Spatiotemporal analysis of nitrogen cycling in a mixed coniferous forest of the northern United States

dc.citation.doi10.5194/bg-12-3941-2015
dc.citation.epage3952
dc.citation.issn1726-4170
dc.citation.issue13
dc.citation.jtitleBiogeosciences
dc.citation.spage3941
dc.citation.volume12
dc.contributor.authorHoward, I.
dc.contributor.authorMcLauchlan, Kendra K.
dc.contributor.authoreidmclauch
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-04T22:46:15Z
dc.date.available2016-04-04T22:46:15Z
dc.date.issued2015-07-01
dc.date.published2015
dc.descriptionCitation: Howard, I., & McLauchlan, K. K. (2015). Spatiotemporal analysis of nitrogen cycling in a mixed coniferous forest of the northern United States. Biogeosciences, 12(13), 3941-3952. doi:10.5194/bg-12-3941-2015
dc.descriptionNitrogen (N) is the limiting nutrient to primary productivity in a variety of temperate forests, and N cycling is undergoing a variety of anthropogenic changes, notably a doubling of reactive N (Nr) on a global scale. Yet, the magnitude of these changes to N cycling has been difficult to document in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in old-growth forests. To determine the trajectory of N cycling and the potential impacts of anthropogenic influences at local scales, we measured the composition of stable nitrogen isotopes (delta N-15) in wood from living red pine trees (Pinus resinosa) at a single site in northern Minnesota, USA. A synchronous decline in wood delta N-15 values began approximately in the 1920s in 17 individual trees at different topographic positions, indicating a common driver. The decline in wood delta N-15 values corresponded with declines in sedimentary delta N-15 recorded in lacustrine sediments of the same catchment. Disturbance regime and species composition began to change at the turn of the 20th century with park establishment, providing a likely mechanism of decline in delta N-15 values toward present. While other mechanisms of this change are possible, we conclude that while there may be consequences of increased influxes of various forms of anthropogenic Nr into terrestrial ecosystems at the global level, these changes are not being expressed at a local level in this temperate forest ecosystem.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2097/32311
dc.relation.urihttps://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-3941-2015
dc.rightsAttribution 3.0 United States (CC BY 3.0 US)
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/
dc.subjectClimate-Change
dc.subjectNorthwestern Minnesota
dc.subjectTree-Rings
dc.subjectRed Pine
dc.subjectFire
dc.subjectMineralization
dc.titleSpatiotemporal analysis of nitrogen cycling in a mixed coniferous forest of the northern United States
dc.typeArticle

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