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Heterotrophic Nitrogen Fixation in Decomposing Litter: Patterns and Regulation

2000; Wiley; Volume: 81; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/177460

1939-9170

Peter M. Vitousek, Sarah E. Hobbie,

Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal

EcologyVolume 81, Issue 9 p. 2366-2376 Article HETEROTROPHIC NITROGEN FIXATION IN DECOMPOSING LITTER: PATTERNS AND REGULATION Peter M. Vitousek, Peter M. Vitousek Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 USASearch for more papers by this authorSarah Hobbie, Sarah Hobbie Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 USA Present address: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108 USA.Search for more papers by this author Peter M. Vitousek, Peter M. Vitousek Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 USASearch for more papers by this authorSarah Hobbie, Sarah Hobbie Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 USA Present address: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108 USA.Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 September 2000 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2000)081[2366:HNFIDL]2.0.CO;2Citations: 112 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Metrosideros polymorpha is the dominant tree in a wide range of Hawaiian forests, and it produces litter that varies widely in structure and chemistry. Long-term fertilizer experiments have further expanded the range of litter characteristics and have also provided plots that differ substantially in nutrient availability. We used natural and experimentally induced variation in litter characteristics and site nutrient availabilities to determine controls on heterotrophic N2 fixation (acetylene reduction or AR, calibrated with 15N2) in decomposing litter. In a large-scale experiment that evaluated 28 litter types, we found that low-lignin litter fixed substantially more N than did higher-lignin litter (0.9–1.3 vs. 0.06–0.26 mg N/gram initial litter mass, integrated over two years of decomposition). The supply of nutrients other than N had small and inconsistent effects on N2 fixation. A second experiment then focused on the importance of non-N nutrients, using litter collected from control plots and plots fertilized with P and with all other essential elements except N (abbreviated "T"), and decomposed in plots that had been fertilized with P, T, and P + T for 12 yr. Litter from P-fertilized plots supported significantly greater AR activity; however, the increase could be explained by decreased lignin concentrations in litter produced in P-fertilized plots. Related studies on controls of decomposition rates in Hawaiian montane forests show that the decomposition of low-lignin litter is increased substantially by added N, while that of high-lignin litter is increased less or not at all. The extent to which decomposition is N-limited correlates strongly with the integrated quantity of N fixed during decomposition. 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