Controls over nutrient flow through plants and microbes in arctic tundra

Technical Report · Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6144289· OSTI ID:6144289

Schimel, J P

Plant growth in arctic tundra is generally strongly limited by nutrient availability, particularly by nitrogen. The purpose of this sub-project of the R4D program was to examine plant N-uptake and the competition for N between plants and microbes in tundra. This competition can be an important control on N-flow and plant uptake but its significance in tundra has not been studied intensively. How the factors controlling the outcome of competition are altered by disturbance has also received very limited study, yet this is important facet of the R4D program. The primary goal for this project in 1990 was to initiate studies on N-partitioning and turnover in tussock tundra and how this is affected by dust deposition. Secondary goals were to examine the effect of differential dust deposition on microbial activity and nutrient cycling processes (mineralization and nitrification), and begin studies on the control of microbial N-uptake. The N-partitioning studies used {sup 15}N injected into Eriophorum tussocks to examine both the short-term (1 day) partitioning of N and the long-term (1 month and 1 year) redistribution of N through the plant-soil system. These experiments were done in both the early season (June) and peak season (July). To examine the effect of dust on N-partitioning tussocks in the heavy dust zone and in a control site were labeled with {sup 15}N and harvested at the end of the growing season. 4 refs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Alaska Univ., Fairbanks, AK (United States). Inst. of Arctic Biology
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG06-90ER61031
• OSTI ID: 6144289
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/61031-T1; ON: DE92003435
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DUSTS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
NITROGEN 15
TISSUE DISTRIBUTION
TUNDRA
BIOLOGICAL RECOVERY
NITROGEN CYCLE
AMMONIUM SULFATES
BIOCHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
DEPOSITION
MICROORGANISMS
PHOSPHORUS
PLANT GROWTH
PLANTS
PROGRESS REPORT
ROOT ABSORPTION
SOIL CHEMISTRY
TRACER TECHNIQUES
ABSORPTION
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
CHEMISTRY
DISTRIBUTION
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELEMENTS
GROWTH
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
KINETICS
LIGHT NUCLEI
NITROGEN ISOTOPES
NONMETALS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
REACTION KINETICS
RECOVERY
STABLE ISOTOPES
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
UPTAKE
550501* - Metabolism- Tracer Techniques
550200 - Biochemistry
540210 - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- (1990-)