Nitrogen cycling and water pulses in semiarid grasslands: are microbial and plant processes temporally asynchronous?

Oecologia
Feike A DijkstraJoseph C von Fischer

Abstract

Precipitation pulses in arid ecosystems can lead to temporal asynchrony in microbial and plant processing of nitrogen (N) during drying/wetting cycles causing increased N loss. In contrast, more consistent availability of soil moisture in mesic ecosystems can synchronize microbial and plant processes during the growing season, thus minimizing N loss. We tested whether microbial N cycling is asynchronous with plant N uptake in a semiarid grassland. Using (15)N tracers, we compared rates of N cycling by microbes and N uptake by plants after water pulses of 1 and 2 cm to rates in control plots without a water pulse. Microbial N immobilization, gross N mineralization, and nitrification dramatically increased 1-3 days after the water pulses, with greatest responses after the 2-cm pulse. In contrast, plant N uptake increased more after the 1-cm than after the 2-cm pulse. Both microbial and plant responses reverted to control levels within 10 days, indicating that both microbial and plant responses were short lived. Thus, microbial and plant processes were temporally synchronous following a water pulse in this semiarid grassland, but the magnitude of the pulse substantially influenced whether plants or microbes were more effective in ...Continue Reading

References

Feb 27, 2004·Oecologia·Amy T AustinSean M Schaeffer
Mar 23, 2004·Oecologia·Susanne Schwinning, Osvaldo E Sala
Jun 11, 2004·Nature·Travis E HuxmanDavid G Williams
Sep 1, 2004·Oecologia·Travis E HuxmanSusan Schwinning
Apr 9, 2008·Oecologia·Carmody K McCalley, Jed P Sparks
Apr 1, 1997·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·J P Kaye, S C Hart
Mar 15, 2011·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·Amy T Austin

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Citations

Feb 7, 2018·Frontiers in Plant Science·Rebecca E SheltonRebecca L McCulley
Jun 18, 2020·Environmental Monitoring and Assessment·Shazia RamzanIkhlaq A Mir

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