Abstract
The extent of transfer of fixed N between N2-fixing and non-N2-fixing plant species is largely unknown in successional studies. In order to redress this deficiency at a locale intensively studied ecologically, leaf tissue samples were collected from actinorhizal N2-fixing (Alnus, Shepherdia, and Dryas) and two non-N2-fixing (Salk .) woody species within research plots located along a chronosequence of deglaciated fjord in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. The tissue samples were analyzed for δ 15N content, and the resulting data analyzed for trends in plant tissue N. Among the non-N2-fixing Salit species, δ 15N values increased from the most recently deglaciated sites to converge with the temporally more-stable values for the symbiotic N2-fixing species on sites at about 40 years after deglaciation. The lower δ 15 N values of sequestered N in plant tissues suggested that N derived from N2-fixing plants accounts for the major portion of N in associated plants up to 40 years after deglaciation. The 15N isotopic data also suggested that Shepherdia canadensis depends least on soil N, D. drummondii the most, and A. viridis ssp. sinuata somewhere between those two species. The presence of a sere dominated by dense thickets of A. viridis ssp. sinuata at the convergence of δ 15N values for the N2-fixing and non-N2-fixing species indicated that this species is most responsible for accumulation of fixed N in soil at Glacier Bay.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Abbreviations
- NDFA:
-
nitrogen derived from the atmosphere
References
Bardgett R D 2000 Patterns of below-ground primary succession at Glacier Bay, southeast Alaska. Bull. Br. Ecol. Soc. 31, 40–42.
Bormann B T and Sidle R C 1990 Changes in productivity and distribution of nutrients in a chronosequence at Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. J. Ecol. 78, 561–578.
Cawse P A 1967 The determination of nitrate in solutions by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. Analyst (London) 92. 311–315.
Chapin F S, Walker L R, Fastie C L, and Sharman L C 1994 Mechanisms of primary succession following deglaciation at Glacier Bay, Alaska. Ecol. Monogr. 64, 149–175.
Cooper W S 1923a The recent ecological history of Glacier Bay, Alaska I. The interglacial forests of Glacier Bay. Ecology 4, 93–128.
Cooper W S 1923b The recent ecological history of Glacier Bay, Alaska Il. The present vegetation cycle. Ecology 4, 223–246.
Cooper W S 1923e The recent ecological history of Glacier Bay, Alaska III. Permanent quadrats at Glacier Bay; an initial report upon a long period of study. Ecology 4. 355–365.
Cooper W S 1931 A third expedition to Glacier Bay, Alaska. Ecology 12,61-–95.
Cooper W S 1939 A fourth expedition to Glacier Bay. Alaska. Ecology 20, 130–155.
Crocker R L and Major J 1955 Soil development in relation to vegetation and surface age at Glacier Bay, Alaska. Journal of Ecology 43, 427–448.
Decker H F 1966 Soil development and ecological succession in a deglaciated area of Muir inlet, southeast Alaska. in Plants. Institute of Polar Studies Report, 20. Ed. A Mirsky. pp 73–96. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Hobble E A, Macko S A and Shugart H H 1998 Patterns in N dynamics and N isotopes during primary succession in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Chem. Geol.. 152, 3–11.
Hobble E A, Macko S A and Shugart H H 1999 Insights into nitrogen and dynamics of ectomycorrhizal and saprophytic fungi from isotopic evidence. Oecologia 118, 353–360.
Kirsten, W J 1983. Rapid automatic high capacity Dumas determination of nitrogen. Mierochem. J. 28, 529–547.
Kohls S J, van Kessel C, Baker D D, Grigal D F and Lawrence D B 1994 Assessment of N, fixation and N cycling by Dr_sas along a chronosequence within the forelands of the Athabasca Glacier, Canada. Soil Biol. Biochem. 26, 623–632.
Lawrence D B 1958 Glaciers and vegetation in southeast Alaska. Am. Sci. 46, 89–122.
Lawrence D B 1979 Primary versus secondary succession at Glacier Bay National Monument, southeastern Alaska. In USDI National Park Service, Transactions and Proceedings Series 5. Proceedings of the First Conference on Scientific Resources in the National Parks, New Orleans, LA. Ed. R M Linn. pp. 213–224. U. S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC.
Lawrence D B, Schoenike R E, Quispel A, and Bond G 1967 The role of Drpas diummondü in vegetation development following ice recession at Glacier Bay Alaska, with special reference to its nitrogen fixation by root nodules. J. Ecol. 55, 793–813.
Matthews J A 1992 The Ecology of Recently-Deglaciated Terrain. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 386 pp.
Mitchell, H L 1972. Microdetermination of nitrogen in plant tissues. J. Assoc. Anal. Chem. 55, 1–3.
Reiners W A, Worley l A and Lawrence D B 1971 Plant diversity in a chronosequnce at Glacier Bay, Alaska. Ecology 62, 376–386.
Stevens P R and Walker T W 1970 The chronosequence concept and soil formation. Q. Rev. Biol. 45, 333–350.
Ugolini F C 1966 Soil development and ecological succession in a deglaciated area of Muir inlet, southeast Alaska. In Soils. Institute of Polar Studies Report, 20. Ed. A Mirsky. pp. 29–72. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
Ugolini F C 1968 Soil development and alder inavasion in a recently deglaciated area of Glacier Bay, Alaska. In Biology of Alder. Eds. J M Trappe, J F Franklin, R F Tarrant and G M Hansen. pp. 115–148. USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Portland, OR.
Van Kessel C, Farrell, R E, Roskoski, J P and Keane, K M 1994 Recycling of the naturally occurring 15N in an established stand of Leucaena leucocephala. Soil Biol. Biochem. 26, 757–762.
Vitousek, P M and Walker L R 1989 Biological invasion by Myrha fay, in Hawaii: plant demography, nitrogen fixation, and ecosystem effects. Ecol. Monog. 59, 247–265.
Walker L R 1993 Nitrogen fixers and species replacements in primary succession. In Primary Succession on Land. Eds. J Miles and D W H Walton. pp. 249–272 Blackwell Scientific Publications, London.
Walker L R 1999 Ecosystems of Disturbed Ground. Elsevier Science, New York. 900 pp. ISBN 0 444 82420–0.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this paper
Cite this paper
Kohls, S.J., Baker, D.D., van Kessel, C., Dawson, J.O. (2003). An assessment of soil enrichment by actinorhizal N2 fixation using δ 15N values in a chronosequence of deglaciation at Glacier Bay, Alaska. In: Normand, P., Dawson, J.O., Pawlowski, K. (eds) Frankia Symbiosis. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 100. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1601-7_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1601-7_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6380-9
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-1601-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive