Comparable canopy and soil free-living nitrogen fixation rates in a lowland tropical forest
Language English Country Netherlands Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article
PubMed
33254844
DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142202
PII: S0048-9697(20)35731-4
Knihovny.cz E-resources
- Keywords
- (15)N(2), Bryophytes, Canopy soil, Epiphytes, Leaves, Litter, Terrestrial LIDAR,
- MeSH
- Nitrogen MeSH
- Ecosystem MeSH
- Nitrogen Fixation * MeSH
- Forests MeSH
- Soil * MeSH
- Trees MeSH
- Tropical Climate MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Names of Substances
- Nitrogen MeSH
- Soil * MeSH
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is a fundamental part of nitrogen cycling in tropical forests, yet little is known about the contribution made by free-living nitrogen fixers inhabiting the often-extensive forest canopy. We used the acetylene reduction assay, calibrated with 15N2, to measure free-living BNF on forest canopy leaves, vascular epiphytes, bryophytes and canopy soil, as well as on the forest floor in leaf litter and soil. We used a combination of calculated and published component densities to upscale free-living BNF rates to the forest level. We found that bryophytes and leaves situated in the canopy in particular displayed high mass-based rates of free-living BNF. Additionally, we calculated that nearly 2 kg of nitrogen enters the forest ecosystem through free-living BNF every year, 40% of which was fixed by the various canopy components. Our results reveal that in the studied tropical lowland forest a large part of the nitrogen input through free-living BNF stems from the canopy, but also that the total nitrogen inputs by free-living BNF are lower than previously thought and comparable to the inputs of reactive nitrogen by atmospheric deposition.
Laboratory of Functional Plant Biology Department of Biology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
Research group Plants and Ecosystem Department of Biology University of Antwerp Wilrijk Belgium
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