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The Fate of 15N-Labelled Nitrogen Inputs to Coniferous and Broadleaf Forests

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Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in European Forest Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 142))

Abstract

Nitrogen in forest soils is mainly composed of organic N compounds originating from litterfall. During leaf senescence of the forest vegetation, N compounds are either allocated to perennial tissues or remain in the leaf litter, mainly as polyphenol-protein condensates. For example, senescent beech leaves are composed of 45% cellulose and hemicellulose, 5 to 10% lignin and 25 to 35% brown polyphenol condensates which contain about 70% of the litter N (Berthelin et al. 1994). Beech litter has a C/N mass ratio of 50–70 and evolves into soil organic matter with a C/N ratio ranging from 10 to 30 depending on the humus type. These organic N compounds in forest soils are highly protected from major N losses due to their high chemical stability and low mobility.

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Authors
  1. G. Gebauer
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  2. B. Zeller
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  3. G. Schmidt
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  4. C. May
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  5. N. Buchmann
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  6. M. Colin-Belgrand
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  7. E. Dambrine
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  8. F. Martin
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  9. E.-D. Schulze
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  10. P. Bottner
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, P.O. Box 10 01 64, 07701, Jena, Germany

    Ernst-Detlef Schulze

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© 2000 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Gebauer, G. et al. (2000). The Fate of 15N-Labelled Nitrogen Inputs to Coniferous and Broadleaf Forests. In: Schulze, ED. (eds) Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling in European Forest Ecosystems. Ecological Studies, vol 142. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57219-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57219-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-67239-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-57219-7

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