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In northern forests, large amounts of missing N that dominate N balances at scales ranging from small watersheds to large regional drainage basins may be related to N-gas production by soil microbes. We measured denitrification rates in forest soils in northeastern North America along a N deposition gradient to determine whether N-gas fluxes were a significant fate for atmospheric N inputs and whether denitrification rates were correlated with N availability, soil O2 status, or forest type. We quantified N2 and N2O fluxes in the laboratory with an intact-core method and monitored soil O2, temperature and moisture in three forests differing in natural and anthropogenic N enrichment: Turkey Lakes Watershed, Ontario; Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire; and Bear Brook Watershed, Maine (fertilized and reference plots in hardwood and softwood stands). Total N-gas flux estimates ranged from <1 in fertilized hardwood uplands at Bear Brook to >100 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) in hardwood wetlands at Turkey Lakes. N-gas flux increased systematically with natural N enrichment from soils with high nitrification rates (Bear Brook < Hubbard Brook < Turkey Lakes) but did not increase in the site where N fertilizer has been added since 1989 (Bear Brook). Our results show that denitrification is an important and underestimated term (1-24% of atmospheric N inputs) in N budgets of upland forests in northeastern North America, but it does not appear to be an important sink for elevated anthropogenic atmospheric N deposition in this region.

Despite growing recognition of the role that cities have in global biogeochemical cycles, urban systems are among the least understood of all ecosystems. Urban grasslands are expanding rapidly along with urbanization, which is expected to increase at unprecedented rates in upcoming decades. The large and increasing area of urban grasslands and their impact on water and air quality justify the need for a better understanding of their biogeochemical cycles. There is also great uncertainty about the effect that climate change, especially changes in winter snow cover, will have on nutrient cycles in urban grasslands. We aimed to evaluate how reduced snow accumulation directly affects winter soil frost dynamics, and indirectly greenhouse gas fluxes and the processing of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) during the subsequent growing season in northern urban grasslands. Both artificial and natural snow reduction increased winter soil frost, affecting winter microbial C and N processing, accelerating C and N cycles and increasing soil : atmosphere greenhouse gas exchange during the subsequent growing season. With lower snow accumulations that are predicted with climate change, we found decreases in N retention in these ecosystems, and increases in N2 O and CO2 flux to the atmosphere, significantly increasing the global warming potential of urban grasslands. Our results suggest that the environmental impacts of these rapidly expanding ecosystems are likely to increase as climate change brings milder winters and more extensive soil frost., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Climate of the northern hardwood forests of North America will become significantly warmer in the coming decades. Associated increases in soil temperature, decreases in water availability and changes in winter snow pack and soil frost are likely to affect soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. Most studies of the effects of climate change on soil function have focused on the upper-organic part of the soil profile (e.g., forest floor), and little is known about effects on deeper mineral soil horizons. We exploited an elevation/orientation gradient at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (New Hampshire, USA) to evaluate how variation in climate, similar to that projected to occur over the next 50–100 years, affects soil C and N pools and transformation rates in different soil horizons of northern hardwood forests. Lower elevation, south-facing plots with higher soil temperature, less soil moisture and snow, and increased frequency of soil freeze/thaw events had less soil inorganic N content and lower potential net N mineralization rates compared to higher elevation, north facing plots. These differences in N pools and fluxes were consistent for all soil horizons, but sensitivity to climate variation increased with soil depth, confirming that assessments of climate change effects that do not consider variation throughout the soil profile are likely to be incomplete and potentially inaccurate. Nitrogen cycling processes were more sensitive to climate variation than C cycling processes, suggesting a decoupling of C and N cycles in coming decades, with important implications for ecosystem function. Soil processes showed greater sensitivity to climate variation in summer than in spring, and in the warmer and less snowy year of sampling, suggesting that the effects of climate change might become more pronounced as temperatures increase and snow fall and water availability decrease in the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) supply often limits the productivity of temperate forests and is regulated by a complex mix of biological and climatic drivers. In excess, N is linked to a variety of soil, water, and air pollution issues. Here, we use results from an elevation gradient study and historical data from the long‐term Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (New Hampshire, USA) to examine relationships between changes in climate, especially during winter, and N