additions on forest floor microbial communities and extracellular enzyme activities. Soil Biol Biochem 42:2161–2173

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xing SH, Chen CR, Zhou BQ, Zhang H, Nang ZM, Xu ZH (2010) Soil soluble organic nitrogen and active microbial characteristics under adjacent coniferous and broadleaf plantation forests. J Soils Sediments 10:748–757

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang K, Zhu JJ, Zhang M, Yan QL, Sun OJ (2010) Soil microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in forest ecosystems of Northeast China: a comparison between natural secondary forest and larch plantation. J Plant Ecol 3:175–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu Z, Zhang Q, Kraus TEC, Dahlgren RA, Anastasio C, Zasoski RJ (2002) Contribution of amino compounds to dissolved organic nitrogen in forest soils. Biogeochemistry 61:173–198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhong ZK, Makeschin F (2003) Soluble organic nitrogen in temperate forest soils. Soil Biol Biochem 35:333–338

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu WX, Carreiro MM (2004) Variations of soluble organic nitrogen and microbial nitrogen in deciduous forest soils along an urban–rural gradient. Soil Biol Biochem 36:279–288

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu JJ, Mao ZH, Hu LL, Zhang JX (2007) Plant diversity of secondary forests in response to anthropogenic disturbance levels in montane regions of northeastern China. J Forest Res 12:403–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Guangqi Zhang for assistance with the field investigation and Osbert J. Sun for helpful comments on a previous version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2011CB403205), the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (KZCX2-YW-445), and the National Non-commercial Forests Project (200804027-05).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Qingyuan Experimental Station of Forest Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Yang, Jiaojun Zhu, Qiaoling Yan & Jinxin Zhang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, People’s Republic of China

    Kai Yang, Jiaojun Zhu & Qiaoling Yan

Authors
  1. Kai Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jiaojun Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qiaoling Yan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jinxin Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiaojun Zhu.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Erwin Dreyer

Contribution of the co-authors

Kai Yang: designed and ran the experiment, analyzed the data, and wrote and revised the manuscript

Jiaojun Zhu: supervised the experiment design and data analysis and wrote and revised the manuscript

Qiaoling Yan: revised the manuscript

Jinxin Zhang: gave the help in experiment and edited the manuscript

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yang, K., Zhu, J., Yan, Q. et al. Soil enzyme activities as potential indicators of soluble organic nitrogen pools in forest ecosystems of Northeast China. Annals of Forest Science 69, 795–803 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-012-0198-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-012-0198-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation