Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Plant Response to Stress pp 129–155Cite as

Use of nitrogen-15 to assess terrestrial nitrogen cycling processes

  • Conference paper

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIG,volume 15))

Abstract

In a recent paper, Hauck (1982) estimated that over 3,000 articles have been written describing the use of 15N in the agriculturally related sciences. In an earlier review, Hauck and Bystrom (1970) cited 1,000 articles dealing with 15N in the agricultural sciences. This explosive increase in utilization of 15N is mainly attributable to the greater availability of mass spectrometers and to the lower cost of 15N-labeled materials. A recent development that should further increase utilization of 15N is the development of commercial laboratories (e.g. Isotope Services Inc., Los Alamos, New Mexico, U.S.A.) that are capable of accurately analyzing labeled samples at moderate costs ($5 to $17 [U.S.A.] per sample).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Adamsen FJ, Reeder JD (1983) A comparison of diffusion and distillation methods for preparing samples for 15N analysis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 47: 612–613

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Sollins P, McGill WB (1985) Natural abundance of nitrogen-15 as a tool for tracing alder-fixed nitrogen. Soil Sci Soc Am J 49: 444–447

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blackmer AM, Bremner JM (1977) Nitrogen isotope discrimination in denitrification of nitrate in soils. Soil Biol Biochem 9: 73–77

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bottner P (1985) Response of microbial biomass to alternate wet and dry conditions in a soil preincubated with 14C and 15N labeled plant material. Soil Biol Biochem 17: 329–337

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bremner JM (1965) Isotope-ratio analysis of nitrogen in nitrogen-15 tracer investigations. In: Black CA (ed) Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2. Am Soc Agron, Madison, Wisconsin, pp 1256–1286

    Google Scholar 

  • Bremner JM, Cheng HH, Edwards AP (1966) Assumptions and errors in nitrogen-15 tracer research. In: The Use of Isotopes in Soil Organic Matter Studies, Pergamon Press, New York, pp 429–442

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadbent FE (1975) Field measurements of N-utilization efficiency and nitrate movement in soils using N-depleted fertilizer. In: Proceedings of a Symposium on Isotope Ratios as Pollutant Source and Behavior Indicators, IAEA, Vienna, pp 373–382

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadbent FE, Carlton AB (1978) Field trials with isotopically labeled nitrogen fertilizers. In: Nielsen DR, MacDonald JG (eds) Nitrogen in the Environment, Academic Press, New York, pp 1–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryan BA, Shearer G, Skeeters JL, Kohl DH (1983) Variable expression of the nitrogen isotope effect associated with denitrification of nitrite. J Biol Chem 258: 6813–6817

    Google Scholar 

  • Buresh RJ, Austin ER, Craswell ET (1982) Analytical methods in nitrogen-15 research. Fert Res 3: 37–62

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burns RH (1974) Biological nitrogen fixation, 1924–1974. Plant Physio 54: 443–449

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chalk PM (1985) Estimation of N2 fixation by isotope dilution. An appraisal of techniques involving 15N enrichment and their application. Soil Biol Biochem 17: 389–410

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chien SH, Shearer G, Kohl DH (1977) The nitrogen isotope effect associated with nitrate and nitrite loss from waterlogged soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 41: 63–69

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cook FD, Wellman RP, Krouse HR (1973) Nitrogen isotope fractionation in the nitrogen cycle. In: Ingerson E (ed) Proc Symp Hydrogeochem Biogeochem, Clark Company, Washington, DC pp 49–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Cortez J, Billes G, Bottner P (1985) The isotopic composition of the soil microbial biomass and of adenine and guanine isolated from soil incubated with carbon-14 and nitrogen-15-labeled plant material: comparison with fumigation method. Soil Biol Biochem 17: 773–778

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Delwiche CC, Steyn PL (1970) Nitrogen isotope fractionation in soils and microbial reactions. Environ Sci Technol 4: 929–935

