Transport of Carbon and Nitrogen Between Litter and Soil Organic Matter in a Northern Hardwood Forest

Fahey, Timothy J.; Yavitt, Joseph B.; Sherman, Ruth E.; Groffman, Peter M.; Fisk, Melany C.; Maerz, John C.

doi:10.1007/s10021-011-9414-1

Cited by 71 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…The labeling process was described by Fahey et al (2011). Briefly, sugar maple saplings were fertilized with 99 atom % enriched 15 NH 4 Cl (0.25g 15 N/m 2 ) during the summer growing season.…”

Section: Leaf Pack Deployment and Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At Stonecrop Creek, it is a major species along the stream but, at the other sites, red maple (Acer rubrum) is more common. These two species are closely related, and the decomposition dynamics of both have been well studied (e.g., Petersen and Cummins 1974, Eggert and Wallace 2003, Carter and Suberkropp 2004, Das et al 2007, Fahey et al 2011.…”

Section: Leaf Pack Deployment and Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relative importance of exogenous and substrate‐derived nitrogen for microbial growth during leaf decomposition

Cheever

Webster

Bilger

et al. 2013

Ecology

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Abstract. Heterotrophic microbes colonizing detritus obtain nitrogen (N) for growth by assimilating N from their substrate or immobilizing exogenous inorganic N. Microbial use of these two pools has different implications for N cycling and organic matter decomposition in the face of the global increase in biologically available N. We used sugar maple leaves labeled with 15 N to differentiate between microbial N that had been assimilated from the leaf substrate (enriched with 15 N) or immobilized from the water (natural abundance 15 N: 14 N) in five Appalachian streams ranging in ambient NO 3 -N concentrations from about 5 to 900 lg NO 3 -N/L. Ambient NO 3 À concentration increased sugar maple decomposition rate but did not influence the proportion of microbial N derived from substrate or exogenous pools. Instead, these proportions were strongly influenced by the percentage of detrital ash-free dry mass (AFDM) remaining. Substrate-derived N made up a large proportion of the microbial N after the first 24 h in all streams. Detrital and microbial isotopic 15 N signatures approached that of the water as decomposition progressed in all streams, suggesting that exogenous N may be the predominant source of N for meeting microbial requirements even when exogenous N concentrations are low. Our results support predictions of more rapid decomposition of organic matter in response to increased N availability and highlight the tight coupling of processes driving microbial N cycling and organic matter decomposition.

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Section: Leaf Pack Deployment and Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Leaf Pack Deployment and Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative importance of exogenous and substrate‐derived nitrogen for microbial growth during leaf decomposition

Cheever

Webster

Bilger

et al. 2013

Ecology

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“…Other methods such as repeated pulse labeling 16 and foliar application or wicking 17,18 do not produce uniformly isotope labeled plant material, nor clear differential labeling of specific C-compounds (e.g. metabolic vs. structural) 19 . An important consideration in isotope labeling is labeling efficiency, due to the high cost of rare isotope enriched compounds used in labeling.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Operation of a Continuous <sup>13</sup>C and <sup>15</sup>N Labeling Chamber for Uniform or Differential, Metabolic and Structural, Plant Isotope Labeling

Soong

Reuss

Pinney

et al. 2014

JoVE

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Tracing rare stable isotopes from plant material through the ecosystem provides the most sensitive information about ecosystem processes; from CO 2 fluxes and soil organic matter formation to small-scale stable-isotope biomarker probing. Coupling multiple stable isotopes such as H has the potential to reveal even more information about complex stoichiometric relationships during biogeochemical transformations. Isotope labeled plant material has been used in various studies of litter decomposition and soil organic matter formation [1][2][3][4] . From these and other studies, however, it has become apparent that structural components of plant material behave differently than metabolic components (i.e. leachable low molecular weight compounds) in terms of microbial utilization and long-term carbon storage [5][6][7] . The ability to study structural and metabolic components separately provides a powerful new tool for advancing the forefront of ecosystem biogeochemical studies. Here we describe a method for producing 13 C and 15 N labeled plant material that is either uniformly labeled throughout the plant or differentially labeled in structural and metabolic plant components.Here, we present the construction and operation of a continuous 13 C and 15

