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DIVISION S-7—FOREST & RANGE SOILS & SOIL & PLANT ANALYSIS

The Fate of ¹⁵NO^-₂ Tracer in Soils under Different Tree Species of the Catskill Mountains, New York

^a Dep. of Plant Biology, 265 Morrill Hall, Univ. of Illinois, 505 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801
^b Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, Millbrook, NY 12545

^* Corresponding author (fitzhugh{at}life.uiuc.edu)

The incorporation of nitrite (NO^-₂) into soil organic matter (SOM) has received little attention as a mechanism contributing to the retention of atmospherically deposited N in forest ecosystems, despite previous studies in agricultural systems showing that NO^-₂ fixation by SOM is enhanced in soils with high acidity and organic matter content, characteristics commonly found in forest soils. Given previous studies showing that nitrification and nitrate (NO^-₃) leaching may vary significantly in soils under different tree species, the primary objectives of this study were to determine if the incorporation of NO^-₂ into SOM was quantitatively significant and if the incorporation varied among soils under different tree species from the Catskill Mountains in New York State. A pulse-chase laboratory experiment was performed, where ¹⁵NO^-₂ was added to organic soils from three tree species (American beech [Fagus grandifolia], northern red oak [Quercus rubra], sugar maple [Acer saccharum]), and ¹⁵N recoveries were determined in total soil, extractable inorganic, readily mineralizable, microbial biomass, dinitrogen (N₂), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) pools. Results from our experiment demonstrate that the incorporation of NO^-₂ into SOM can occur rapidly, at time scales of 1 d or shorter, and that NO^-₂ incorporation into SOM is the dominant fate of the ¹⁵NO^-₂ tracer, suggesting that the incorporation of NO^-₂ into SOM is a potentially important N sink in forest soils. The incorporation of NO^-₂ into SOM did not vary significantly among tree species. Our results suggest that models of the N cycle in forest ecosystems should include considerations of NO^-₂ incorporation into SOM.

Abbreviations: DON, dissolved organic N • SOM, soil organic matter

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