Effects of air pollutant-temperature interactions on mineral-N dynamics and cation leaching in reciplicate forest soil transplantation experiments

Increased emissions of nitrogen compounds have led to atmosphericdeposition to forest soils exceeding critical loads of N overlarge parts of Europe. To determine whether the chemistry offorest soils responds to changes in throughfall chemistry, intactsoil columns were reciprocally transplanted between sites, withdifferent physical conditions, across a gradient of N and Sdeposition in Europe.The transfer of a single soil to the various sites affected itsnet nitrification. This was not simply due to the nitrificationof different levels of N deposition but was explained bydifferences in physical climates which influenced mineralizationrates. Variation in the amount of net nitrification between soiltypes at a specific site were explained largely by soil pH.Within a site all soil types showed similar trends in netnitrification over time. Seasonal changes in net nitrificationcorresponds to oscillations in temperature but variable time lagshad to be introduced to explain the relationships. WithArrhenius law it was possible to approximate gross nitrificationas a function of temperature. Gross nitrification equalled netnitrification after adaptation of the microbial community oftransplanted soils to the new conditions. Time lags, andunderestimates of gross nitrification in autumn, were assumed tobe the result of increased NH ₄ ⁺ availability due either tochanges in the relative rates of gross and net N transformationsor to altered soil fauna-microbial interactions combined withimproved moisture conditions.Losses of NO ₃ ^- were associated with Ca²⁺and Mg²⁺ in non-acidified soil types and with losses ofAl³⁺ in the acidified soils. For single soils the ionequilibrium equation of Gaines-Thomas provided a useful approximationof Al³⁺ concentrations in the soil solution as a functionof the concentration of Ca²⁺. The between site deviationsfrom this predicted equilibrium, which existed for single soils, couldbe explained by differences in throughfall chemistry which affectedthe total ionic strength of the soil solution.The approach of reciprocally transferring soil columnshighlighted the importance of throughfall chemistry, interactingwith the effect of changes in physical climate on forest soilacidification through internal proton production, in determiningsoil solution chemistry. A framework outlining the etiology offorest die-back induced by nitrogen saturation is proposed.     

Acidifying processes and acid-base reactions in forest soils reciprocally transplanted along a European transect with increasing pollution

Forest ecosystems are currently beingexposed to changes in chemical inputs and it issuggested that physical climate is also changing. Anovel approach has been used to study the effects ofionic inputs and climatic conditions on forest soilsby reciprocally exchanging lysimeters containingundisturbed soil columns beween four forest sites inEurope. The soil columns contained no living roots andsimulated a clear cut situation. The soils chosenrepresented different stages of acidification and weretaken from sites along a transect of increasingexposure to acidic and nitrogen pollution. The purposeof the study was to quantify the reactions of soilswhen transferred to different environments. Elementbalances were used as an aggregated indicator todescribe the reaction of the soil. The input of protonsin local throughfall increased along the transect from0.01 kmol ha^-1 y^-1H⁺ at the unpolluted site up to 1.10 kmolha^-1 y^-1 at the most pollutedsite. Our results show that soil acidification always resultedfrom a combination of acid deposition and biologicaltransformations of nitrogen through nitrification ofimported ammonium, mineralized N, or stored N. Thebalances indicate that between 54% and 91%of the soil acidification resulted from nitrificationprocesses which were driven by a complex reaction whenclimatic and pollution conditions were changedsimultaneously. The combined changes in atmosphicinputs and climatic conditions, as expected withglobal change, may have serious consequences for soilacidfication and long term organic matter turnover.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from the energy crop oilseed rape (Brassica napus); the role of photosynthetically active radiation in diurnal N2O flux variation

