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Nitrogen balance along a northern boreal forest fire chronosequence

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Date
2017
Author(s)
Palviainen M
Pumpanen J
Berninger F
Ritala K
Duan B
Heinonsalo J
Sun H
Köster E
Köster K
Unique identifier
10.1371/journal.pone.0174720
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Citation
Palviainen M. Pumpanen J. Berninger F. Ritala K. Duan B. Heinonsalo J. Sun H. Köster E. Köster K. (2017). Nitrogen balance along a northern boreal forest fire chronosequence.  PLOS ONE, 12 (3) , 21. 10.1371/journal.pone.0174720.
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CC BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Abstract

Fire is a major natural disturbance factor in boreal forests, and the frequency of forest fires is predicted to increase due to climate change. Nitrogen (N) is a key determinant of carbon sequestration in boreal forests because the shortage of N limits tree growth. We studied changes in N pools and fluxes, and the overall N balance across a 155-year non stand-replacing fire chronosequence in sub-arctic Pinus sylvestris forests in Finland. Two years after the fire, total ecosystem N pool was 622 kg ha-1 of which 16% was in the vegetation, 8% in the dead biomass and 76% in the soil. 155 years after the fire, total N pool was 960 kg ha-1, with 27% in the vegetation, 3% in the dead biomass and 69% in the soil. This implies an annual accumulation rate of 2.28 kg ha-1 which was distributed equally between soil and biomass. The observed changes in N pools were consistent with the computed N balance +2.11 kg ha-1 yr-1 over the 155-year post-fire period. Nitrogen deposition was an important component of the N balance. The biological N fixation increased with succession and constituted 9% of the total N input during the 155 post-fire years. N2O fluxes were negligible (≤ 0.01 kg ha-1 yr-1) and did not differ among post-fire age classes. The number and intensity of microbial genes involved in N cycling were lower at the site 60 years after fire compared to the youngest and the oldest sites indicating potential differences in soil N cycling processes. The results suggest that in sub-arctic pine forests, the non-stand-replacing, intermediate-severity fires decrease considerably N pools in biomass but changes in soil and total ecosystem N pools are slight. Current fire-return interval does not seem to pose a great threat to ecosystem productivity and N status in these sub-arctic forests.

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https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/5761
Link to the original item
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174720
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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  • Luonnontieteiden ja metsätieteiden tiedekunta [1109]
University of Eastern Finland
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