Uptake and distribution of nitrogen from acidic fog within a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.)/litter/soil system
The magnitude and importance of wet deposition of N in forests of the South Coast (Los Angeles) Air Basin have not been well characterized. We exposed 3-yr-old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) seedlings growing in native forest soil to acidic fog treatments (pH 3.1) simulating fog chemistry from a pine forest near Los Angeles, California. Fog solutions contained either {sup 15}NH{sub 4}{sup +}, {sup 15}NO{sub 3}{sup {minus}}, or unlabeled N. The fog treatments were applied in open-top chambers in six 5-hr exposures. Soil treatments within each of the fog exposures were bare soil, soil overlain with L- and F-litter, and soil covered with plastic during the fog events to prevent fogwater from contacting soil. Seedlings were harvested and samples were collected 15 wk after the fog treatments. Uptake of {sup 15}N by roots was by far the dominant pathway for plant assimilation of fog-deposited {sup 15}N. Deposition of N in fog supplied 9.4% and 8.7% of the total N in current-year crown biomass in the litter-overlay and bare-soil treatments, respectively. Total N concentrations in every plant fraction except current-year stems were significantly higher in the bare-soil treatment than in the plastic-covered soil treatment. Less than 5% of the {sup 15}N deposited directly to the seedling crowns was retained by the plants in the covered-soil treatment, whereas 57% of the {sup 15}N deposited to the seedling/litter/soil systems was incorporated into plant biomass. The litter layers retained {sup 15}NH{sub 4}{sup +} more effectively than {sup 15}NH{sub 4}{sup +} more effectively than {sup 15}NO{sub 3}. Data from this study suggest that N deposited from fog may be an important source of N for plant growth in forests of the SCAB where fog occurrence and pollution exposure coincide. 5 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 486435
- Journal Information:
- Forest Science, Vol. 41, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Nov 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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