Oilseed rape (OSR, Brassica napus L.) is an important feedstock for biodiesel; hence, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and particularly fertilizer‐derived nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions during cultivation must be quantified to assess putative greenhouse gas (GHG) savings, thus creating an urgent and increasing need for such data. Substrates of nitrification [ammonium (NH₄)] and denitrification [nitrate (NO₃)], the predominant N₂O production pathways, were supplied separately and in combination to OSR in a UK field trial aiming to: (i) produce an accurate GHG budget of fertilizer application; (ii) characterize short‐ to medium‐term variation in GHG fluxes; (iii) establish the processes driving N₂O emission. Three treatments were applied twice, 1 week apart: ammonium nitrate fertilizer (NH₄NO₃, 69 kg‐N ha^?1) mimicking the farm management, ammonium chloride (NH₄Cl, 34.4 kg‐N ha^?1) and sodium nitrate (NaNO₃, 34.6 kg‐N ha^?1). We deployed SkyLine2D for the very first time, a novel automated chamber system to measure CO_2, CH₄ and N₂O fluxes at unprecedented high temporal and spatial resolution from OSR. During 3 weeks following the fertilizer application, CH₄ fluxes were negligible, but all treatments were a net sink for CO₂ (ca. 100 g CO₂ m^?2). Cumulative N₂O emissions (ca. 120 g CO₂‐eq m^?2) from NH₄NO₃ were significantly greater (P < 0.04) than from NaNO₃ (ca. 80 g CO₂‐eq m^?2), but did not differ from NH₄Cl (ca. 100 g CO₂‐eq m^?2) and reduced the carbon sink of photosynthesis so that OSR was a net GHG source in the fertilizer treatment. Diurnal variation in N₂O emissions, peaking in the afternoon, was more strongly associated with photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) than temperature. This suggests that the supply of carbon (C) from photosynthate may have been the key driver of the observed diurnal pattern in N₂O emission and thus should be considered in future process‐based models of GHG emissions.     

Quantification of soil carbon inputs under elevated CO2: C3 plants in a C4 soil

The objective of this investigation was to quantify the differences in soil carbon stores after exposure of birch seedlings (Betula pendula Roth.) over one growing season to ambient and elevated carbon dioxide concentrations. One-year-old seedling of birch were transplanted to pots containing C₄ soil derived from beneath a maize crop, and placed in ambient (350 L L^–1) and elevated (600 L L^–1) plots in a free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) experiment. After 186 days the plants and soils were destructively sampled, and analysed for differences in root and stem biomass, total plant tissue and soil C contents and ¹³C values. The trees showed a significant increase (+50%) in root biomass, but stem and leaf biomasses were not significantly affected by treatment. C isotope analyses of leaves and fine roots showed that the isotopic signal from the ambient and elevated CO₂ supply was sufficiently distinct from that of the C₄ soil to enable quantification of net root C input to the soil under both ambient and elevated CO₂. After 186 days, the pots under ambient conditions contained 3.5 g of C as intact root material, and had gained an additional 0.6 g C added to the soil through root exudation/turnover; comparable figures for the pots under elevated CO₂ were 5.9 g C and 1.5 g C, respectively. These data confirm the importance of soils as an enhanced sink for C under elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. We propose the use of C₄ soils in elevated CO₂ experiments as an important technique for the quantification of root net C inputs under both ambient and elevated CO₂ treatments.     

Environmental and Vegetation Drivers of Seasonal CO2 Fluxes in a Sub-arctic Forest–Mire Ecotone

Unravelling the role of structural and environmental drivers of gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R _eco) in highly heterogeneous tundra is a major challenge for the upscaling of chamber-based CO₂ fluxes in Arctic landscapes. In a mountain birch woodland-mire ecotone, we investigated the role of LAI (and NDVI), environmental factors (microclimate, soil moisture), and microsite type across tundra shrub plots (wet hummocks, dry hummocks, dry hollows) and lichen hummocks, in controlling net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE). During a growing season, we measured NEE fluxes continuously, with closed dynamic chambers, and performed multiple fits (one for each 3-day period) of a simple light and temperature response model to hourly NEE data. Tundra shrub plots were largely CO₂ sinks, as opposed to lichen plots, although fluxes were highly variable within microsite type. For tundra shrub plots, microsite type did not influence photosynthetic parameters but it affected basal (that is, temperature-normalized) ecosystem respiration (R ₀). PAR-normalized photosynthesis (P ₆₀₀) increased with air temperature and declined with increasing vapor pressure deficit. R ₀ declined with soil moisture and showed an apparent increase with temperature, which may underlie a tight link between GPP and R _eco. NDVI was a good proxy for LAI, maximum P ₆₀₀ and maximum R ₀ of shrub plots. Cumulative CO₂ fluxes were strongly correlated with LAI (NDVI) but we observed a comparatively low GPP/LAI in dry hummocks. Our results broadly agree with the reported functional convergence across tundra vegetation, but here we show that the role of decreased productivity in transition zones and the influence of temperature and water balance on seasonal CO₂ fluxes in sub-Arctic forest–mire ecotones cannot be overlooked.     

