Nitrification Potentials of an Old‐Field Chronosequence in Campton, New Hampshire

Thorne, James F.; Hamburg, Steven P.

doi:10.2307/1939186

Cited by 35 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…However, we note that in a number of instances, attempts to test allelopathy have shown that (i) the concentrations of extractable tannins in the litter or soil are not correlated with rates of nitrification (e.g. Thorne & Hamburg, 1985), (ii) extracts of leaves or of leaf litter have little or no efTect on nitrification (e.g. Montes & Christensen, 1979) and (iii) the inhibitory action of leachates may be due to the addition of a soluble form of carbon to the soil (e.g.…”

Section: {B) Rates Of Mineralization In Forestsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Nutrient cycling in forests

1993

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SUMMARY Studies of nutrient cycling in forests span more than 100 yr. In earlier years, most attention was given to the measurement of the pools of nutrients in plants and soil and of the return of nutrients from plant to soil in litterfall. The past 20 yr or so have seen a major concentration on the processes of nutrient cycling, with particular emphasis on those processes by which the supply of nutrients to the growing forest is sustained. In the more highly productive forests, up to 10 tonnes of litter of low nutritional quality is deposited annually on the forest floor. The decomposition of this litter, the mineralization of the nutrients it holds, and the uptake of nutrients by tree roots in the carbon‐rich environment which results are the themes of this review. Studies of decomposition of litter in forests have been dominated by the role of nitrogen as a limiting factor, a domination which reflects the preponderance of studies of temperate forests in the Northern Hemisphere. For many forests of the world growing on soils of considerable age, it seems more probable that growth and nutrient cycling are limited by phosphorus (or some other element). There is increasing evidence for a number of forests that phosphorus is immobilized in the first stages of decomposition to a significantly greater extent than is nitrogen. Advances in research will depend, as with studies of soil organic matter, in denning and developing analytical techniques for studying biologically active forms of potentially limiting nutrients, rather than total elemental concentrations. The availability of phosphorus in forests is sustained by phosphorus cycling. More than 50% of the total phosphorus in the surface soils is in organic forms and much of the more labile phosphorus is in the form of diesters. Phosphorus availability is determined by competition between biological and geochemical sinks, and it is clear that the sinks in the rhizosphere (plant roots, microorganisms, soil mineral and organic components) are extensively modified by active processes (e.g. production of exudates, nutrient storage in a variety of organic or polymeric forms and nutrient transport away from sites of uptake). There is abundant evidence that roots of many species exude compounds which have the ability to solubilize sources of phosphorus of otherwise low availability. The significance of root exudates (for example, phosphatases, organic acids) in the functioning of perennial ecosystems has yet to be quantified and there are conflicting reports as to the effects of simple organic acids on phosphorus availability. The distribution of phosphorus sinks and their relative competitiveness and their modification are topics of fundamental importance for future research. In contrast to the mineralization of phosphorus, our knowledge of transformations and availability of nitrogen in forest soils is well‐developed. Net nitrogen mineralization rates approximate rates of nitrogen return in litterfall but the contribution of nitrification is variable. Nitrification is ...

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Section: {B) Rates Of Mineralization In Forestsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Nutrient cycling in forests

1993

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“…For instance, potential nitrogen mineralization and nitri®cat-ion generally increased in a chronosequence of old-®elds in Minnesota (Pastor et al 1987;Zak et al 1990), and in succession from old-®eld to forest in New Jersey (Robertson and Vitousek 1981); nitri®cation alone increased with rainforest age on abandoned pastures in Australia (Lamb 1980). In contrast, other researchers found highest nitri®cation rates early in succession (Rice and Pancholy 1972;Haines 1977;Woodwell 1979;Christensen and MacAller 1985;Thorne and Hamburg 1985). The lack of consistent response of important soil processes to agricultural abandonment has led to the conclusion that the availability of nitrogen across a revegetation sequence depends on the type and intensity of agriculture (Vitousek et al 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Soil carbon and nitrogen in a pine-oak sand plain in central Massachusetts: Role of vegetation and land-use history