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Delwiche CC, Zinke PJ, Johnson CM, Virginia RA (1979) Nitrogen isotope distribution as a presumptive indicator of nitrogen fixation. Bot Gaz 140: S65–S69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, AP (1973) The measurement of the effects of isotopic discrimination where 15N is used as a tracer in a complex system. In: Klein PD, Peterson SV (eds) Proceedings of the First International Conference on Stable Isotopes in Chemistry, Biology, and Medicine, NTIS, Springfield, VA, pp 246–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards AP (1975) Isotope effects in relation to the interpretation of nitrogen-15/nitrogen-14 ratios in tracer studies. In: Proceedings of a Symposium on Isotope Ratios as Pollutant Source and Behavior Indicators, IAEA, Vienna, pp 455–468

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez MP, Warembourg FR (1983) Diffusion du 15N dans le sol pendant la mesure de fixation biologique de l’azote. Plant Soil 73: 431–434

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Focht DD (1973) Isotope fractionation of nitrogen-15 and nitrogen-14 in microbiological nitrogen transformations. Theoretical model. J Environ Qual 2: 247–252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Freyer HD, Aly AIM (1975) Nitrogen-15 studies on identifying fertilizer excess in environmental systems. In: Proceedings of a Symposium on Isotope Ratios as Pollutant Source and Behavior Indicators, IAEA, Vienna, pp 21–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Fried M, Broeshart H (1975). An independent measurement of the amount of nitrogen fixed by a legume crop. Plant Soil 43: 707–711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fürst P, Jonsson A (1971) Control and modification of methods for determination of 15N in biological material. Acta Chem Scand 25: 930–938

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gandais-Riollet N (1984) Effet rhizosphere sur l’activité microbienne vis a vis du carbone et de l’azote dans un sol enrichien debris végétaux. Doctoral Dissertation, USTL, Montpellier, France

    Google Scholar 

  • Guiraud G, Buscarlet LA (1975) Comparison of mass spectrometry and emission spectrometry for isotopic analysis of nitrogen. Int J Appl Radiat Isot 26: 187–193

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy, RWF, Holsten RD (1977) Methods for measurement of dinitrogen fixation. Im Hardy RWF, Gibson AH (eds) A Treatise on Dinitrogen Fixation. Sect IV: Agronomy and Ecology, John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp 451–486

    Google Scholar 

  • Hauck RD (1982) Nitrogen-Isotope-Ratio Analysis. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. ( 2nd Ed ), Am Soc Agron, Madison, Wisconsin, pp 735–779

    Google Scholar 

  • Hauck RD, Bartholomew WV, Bremner JM, Broadbent FE, Cheng HH, Edwards AP, Keeney DR, Legg JO, Olson SR, Porter LK (1972) Use of variations in natural nitrogen isotope abundance for environmental studies: a questionable approach. Sci 177: 453–454

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hauck RD, Bremner JM (1976) Use of tracers for soil and fertilizer nitrogen research. Adv Agron 28: 219–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hauck RD, Byström M (1970) 15N. A Selected Bibliography for Agricultural Scientists. The Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa

    Google Scholar 

  • Huser R (1968) Experiences with nitrogen-15 tracer techniques in estimating the microbial fixation of elementary nitrogen in the organic matter of forest soils. In: The Use of Isotopes in Soil Organic Matter Studies, Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 457–469

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingerson E (1953) Nonradiogenic isotopes in geology: a review. Bull Geol Soc Am 64: 301–374

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ivanko S (1971) Metabolic pathways of nitrogen assimilation in plant tissue when 15N is used as a tracer. In: Nitrogen-15 in Soil-Plant Studies, IAEA, Vienna, pp 119–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansson SL (1968) Experimental techniques with nitrogen-15. In: The Use of Isotopes in Soil Organic Matter Studies. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 415–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Karamanos RE, Rennie DA (1978) Nitrogen isotope fractionation during ammonium exchange reactions with soil clay. Can J Soil Sci 58: 53–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karamanos RE, Rennie DA (1981) Changes and significance in natural nitrogen-15 abundance in residual nitrogen fertilizer studies. Can J Soil Sci 61: 553–559