Respiration of the external mycelium in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis shows strong dependence on recent photosynthates and acclimation to temperature

* Although arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are a major pathway in the global carbon cycle, their basic biology and, in particular, their respiratory response to temperature remain obscure. * A pulse label of the stable isotope (13)C was applied to Plantago lanceolata, either uninoculated or inoculated with the AM fungus Glomus mosseae. The extra-radical mycelium (ERM) of the fungus was allowed to grow into a separate hyphal compartment excluding roots. We determined the carbon costs of the ERM and tested for a direct temperature effect on its respiration by measuring total carbon and the (13)C:(12)C ratio of respired CO(2). With a second pulse we tested for acclimation of ERM respiration after 2 wk of soil warming. * Root colonization remained unchanged between the two pulses but warming the hyphal compartment increased ERM length. delta(13)C signals peaked within the first 10 h and were higher in mycorrhizal treatments. The concentration of CO(2) in the gas samples fluctuated diurnally and was highest in the mycorrhizal treatments but was unaffected by temperature. Heating increased ERM respiration only after the first pulse and reduced specific ERM respiration rates after the second pulse; however, both pulses strongly depended on radiation flux. * The results indicate a fast ERM acclimation to temperature, and that light is the key factor controlling carbon allocation to the fungus.     

Lipid content and carbon assimilation in Collembola: implications for the use of compound-specific carbon isotope analysis in animal dietary studies

In an effort to understand the relationships between both the lipid content and ¹³C values of Collembola and their diet, isotopically labelled (C₃ and C₄) bakers yeasts were cultured and fed to two Collembolan species, Folsomia candida and Proisotoma minuta. The fatty acid composition of Collembola generally reflected that of the diet with the addition of the polyunsaturated components 18:2(n-6), 20:4(n-6) and 20:5(n-3), which appeared to be biosynthesised by the Collembola. Whilst ergosterol was the only sterol detected in the yeast diets, only cholesterol was detected in Collembola, and although the ¹³C values of diet and consumer sterols differed by >2, the ¹³C values indicated that cholesterol was derived entirely from dietary sterol. The bulk ¹³C values of Collembola were similar to those of the diets, but fatty acid ¹³C values did not necessarily reflect those of the dietary fatty acids, indicating significant de novo biosynthesis of fatty acids within Collembola. Switching the Collembola from C₃ to C₄ yeast enabled the determination of the rates of incorporation of dietary carbon into Collembolan lipids, and showed that half-lives of the incorporation of dietary carbon varied between 1.5 and 5.8 days at 20°C. Cholesterol exhibited the slowest rate of incorporation in both species, while bulk carbon in F. candida possessed an intermediate rate. These results demonstrate that an understanding of the sources of isotopic fractionation and the role of biochemistry in regulating the ¹³C values of individual compounds is important in the application of compound-specific isotopic analysis to the study of animal trophic activities.     

