Biomass and nutrients allocation in pot cultured beech seedlings:influence of nitrogen fertilizer

Allocation of biomass and nutrient elements including Nitrogen to above and belowground compartments of beech seedlings （Fagus sylvatica L.） treated by labeled nitrogen fertilizer in the form of 15NH4 and 15NO3 were investigated at the end of two successive growing seasons. Pot cultured beech seedlings were grown at a green house on intact soil cores sampled from three adjacent stands including beech, Norway spruce and mixed beech-spruce cultures of Soiling forest, Germany. Comparing biomass allocation and nutrients concentrations of the seedlings between the control and 15N-fertilized treatments revealed no significant effect of N fertilization on nutrients uptake by seedlings over the experiment. The form of N input influenced its movement into plant pools. It was demonstrated that beech seedlings take up nitrogen mainly in the form of nitrate, which is then reduced in the leaves, although the differences between the retention of NO3^--N and NH4^＋-N in plants were not statistically significant. Percent recoveries of 15N in trees were typically greater after 15NO3 than after 15NH4 additions. It was indicated that immobilization of ~SN tracer in fine roots was a slower process comparing other plant compartments such as stem and coarse roots, but a powerful sink for N during the course of study.

Temperature dependence of nitrogen mineralization and microbial status in O_H horizon of a temperate forest ecosystem

It was hypothesized that increasing air and/or soil temperature would increase rates of microbial processes including litter decomposition and net N mineralization, resulting in greater sequestration of carbon and nitrogen in humus, and consequently development in OH horizon （humus horizon）. To quantify the effect of temperature on biochemical processes controlling the rate of OH layer development three adjacent forest floors under beech, Norway spruce and mixed species stands were investigated at Soiling forest, Germany by an incubation experiment of OH layer for three months. Comparing the fitted curves for temperature sensitivity of OH layers in relation to net N mineralization revealed positive correlation across all sites. For the whole data set of all stands, a Q10 （temperature sensitivity index） value of 2.35-2.44 dependent on the measured units was found to be adequate for describing the temperature dependency of net N mineralization at experimental site. Species-specific differences of substrate quality did not result in changes in biochemical properties of OH horizon of the forest floors. Temperature elevation increased net N mineralization without significant changes in microbial status in the range of I to 15℃. A low Cmic /Corg （microbial carbon/organic carbon） ratio at 20℃ indicated that the resource availability for decomposers has been restricted as reflected in significant decrease of microbial biomass.

Temperature dependence of carbon mineralization and nitrous oxide emission in a temperate forest ecosystem

The measurement of CO2 and N2O effiux from forest soils is of great importance in evaluating the role of forests as sequestering agents of atmospheric CO2 and nitrogen. To quantify the effect of site on temperature dependence of net C-mineralization and N2O-N emissions, three adjacent forest floors under beech, Norway spruce and mixed species stands were investigated at Soiling forest, Germany, by an incubation experiment for three months. The investigated net C-mineralization and N2O-N emissions from all forest floors exhibited an exponential increase with respect to temperature elevation. The temperature coefficient function （Q10 value）, was fitted to flux rates to describe the temperature sensitivity of forest floors on temperature in the range of 1-20℃. Comparing the fitted curves for temperature sensitivity of the forest floors in relation to net carbon mineralization and nitrous oxide emission rates revealed a strong positive correlation across all sites. For the whole data set of all stands, a Q10 value of 1.73-2.10 for net C-mineralization and 2.81-3.58 for N2O-N emissions per measured unit was found to describe the temperature dependency of net C-mineralization and N20-N efflux at experimental site. The absence of clear differences between beech and spruce in mono and mixed species cultures on temperature dependencies of net C-mineralization and N2O-N emission rates indicated that the flux rates were not affected by species-specific differences of litter quality.

The fate of ^(15)N-labeled nitrogen inputs to pot cultured beech seedlings

The partitioning of nitrogen deposition among forest soil （including forest floor）, leachate and above- and belowground biomass of pot cultured beech seedlings in comparison to non-cultured treatments were investigated by adding 1.92 g.m^-2 ^15N tracer in throughfall for two successive growing seasons at a greenhouse experiment. Ammonium and nitrate depositions were simulated on four treatments （cultured and non-cultured） and each treatment was labeled with either ^15N-NH4^＋ or ^15N-NO3^-. Total recovery rates of the applied ^15N in the whole system accounted for 74.9% to 67.3% after ^15N-NH4^＋ and 85.3% to 88.1% after ^15N-NO3^-in cultured and non-cultured treatments, respectively. The main sink for both ^15N tracers was the forest soil （including forest floor）, where 34.6% to 33.7% of ^15N-NH4^＋ and 13.1% to 9.0% of ^15N-NO3^-were found in cultured and non-cultured treatments, respectively, suggesting strong immobilization of both N forms by hetero- trophic microorganisms. Nitrogen immobilization by microorganisms in the forest soil （including forest floor） was three times higher when ^15N-NH4^＋ was applied compared to ^15N-NO3^-. The preferential heterotrophic use of ammonium resulted in a two times higher retention of deposited ^15N-NH4^＋ in the forest soil as compared to plants. In contrast, nitrate immobilization in the forest soil was lower compared to plants, although statistically it was not significantly different. In total the immobilization of ammonium in the plant-soil system was about 60% higher than nitrate, indicating the importance of the N-forms deposition for retention in forest ecosystems.