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“…These mechanisms include: (1) fundamental differences in the physical redistribution of surface litter by earthworm feeding and burrowing behavior (Jégou et al 2000;Capowiez et al 2011), and (2) eluviation of isotopically enriched dissolved organic matter into deeper soil layers (Nadelhoffer and Fry 1988;Garten et al 2008). Accelerated leaf litter mass transport from the soil surface observed in this study is likely driven by direct litter consumption by anecic species, while increased transport to A-horizon and burrow soils is enhanced through the bioturbation of mineral soils by endogeic species (Hendriksen 1990;Suárez et al 2006a;Holdsworth et al 2008;Fahey et al 2011Fahey et al , 2013. Comparisons between bulk C:N ratios (black symbols) and litter-derived C:N recovery ratios (grey symbols) across a soil pools: A-horizon, B-horizon, and Burrow soil, and b earthworm species biomass: A. trapezoides (Endogeic = mineral soil feeding and dwelling), E. fetida (Epigeic = litter feeding, surface-dwelling), and L. terrestris (Anecic = litter feeding, vertical burrowing).…”

Section: Acer Rubrum C and N Recoveries In Soil Poolsmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Acer rubrum 13 C and 15 N recoveries in soils and earthworm biomass We calculated A. rubrum litter 13 C and 15 N transport into soil and earthworm biomass pools using elemental pool sizes, and increases in 13 C and 15 N content of pools following leaf litter additions (i.e., 13 C and 15 N excess); this approach assumes no changes over time in 13 C and 15 N natural abundance in the pools considered (Nadelhoffer and Fry 1994;Fahey et al 2011).…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exotic earthworm community composition interacts with soil texture to affect redistribution and retention of litter-derived C and N in northern temperate forest soils

et al. 2015

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Exotic earthworm impacts on temperate forest soils are influenced by earthworm community composition and are likely constrained by the degree of organic matter redistribution following earthworm introductions across different soil types; however, the relative importance of these factors remains unknown. We examined how exotic earthworm communities affected leaf litter carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) mineralization and transport in two Spodosols with contrasting textures and organic matter contents. In reconstructed soil mesocosms, we measured organic C pools, quantified 13 C and 15 N transport from isotopically labeled red maple (Acer rubrum) leaf litter, and linked leaf litter redistribution to sub-surface burrow system structures following 150-day incubations. Transport of C and N from surface litter into soil was greatest with multi-species earthworm communities, and A-horizon and burrow pools functioned as dominant sinks for this material. Litter-derived C:N recovery ratios of soil pools revealed higher retention of litter-derived N over litter-derived C; recovery of litter N (mg 15 N m -2 ) transported from surface litter was greater in the sandy loam (98.2 ± 2.73 %) than in the sandy soil (66.2 ± 4.92 %) following earthworm community additions. Earthworm biomass was as a minor sink for litter C (mg 13 C m -2 ) and N transported from surface litter (0.56 ± 0.13 and 2.26 ± 0.31 %, respectively). Recovery of litter-derived C and N in earthworm biomass increased with the degree of direct Responsible Editor: Jan Mulder.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

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Transport of Carbon and Nitrogen Between Litter and Soil Organic Matter in a Northern Hardwood Forest

Cited by 71 publications

References 49 publications

The relative importance of exogenous and substrate‐derived nitrogen for microbial growth during leaf decomposition

The relative importance of exogenous and substrate‐derived nitrogen for microbial growth during leaf decomposition

Design and Operation of a Continuous <sup>13</sup>C and <sup>15</sup>N Labeling Chamber for Uniform or Differential, Metabolic and Structural, Plant Isotope Labeling

Exotic earthworm community composition interacts with soil texture to affect redistribution and retention of litter-derived C and N in northern temperate forest soils

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