The Early Origin of the Antarctic Marine Fauna and Its Evolutionary Implications

The extensive Late Cretaceous – Early Paleogene sedimentary succession of Seymour Island, N.E. Antarctic Peninsula offers an unparalleled opportunity to examine the evolutionary origins of a modern polar marine fauna. Some 38 modern Southern Ocean molluscan genera (26 gastropods and 12 bivalves), representing approximately 18% of the total modern benthic molluscan fauna, can now be traced back through at least part of this sequence. As noted elsewhere in the world, the balance of the molluscan fauna changes sharply across the Cretaceous – Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary, with gastropods subsequently becoming more diverse than bivalves. A major reason for this is a significant radiation of the Neogastropoda, which today forms one of the most diverse clades in the sea. Buccinoidea is the dominant neogastropod superfamily in both the Paleocene Sobral Formation (SF) (56% of neogastropod genera) and Early - Middle Eocene La Meseta Formation (LMF) (47%), with the Conoidea (25%) being prominent for the first time in the latter. This radiation of Neogastropoda is linked to a significant pulse of global warming that reached at least 65°S, and terminates abruptly in the upper LMF in an extinction event that most likely heralds the onset of global cooling. It is also possible that the marked Early Paleogene expansion of neogastropods in Antarctica is in part due to a global increase in rates of origination following the K/Pg mass extinction event. The radiation of this and other clades at ∼65°S indicates that Antarctica was not necessarily an evolutionary refugium, or sink, in the Early – Middle Eocene. Evolutionary source – sink dynamics may have been significantly different between the Paleogene greenhouse and Neogene icehouse worlds.     

山地草原生物量的垂直变化及其与气候变暖和施肥的关系

 试验将3种土壤(酸性棕壤、灰壤土、粘泥炭土)／植被的土柱从位于英格兰北部的Great Dun Fell(GDF)移入同一山体低海拔的Newton Rigg(NR),利用海拔高差造成的温差(4.2℃)模拟全球变暖对生物量的影响;和利用施肥(20kgNhm-2·a-1、10kgPhm-2·a-1)试验模拟全球变暖下,温度升高诱发土壤有机质分解速度加快,营养元素浓度升高对生物量的影响。结果表明：海拔变动造成的温度差异使生物量差异极显著(P≤0.01)。温度升高使粘泥炭土、酸性棕壤、灰壤土地上总生物量比对照分别提高51％、78％及66％;同时,物种组成大大改变,剪股颖在群落总生物量中所占的比例急剧升高。但不同施肥处理未使样品间生物量出现显著差异,从而得出结论：全球变暖引起的土壤有机质分解速度加快不会直接对生物量造成重要影响;而温度是影响生物量及物种组成变化的主要因素。     

Soil gas fluxes of N2O,CH4 and CO2 beneath Lolium perenne under elevated CO2: The Swiss free air carbon dioxide enrichment experiment

Fluxes of nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide were measured from soils under ambient (350 µL L^-1) and enhanced (600 µL L^-1) carbon dioxide partial pressures (pCO₂) at the Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) experiment, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH), Eschikon, Switzerland in July 1995, using a GC housed in a mobile laboratory. Measurements were made in plots of Lolium perenne maintained under high N input. During the data collection period N fertiliser was applied at a rate of 14 g m^-2 of N. Elevated pCO₂ appeared to result in an increased (27%) output of N₂O, thought to be the consequence of enhanced root-derived available soil C, acting as an energy source for denitrification. The climate, agricultural practices and soils at the FACE experiment combined to give rise to some of the largest N₂O emissions recorded for any terrestrial ecosystem. The amount of CO₂–C being lost from the control plot was higher (10%) than for the enhanced CO₂ plot, and is the reverse of that predicted. The control plot oxidised consistently more CH₄ than the enhanced plot, oxidising 25.5 ± 0.8 µg m^-2 hr^-1 of CH₄ for the control plot, with an average of 8.5 ± 0.4 µg m^-2 hr^-1 of CH₄ for the enhanced CO₂ plot. This suggests that elevated pCO₂ may lead to a feedback whereby less CH₄ is removed from the atmosphere. Despite the limited nature of the current study (in time and space), the observations made here on the interactions of elevated pCO₂ and soil trace gas release suggest that significant interactions are occurring. The feedbacks involved could have importance at the global scale.