Facultative nitrogen fixation by canopy legumes in a lowland tropical forest |
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Authors: | Barron Alexander R Purves Drew W Hedin Lars O |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA;(2) Computational Ecology and Environmental Science Group, Microsoft Research, 7 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0FP, UK |
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Abstract: | Symbiotic dinitrogen (N2) fixation is often invoked to explain the N richness of tropical forests as ostensibly N2-fixing trees can be a major component of the community. Such arguments assume N2 fixers are fixing N when present. However, in laboratory experiments, legumes consistently reduce N2 fixation in response to increased soil N availability. These contrasting views of N2 fixation as either obligate or facultative have drastically different implications for the N cycle of tropical forests. We
tested these models by directly measuring N2-fixing root nodules and nitrogenase activity of individual canopy-dominant legume trees (Inga sp.) across several lowland forest types. Fixation was substantial in disturbed forests and some gaps but near zero in the high
N soils of mature forest. Our findings suggest that canopy legumes closely regulate N2 fixation, leading to large variations in N inputs across the landscape, and low symbiotic fixation in mature forests despite
abundant legumes. |
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