Trajectories in nitrogen availability during forest secondary succession:illustrated by foliarδ^(15)N

Background:Forest succession is an important ecological process and has been studied for more than a century.However,changes in nitrogen(N)availability during succession remain unclear as they may lead to either N satura-tion or N limitation.Here,we propose a conceptual model to illustrate changes in N availability during four stages of secondary succession using the natural abundance of ^(15) N in plant leaves(foliarδ^(15)N).We predicted that N availability would decline in the early stages of succession and then increase in late stages,coinciding with the changes in foliarδ^(15)N,with the inflection point varying in different climate zones.Data on foliarδ^(15)N from 16 succession sequences were synthesized to explore changes in N availability during forest succession.Results:The compiled data were consistent with the proposed conceptual model.Foliarδ^(15)N in boreal and temperate forests decreased significantly in the first two stages of succession(estimated to last at least 66 years in temperate forests),at a rate of 0.18‰and 0.38‰per decade,respectively,and decreased slightly in tropical forests in the first 23 years.Foliarδ^(15)N is projected to increase in later stages in all forests,which is supported by observations in both temperate and tropical forests.The inflection points of N availability when N limitation peaked during succession were different in different climate zones,implying different ecosystem N turnovers.Conclusions:Our study reconciles the controversies regarding changes in N availability during forest secondary succession.Our findings are also useful for predicting the recovery of N and carbon accumulation during succession.Nonetheless,studies on forest secondary succession using foliarδ^(15)N have thus far been limited,and more research should be conducted to further verify the conceptual model proposed here.