et al. 1998

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Over the last 150 years much of the landscape of eastern North America has been transformed from predominantly agricultural lands to forest. Although cultivation strongly affects important ecosystem processes such as biomass accumulation, soil organic matter dynamics, and nitrogen cycling, recovery of these processes after abandonment is insufficiently understood. We examined soil carbon and nitrogen pools and nitrogen dynamics for 16 plots on a central Massachusetts sand plain, over 80% of which had been cultivated and subsequently abandoned at least 40 years ago. The two youngest old-field forests, located on sites abandoned 40-60 years prior to our sampling, had the lowest mineral soil carbon content (0-15 cm), 31% less than the average of unplowed soils. Soil carbon concentration and loss-on-ignition were significantly higher in unplowed soils than in all plowed soils, but these differences were offset by the higher bulk density in formerly plowed soils, leading to no significant differences in C content between plowed and unplowed soil. Soil C:N ratios were lower in formerly plowed soils (26.2) than in unplowed soils (28.0). While soil N content was not affected by land-use history or vegetation type, net N mineralization showed much greater variation. In situ August net nitrogen mineralization varied nearly 40-fold between stand types: lowest in pitch pine and white pine stands (-0.13 and 0.10 kg N ha 28 day), intermediate in scrub oak stands (0.48 kg N ha 28 day) and highest in aspen and mixed oak stands (1.34-3.11 kg N ha 28 day). Mineralization was more strongly related to present vegetation than to land-use history or soil N content. Appreciable net nitrification was observed only in the most recently abandoned aspen plot (0.82 kg N ha 28 day), suggesting that recent disturbance and residual agricultural lime stimulated nitrification. Carbon:nitrogen ratios increased and pH declined with stand age. Higher bulk density, lower loss-on-ignition and C:N ratios, and slightly lower C concentrations in the surface mineral soil are the persistent legacies of agriculture on soil properties. Short-term agricultural use and the low initial C and N concentrations in these sandy soils appear to have resulted in less persistent impacts of agriculture on soil C and N content and N cycling.

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“…However, most studies have focused on changes in soil acidity and the sequestration of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) (e.g. Thorne and Hamburg 1985;Richter et al 1994;Vesterdal et al 2002;Hooker and Compton 2003;Ritter et al 2003). Forest development on previously agricultural land is also expected to cause changes in the abovementioned P pools because (1) P is removed by the vegetation, while no P is added by fertilisation, and (2) soil properties such as soil pH and SOM content are altered (Vesterdal et al 2002;Ritter et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Four decades of post-agricultural forest development have caused major redistributions of soil phosphorus fractions

et al. 2011

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Fertilisation of agricultural land causes an accumulation of nutrients in the top soil layer, among which phosphorus (P) is particularly persistent. Changing land use from farmland to forest affects soil properties, but changes in P pools have rarely been studied despite their importance to forest ecosystem development. Here, we describe the redistributions of the P pools in a four-decadal chronosequence of post-agricultural common oak (Quercus robur L.) forests in Belgium and Denmark. The aim was to assess whether forest age causes a repartitioning of P throughout the various soil P pools (labile P, slowly cycling P and occluded P); in particular, we addressed the time-related alterations in the inorganic versus organic P fractions. In less than 40 years of oak forest development, significant redistributions have occurred between different P fractions. While both the labile and the slowly cycling inorganic P fractions significantly decreased with forest age, the organic fractions significantly increased. The labile P pool (inorganic + organic), which is considered to be the pool of P most likely to contribute to plant-available P, significantly decreased with forest age (from >20 to <10% of total P), except in the 0-5 cm of topsoil, where labile P remained persistently high. The shift from inorganic to organic P and the shifts between the different inorganic P fractions are driven by biological processes and also by physicochemical changes related to forest development. It is concluded that the organic labile P fraction, which is readily mineralisable, should be taken into account when studying the bioavailable P pool in forest ecosystems.

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Nitrification Potentials of an Old‐Field Chronosequence in Campton, New Hampshire

Cited by 35 publications

References 22 publications

Nutrient cycling in forests

Nutrient cycling in forests

Soil carbon and nitrogen in a pine-oak sand plain in central Massachusetts: Role of vegetation and land-use history

Four decades of post-agricultural forest development have caused major redistributions of soil phosphorus fractions

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