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkham D, Bartholomew WV (1954) Equations for following nutrient transformations in soil, utilizing tracer data. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 18: 33–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knowles R (1978) Common intermediates of nitrification and denitrification, and the metabolism of nitrous oxide. In: Schlessinger D (ed) Microbiology-1978. Am Soc Microbio, Washington, DC, pp 367–371

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohl, DH, Shearer G (1980) Isotopic fractionation associated with symbiotic nitrogen fixation and uptake of nitrate ion by plants Plant Physiol 66: 51–56

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kohl DH, Shearer G (1981) The use of soils lightly enriched in nitrogen-15 to screen for nitrogen-fixing activity. Plant Soil 60: 487–489

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kohl DH, Shearer GB, Commoner B (1971) Fertilizer nitrogen: contributions to nitrate in surface water in a corn belt watershed. Sci 174: 1331–1334

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kowalenko CG, Ross GJ (1980) Studies on the dynamics of recently clay-fixed ammonium ion using nitrogen-15. Can J Soil Sci 60: 61–70

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ladd JN (1981) The use of nitrogen-15 in following organic matter turnover, with specific reference to rotation systems. Plant Soil 58: 401–411

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Legg JO, Sloger C (1976) A tracer method for determining symbiotic nitrogen fixation in field studies. In: Klein ER, Klein PD (eds) Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Stable Isotopes. NTIS, Springfield, VA, pp 661–666

    Google Scholar 

  • Letolle R, Mariotti A (1974) Utilisation des variations naturelles d’abondance de l’azote-15 comme traceur en hygrogeologie. Premiers résultats. In: Proceedings of a Symposium on Isotope Techniques and Groundwater Hydrology, Unipub, New York, pp 209–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis OAM, Stock WD (1978) A preliminary study of the nitrogen nutritional status of members of the South Africa Proteaceae. J South Afr Bot 44: 143–151

    Google Scholar 

  • Marion GM, Miller PC, Kummerow J, Oechel WC (1982) Competition for nitrogen in a tussock tundra ecosystem. Plant Soil 66: 317–327

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mariotti A (1983) Atmospheric nitrogen is a reliable standard for natural 15N abundance measurements. Nature 303: 685–687

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mariotti A, Germon JC, Hubert P, Kaiser P, Letolle R, Tardieux A, Tardieux P (1981) Experimental determination of nitrogen kinetic isotope fractionation: some principles; illustration for the denitrification and nitrification processes. Plant Soil 62: 413–430

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mariotti A, Germon JC, Leclerc A (1982) Nitrogen isotope fractionation associated with the nitrite ion → nitrogen oxide (N2O) step of denitrification in soils. Can J Soil Sci 62: 227–241

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mariotti A J, Mariotti F, Amarger N (1983) Use of natural nitrogen-15 abundance in the measurement of symbiotic fixation. In: Nuclear Technology for the Improvement of Pasture Management, IAEA, Vienna, pp 61–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Mclnteer BB, Montoya JG (1980). Automation of a mass spectrometer for nitrogen isotope analysis. US Dept Energy Rep No LA-UR-80-245, Los Alamos, New Mexico

    Google Scholar 

  • Meints VW, Shearer G, Kohl DH, Kurtz LT (1975) Comparison on unenriched versus nitrogen-15 enriched fertilizer as a tracer for nitrogen fertilizer uptake. Soil Sci 119: 421–425

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore AW, Craswell ET (1976) Non-uniformity of nitrogen-15 labeling in plant material. Comm Soil Sci Plant Anal 7: 335–344

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muhammad S, Kumazawa K (1976). Use of emission spectrometry to trace 15N-labeled ammonium and nitrate nitrogen in amino acids of rice panicle. In: Klein ER, Klein PD (eds) Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Stable Isotopes, NTIS, Springfield, VA, pp 674–682

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman ACD, Oliver S (1966) Isotopic exchange of fixed ammonium. J Soil Sci 17: 159–174

