Asymbiotic nitrogen fixation in the litter and surface soil of a Pinus laricio Poiret forest (Sila,Calabria, Italy) |
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| Authors: | A. Musacchio A. Fioretto A. M. Palermo S. Guzzo G. Pellegrino A. Virzo De Santo |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Dip. Ecologia , Università della Calabria , Arcavacata di Rende (Cs), 87036, Italy;2. Il Università di Napoli , Centro direzionale, 81100, Caserta, Italy;3. Dip. Biologia Vegetale , Università ?Federico II? , Via Foria 223, 80139, Napoli, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Abstract Nitrogen fixation was measured in a Corsican pine (Pinus laricio Poiret) forest in Calabria (Southern Italy). Acetylene reduction activity (ARA) and CO2 production levels were determined by incubation of litter and superficial (0–5 cm) soil layer samples in the field, at monthly intervals. ARA variations were not correlated to those of substrate moisture, air temperature and microbial respiration. In fact N2 fixation presented phases of different intensity which irregularly followed each other. Both litter and soil showed similar rates of N2 fixation. Based on a C2H2:N2 ratio of 3:1 0.8 Kg N ha–1 y–1 in each layer are fixed in the Pinus laricio forest, thus contributing to the N status of the soil in this nutrient–poor forest. |
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| Keywords: | asymbiotic N2 fixation forest soil leaf litter mediterranean forests Pinus laricio |
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