Symptoms of nitrogen saturation in two central Appalachian hardwood forest ecosystems |
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Authors: | William T Peterjohn Mary Beth Adams Frank S Gilliam |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA;(2) USDA Forest Service, Timber and Watershed Laboratory, Parsons, WV 26287, USA;(3) Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, WV 25755, USA |
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Abstract: | By synthesizing more than twenty years of research at the Fernow Experimental Forest, we have documented 7 symptoms of nitrogen saturation in two adjacent watersheds. The symptoms include: 1) high relative rates of net nitrification, 2) long-term increases in stream-water concentrations of nitrate and base cations, 3) relatively high nitrate concentrations in solution losses, 4) little seasonal variability in stream-water nitrate concentrations, 5) a high discharge of nitrate from a young aggrading forest, 6) a rapid increase in nitrate loss following fertilization of a young aggrading forest, and 7) low retention of inorganic nitrogen when compared with other forested sites. These data support current conceptual models of nitrogen saturation and provide a strong, and perhaps the best, example of nitrogen saturation in the United States. |
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Keywords: | acid rain central Appalachia global change nitrogen cycling nitrogen saturation temperate forests |
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