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Deen WA, Porter LK (1979) Digestion tube diffusion and collection of ammonia for nitrogen-15 and total nitrogen determination. Anal Chem 51: 586–589

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olson RA (1979) Isotope studies on soil and fertilizer nitrogen. In: Isotopes and Radiation in Research on Soil-Plant Relationships, IAEA, Vienna, pp 3–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Proksch G (1972) Application of mass- and emission-spectrometry for 14N/15N ratio determination in biological material. In: Isotopes and Radiation in Soil- Plant Relationships Including Forestry, IAEA, Vienna, pp 217–225

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddy CN, Patrick WH Jr (1979) Distribution of added labeled (15NH4)2S04 in a flooded soil as influenced by redox potential and pH. In: Isotopes and Radiation in Research on Soil-Plant Relationships, IAEA, Vienna, pp 607–617

    Google Scholar 

  • Reeder JD, O’Deen WA, Porter LK, and Lober RW (1980) A comparison of cross-contamination in distillation units used in total nitrogen and nitrogen-15 analyses. Soil Soc Am J 44: 1262–1267

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rennie, DA (1980) Note on variations in nitrogen-15/nitrogen-14 ratios in soils and plants. In: Soil Nitrogen Fert. Pollut., Proc Rep Res Coord Meet, IAEA, Vienna, pp 237–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Rennie DA, Paul EA, John SLE (1976) Natural nitrogen-15 abundance of soil and plant samples. Can J Soil Sci 56: 43–50

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rennie RJ (1982) Quantifying dinitrogen (N2) fixation in soybeans by 15N isotope dilution: the question of the nonfixing control plant. Can J Bot 60: 856–861

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rescigno A, Segre G (1966) Drug and Tracer Kinetics, Blaisdell Publ Co, Waltham, Massachusetts

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes D, Myers AC, Jamieson G (1981) Gas chromatography mass spectrometry of N hepta fluorobutyryl iso butyl esters of amino-acids in the analysis of the kinetics of nitrogen-15 labeled ammonium assimilation in Lemna-minor. Plant Physiol 68: 1197–1205

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruschel AP, Vose PB, Victoria RL, Salati E (1979) Comparison of isotope techniques and non-nodulating isolines to study the effect of ammonium fertilization on dinitrogen fixation in soybean, Glycine max. Plant Soil 53: 513–525

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ryden JC, Lund LJ, Letey J, Focht DD (1979) Direct measurement of denitrification loss from soils. Part 2 Development and application of field methods. Soil Sci Soc Am J 43: 110–118

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schimel JP, Firestone MK, Killham KS (1984) Identification of heterotrophic nitrification in a Sierran forest soil. Appl Environ Microbiol 48: 802–806

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shearer G, Duffy J, Kohl DH, Commoner B (1974) A steady-state model of isotopic fractionation accompanying nitrogen transformations in soil. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 38: 315–322

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shearer G, Kohl DH, Commoner B (1975) Use of variations in the natural abundance of 15N to study sources, transformations and movement of nitrogen in a plant-soil-water system. In: Origin Fate Chem Residues Food Agric Fish, Proc Rep 2 Res Coord Meet, IAEA, Vienna, pp 77–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Shearer G, Kohl DH, Virginia RA, Bryan BA, Skeeters JL, Nilsen ET, Sharifi MR, Rundel PW (1983) Estimates of N2 fixation from variation in the natural abundance of 15N in Sonoran Desert ecosystems. Oecologia (Berl) 56: 365–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shipley RA, Clark RE (1972) Tracer Methods for In Vivo Kinetics, Academic Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Silvester WB, Balboa O, Martinez JA (1985) Nodulation and nitrogen fixation in members of the Rhamnaceae (Colletia, Retanilla, Talguenea, and Trevoa) growing in the Chilean matorral. Symbiosis 1: 29–35

