Shifts in nitrogen (N) mineralization and nitrification rates due to global changes can influence nutrient availability, which can affect terrestrial productivity and climate change feedbacks. While many single-factor studies have examined the effects of environmental changes on N mineralization and nitrification, few have examined these effects in a multifactor context or recorded how these effects vary seasonally. In an old-field ecosystem in Massachusetts, USA, we investigated the combined effects of four levels of warming (up to 4 °C) and three levels of precipitation (drought, ambient, and wet) on net N mineralization, net nitrification, and potential nitrification. We also examined the treatment effects on the temperature sensitivity of net N mineralization and net nitrification and on the ratio of C mineralization to net N mineralization. During winter, freeze-thaw events, snow depth, and soil freezing depth explained little of the variation in net nitrification and N mineralization rates among treatments. During two years of treatments, warming and altered precipitation rarely influenced the rates of N cycling, and there was no evidence of a seasonal pattern in the responses. In contrast, warming and drought dramatically decreased the apparent Q10 of net N mineralization and net nitrification, and the warming-induced decrease in apparent Q10 was more pronounced in ambient and wet treatments than the drought treatment. The ratio of C mineralization to net N mineralization varied over time and was sensitive to the interactive effects of warming and altered precipitation. Although many studies have found that warming tends to accelerate N cycling, our results suggest that warming can have little to no effect on N cycling in some ecosystems. Thus, ecosystem models that assume that warming will consistently increase N mineralization rates and inputs of plant-available N may overestimate the increase in terrestrial productivity and the magnitude of an important negative feedback to climate change.
Creating, restoring, and sustaining forests in urban areas are complicated by habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and degraded soils. Although there is some research on the outcomes of urban reforestation plantings during the first 5 years, there is little research on longer term outcomes. Here, we compare the successional trajectories of restored and unrestored forest sites 20 years after initiating restoration. The sites are located within the Rodman's Neck area of Pelham Bay Park, in the northeast corner of the Bronx in New York City (NYC), U.S.A. Compared with unrestored sites, we saw improvements in species diversity, greater forest structure complexity, and evidence of the regeneration and retention of native tree species in restored sites. In addition, we found differences in restoration outcomes depending on the level of intervention: clearing exotic shrubs and vines and planting native trees and shrubs improved tree diversity and canopy closure to a greater extent than clearing exotics alone, and the mechanical removal of invasive plants after the native plantings further improved some measures of restoration, such as tree species diversity and native tree regeneration. The results of this study suggest that the goal of a sustainable forest ecosystem dominated by native trees and other plant species may not be achievable without continued human intervention on site. In addition, these results indicate that the restoration approach adopted by NYC's reforestation practitioners is moving the site toward a more desirable vegetative community dominated by native species.
Forests are vital components of the urban landscape because they provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, storm-water mitigation, and air-quality improvement. To enhance these services, cities are investing in programs to create urban forests. A major unknown, however, is whether planted trees will grow into the mature, closed-canopied forest on which ecosystem service provision depends. We assessed the influence of biotic and abiotic land management on planted tree performance as part of urban forest restoration in New York City, U.S.A. Biotic treatments were designed to improve tree growth, with the expectation that higher tree species composition (six vs. two) and greater stand complexity (with shrubs vs. without) would facilitate tree performance. Similarly, the abiotic treatment (compost amendment vs. without) was expected to increase tree performance by improving soil conditions. Growth and survival was measured for approximately 1,300 native saplings across three growing seasons. The biotic and abiotic treatments significantly improved tree performance, where shrub presence increased tree height for five of the six tree species, and compost increased basal area and stem volume of all species. Species-specific responses, however, highlighted the difficulty of achieving rapid growth with limited mortality. Pioneer species had the highest growth in stem volume over 3 years (up to 3,500%), but also the highest mortality (up to 40%). Mid-successional species had lower mortality (<16%), but also the slowest growth in volume (approximately 500% in volume). Our results suggest that there will be trade-offs between optimizing tree growth versus survival when implementing urban tree planting initiatives.Key words: afforestation, compost, ecosystem services, green infrastructure, native species, restoration, urban forestry Implications for Practice• Species generally conform to their ecological growth rate classifications for non-urban systems, highlighting the utility of these principles in predicting growth patterns and species interactions in urban afforestation initiatives.• Pioneer species had the highest incremental growth in basal area, height, and stem volume. They also suffered the highest mortality, highlighting that land managers will need to balance trade-offs in achieving survival versus growth goals.• Planting shrubs alongside trees at high stocking densities can lead to greater growth in the height of planted trees to achieve faster canopy closure.• The use of compost can increase tree growth; however, it may take multiple years for compost effects to manifest. IntroductionAs urban populations continue to grow, investing in green infrastructure has become a policy imperative for large cities across the globe. In the pursuit of sustainability and resilience, cities are investing in projects intended to support a range of ecosystem services such as improving air quality, reducing the urban heat island effect, sequestering carbon, increasing storm-water infiltration, and promoting wildlif...
Abstract. Changes in nitrification rates due to climate change have the potential to influence soil nitrogen availability, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. However, the mechanisms through which temperature and precipitation affect nitrification and the nitrifying microbial community in the field are largely unknown. We examined the effects of warming (up to ;48C) and altered precipitation (À50%, ambient, þ50%) on potential nitrification kinetics, or potential nitrification rates over a range of ammonium (NH 4 þ ) concentrations. We also examined responses of the abundance and composition of ammoniaoxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), which play a critical role in nitrification. This work took place over two years in an old-field ecosystem in Massachusetts, USA, as part of the Boston-Area Climate Experiment (BACE). Across all dates and during June and August 2010, drought decreased the half-saturation constant, K m , or the concentration of NH 4 þ at the half-maximal potential nitrification rate. AOB composition responded to the main and interactive effects of warming and precipitation, and warming decreased AOA abundance by 82% during January 2009. Although K m , AOB composition, and AOA abundance responded to the treatments to some degree, potential nitrification kinetics were generally uncorrelated with AO composition or abundance. Sampling date also had a greater effect on potential nitrification kinetics and AO than the treatments themselves, and these larger temporal fluctuations may have masked any correlations between nitrification kinetics and AO. Our results demonstrate that the effect of warming and altered precipitation on AO and nitrification kinetics must be considered in the context of broader temporal variations in AO composition, AO abundance, and nitrification kinetics.
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