We studied the effects of two fertilization treatments (N and NPKCa) on wood nitrogen (N) isotope composition (delta(15)N), water-use efficiency (WUE) estimated by carbon isotope composition (delta(13)C) analyses, and ring width of trees in 80-year-old beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) stands in the forest of Fougères, western France. Four replicates were fertilized in two successive years (1973 and 1974), 20 years before core sampling. Unfertilized control trees displayed a decreasing delta(15)N trend with time. The N and NPKCa treatments both increased delta(15)N compared with the control treatment. Wood extraction by organic solvents enhanced the delta(15)N signal. Thus, N addition to the beech ecosystem, even in moderate amounts, could be traced back in tree-ring delta(15)N, suggesting that wood N isotope analysis is a promising tool for studying the long-term effects of N deposition on forests. Although WUE decreased for about 6 years after N fertilization, WUE in NPKCa-treated trees did not differ significantly from that in control trees. Results were similar whether based on cellulose or total wood delta(13)C analysis, suggesting that extraction of cellulose is not necessary when studying fertilization impacts on WUE. The NPKCa treatment had a large impact on radial growth, causing a significant long-lasting increase of 29% compared with the control treatment. Nitrogen alone did not change radial growth significantly.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/treephys/25.11.1437 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Tree-ring δ15N as an indicator of nitrogen dynamics in stands with N2-fixing Alnus rubra.
Tree Physiol
December 2023
Centre for Forest Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3020, STN CSC, 3800 Finnerty Road,Victoria, British Columbia V8P 5C2, Canada.
Tree-ring δ15N may depict site-specific, long-term patterns in nitrogen (N) dynamics under N2-fixing species, but field trials with N2-fixing tree species are lacking and the relationship of temporal patterns in tree-ring δ15N to soil N dynamics is controversial. We examined whether the tree-ring δ15N of N2-fixing red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) would mirror N accretion rates and δ15N of soils and whether the influence of alder-fixed N could be observed in the wood of a neighboring conifer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnalysis of coniferous tree growth gradients in relation to regional pollution and climate change in the Miyun Reservoir Basin, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
April 2023
Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security and School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia.
Forests play a crucial role in regulating regional climate and mitigating local air pollution, but little is known about their responding to such changes. This study aimed to examine the potential responses of Pinus tabuliformis, the major coniferous tree species in the Miyun Reservoir Basin (MRB), along an air pollution gradient in Beijing. Tree rings were collected along a transect, and ring width (basal area increment, BAI) and chemical characteristics were determined and related to long-term climatic and environmental records.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOn the significance of long-term trends in tree-ring N isotopes - The interplay of soil conditions and regional NOx emissions.
Sci Total Environ
January 2023
Centre de Foresterie des Laurentides, Service canadien des Forêts (Ressources naturelles Canada), 1055 rue du P.E.P.S., Stn. Sainte-Foy, P.O. Box 10380, Québec, QC G1V 4C7, Canada.
As anthropogenic nitrogen (N) emissions have been rising for decades, it is critical to develop natural archives that help understand how natural processes were modified in the past. Tree-ring δN values may represent such an indicator but its validity as faithful record of N cycling changes is still debated. Here we produce long-tree-ring δN series for five white spruce stands from two boreal regions submitted to moderate industrial N inputs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChanges in forest nitrogen cycling across deposition gradient revealed by δN in tree rings.
Environ Pollut
July 2022
Czech Geological Survey, Klárov 3, 118 21, Prague, Czech Republic; Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Bělidla 986/4a, 603 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
Tree rings provide valuable insight into past environmental changes. This study aimed to evaluate perturbations in tree ring width (TRW) and δN alongside soil acidity and nutrient availability gradients caused by the contrasting legacy of air pollution (nitrogen [N] and sulphur [S] deposition) and tree species (European beech, Silver fir and Norway spruce). We found consistent declines of tree ring δN, which were temporarily unrelated to the changes in the TRW.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrought stress mitigation by nitrogen in boreal forests inferred from stable isotopes.
Glob Chang Biol
October 2021
Applied Vegetation Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Forest growth in most parts of the boreal zone is originally limited by low temperatures and low nitrogen availability. Due to the rapid climate warming at high latitudes, an increasing forest area is switching to drought limitation, especially in continental and southern parts of the boreal forest. Studies addressing this issue were mostly dendrochronological and remote-sensing analyses focusing on climatic effects, but not answering the question whether drought is effective alone or in combination with nitrogen shortage at limiting the forests' productivity and vitality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!