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stanford G, Legg JO, Staley TE (1976) Fate of 15N labeled nitrate in soils under anaerobic conditions. In: Klein ER, Klein PD (eds) Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Stable Isotopes, NTIS, Springfield, VA, pp 667–673

    Google Scholar 

  • Stock WD (1985) An investigation of nitrogen cycling processes in a coastal fynbos ecosystem in the South Western Cape Province, South Africa. PhD Dissertation, University of Cape Town, South Africa

    Google Scholar 

  • Stock WD, Lewis OAM (1984) Uptake and assimilation of nitrate and ammonium by an evergreen fynbos shrub species Protea repens Proteaceae. New Phytol 97: 261–268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stribley DP, Read DJ (1974) The biology of mycorrhiza in the Ericaceae: IV. The effect of mycorrhizal infection on uptake of 15N from labeled soil by Vaccinium macrocarbon Ait. New Phytol 73: 1149–1155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiedje JM (1978) Denitrification in soil. In: Schlessinger D (ed) Microbiology-1978, Am Soc Microbiology, Washington DC, pp 362–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiedje JM, Sorensen J, Change Y-YL (1981) Assimilatory and dissimilatory nitrate reduction perspectives and methodology for simultaneous measurement of several nitrogen cycle processes. In: Clark FE, Rosswall T (eds) Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles: Processes, Ecosystem Strategies and Management Impacts, Ecol Bull (Stockholm) No 33

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner GL, Bergersen FJ, and Tantala H (1983) Natural enrichment of 15N during decomposition of plant material in soil. Soil Biol. Biochem 15: 495–497

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Urey HC (1947) Thermodynamic properties of isotope substances. J Chem Soc 562–581

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Cleve K, White R (1980) Forest-floor nitrogen dynamics in a 60-year old paper birch ecosystem in interior Alaska. Plant Soil 54: 359–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Virginia, RA, Delwiche CC (1982) Natural 15N abundance of presumed N2-fixing and non-N2-fixing plants from selected ecosystems. Oecologia (Berl) 54: 317–325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vose PD, Ruschel AP, Victoria RL, Saito SM, Matsui E (1982) Nitrogen-15 as a tool in biological nitrogen fixation research. In: Graham PH, Harris SC (eds) Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Tropical Agriculture, Cent Int Agric Trop, Cali, Columbia, p 575

    Google Scholar 

  • Wada E, Kadonaga T, Matsuo S (1975) Nitrogen-15 abundance in nitrogen of naturally occurring substances and global assessment of denitrification from the isotopic viewpoint. Geochem J 9: 139–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wada E, Shibata R, Torii T (1981) Nitrogen-15 abundance in Antarctica: origin of soil nitrogen and ecological implications. Nature 292: 327–329.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walker RL, Walton JR, Carter J A, Matthews DR (1975) Measurement system for total nitrogen and 15N/14N in plant tissue, soil, and water. In: Proceedings of a Symposium on Isotope Ratios as Pollutant Source and Behavioral Indicators, IAEA, Vienna, pp 429–438

    Google Scholar 

  • Witty JF, Ritz K (1984) Slow-release nitrogen-15 fertilizer formulations to measure nitrogen fixation by isotope dilution. Soil Biol Biochem 16: 657–661

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Systems Ecology Research Group, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, 92182, USA

    G. M. Marion

Authors
  1. G. M. Marion
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Systems Ecology Research Group, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, 92182, USA

    John D. Tenhunen  & Walter C. Oechel  & 

  2. Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, 1294, Lisbon, Portugal

    Fernando M. Catarino

  3. Lehrstuhl für Botanik II, der Universität Würzburg, Mittlerer Dallenbergweg 64, 8700, Würzburg, Germany

    Otto L. Lange

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1987 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Marion, G.M. (1987). Use of nitrogen-15 to assess terrestrial nitrogen cycling processes. In: Tenhunen, J.D., Catarino, F.M., Lange, O.L., Oechel, W.C. (eds) Plant Response to Stress. NATO ASI Series, vol 15. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70868-8_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70868-8_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-70870-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-70868-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation