Changes in forest nitrogen cycling across deposition gradient revealed by delta N-15 in tree rings

0557546 - ÚVGZ 2023 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Oulehle, Filip - Tahovská, K. - Ač, Alexander - Kolář, Tomáš - Rybníček, Michal - Čermák, P. - Štěpánek, Petr - Trnka, Miroslav - Urban, Otmar - Hruška, Jakub
Changes in forest nitrogen cycling across deposition gradient revealed by delta N-15 in tree rings.
Environmental Pollution. Roč. 304, JUL (2022), č. článku 119104. ISSN 0269-7491. E-ISSN 1873-6424
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA18-17295S; GA MŠMT(CZ) EF16_019/0000797
Institutional support: RVO:86652079
Keywords : long-term trends * natural-abundance * radial growth * isotopes * availability * recovery * plant * acidification * watersheds * limitation * nitrogen * Phosphorus * Isotope * Eutrophication * Forest productivity * Tree species
OECD category: Ecology
Impact factor: 8.9, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749122003189?via%3Dihub

Tree rings provide valuable insight into past environmental changes. This study aimed to evaluate perturbations in tree ring width (TRW) and delta N-15 alongside soil acidity and nutrient availability gradients caused by the contrasting legacy of air pollution (nitrogen [N] and sulphur [S] deposition) and tree species (European beech, Silver fir and Norway spruce). We found consistent declines of tree ring delta N-15, which were temporarily unrelated to the changes in the TRW. The rate of delta N-15 change in tree rings was related to the contemporary foliar carbon (C) to phosphorus (P) ratio. This observation suggested that the long-term accumulation of N-15 depleted N in tree rings, likely mediated by retained N from deposition, was restricted primarily to stands with currently higher P availability. The shifts observed in tree-ring delta N-15 and TRW suggest that acidic air pollution rather than changes in stand productivity determined alteration of N and C cycles. Stable N isotopes in tree rings provided helpful information on the trajectory of the N cycle over the last century with direct consequences for a better understanding of future interactions among N, P and C cycles in terrestrial ecosystems.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0331511