supply to northern hardwood forest ecosystems. Low elevation plots with less snow, more soil freezing, and more freeze/thaw cycles supported lower rates of N mineralization than high elevation plots, despite having higher soil temperatures and no consistent differences in soil moisture during the growing season. These results are consistent with historical analyses showing decreases in rates of soil N mineralization and inorganic N concentrations since 1973 that are correlated with long‐term increases in mean annual temperature, decreases in annual snow accumulation, and a increases in the number of winter thawing degree days. This evidence suggests that changing climate may be driving decreases in the availability of a key nutrient in northern hardwood forests, which could decrease ecosystem production but have positive effects on environmental consequences of excess N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to global change remains a major challenge of ecological research. We exploited a natural elevation gradient in a northern hardwood forest to determine how reductions in snow accumulation, expected with climate change, directly affect dynamics of soil winter frost, and indirectly soil microbial biomass and activity during the growing season. Soils from lower elevation plots, which accumulated less snow and experienced more soil temperature variability during the winter (and likely more freeze/thaw events), had less extractable inorganic nitrogen (N), lower rates of microbial N production via potential net N mineralization and nitrification, and higher potential microbial respiration during the growing season. Potential nitrate production rates during the growing season were particularly sensitive to changes in winter snow pack accumulation and winter soil temperature variability, especially in spring. Effects of elevation and winter conditions on N transformation rates differed from those on potential microbial respiration, suggesting that N-related processes might respond differently to winter climate change in northern hardwood forests than C-related processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fire induces changes in ecosystem nutrient regimes and can cause major losses of N and P. Much has been written about the effect of fire on nutrient availability in soil; most studies have been concerned with the short-term effects of shock. The primary objective of our study was to discover the effect of forest fires on long-term N and P availability, for which we used the ion exchange membrane method in a chronosequence of forest fires (1987, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2000 and 2005). The study was conducted on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain) in October 2006. We hypothesized that a rapid increase in nutrient availability would occur after the fire, followed by a reduction due to erosion and leaching, and then gradual recovery and an eventual return to initial levels. NH4-N, NO3-N and mineral-N availability peaked significantly 1 year after the fire. However, 5 years after the fire the N levels were similar to those found on unburned land. P availability decreased significantly a year after the fire, but gradually recovered over time. The N and P availability ratio increased significantly after the fire, falling during the chronosequence, with the lowest levels found on the unburned land. These results confirm that fire produces (a) a rapid and short-term increase in N availability, without a long-term decline, and (b) a long-term reduction in P availability, which tends to recover over time after the fire. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nutrient resorption is an important mechanism for nutrient preservation in plants. Variations in nutrient availability can interfere with resorption-regulating mechanisms. Disturbances (such as forest harvest) leading to a loss of organic matter and nutrients in the soil could therefore determine important changes in resorption rates. This paper examines the effect of pine forest harvest on N and P resorption in young common oaks (Quercus robur) living under pine cover over a 4-year study period. The results obtained show a decrease in N-NH4 + concentration in the soil in the 2 years following the forest harvest process. Forest harvest did not affect the edaphic concentration of NO3 − and PO4 3−, which presented relatively low values in both areas. Foliar concentration of N was significantly lower in the areas affected by forest harvest, whereas the differences in the foliar concentration of P varied each year. The mean foliar N/P ratio was greater in the non-harvested areas, but showed possible limitation by P in both harvested and non-harvested sites. N and P resorption efficiency presented a lower range of mean values in the forest covered than felled areas. N resorption proficiency was significantly greater in felled areas, with no significant differences found in P resorption proficiency between treatments. P resorption proficiency was significantly greater than N resorption proficiency with terminal levels of P in leaves showing intermediate (<0.08%) or complete (<0.05%) resorption, whereas N resorption was incomplete throughout the 4 years of the study period, with N levels of over 1.0% in senescent leaves. The results obtained show that a disturbance such as forest harvest produces changes in foliar N and P resorption efficiency and proficiency, although differences between years represent the main source of variation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Forest die-off decreases C and N content in soil. • Forest die-off positively affected C stability. • Responses of soil C and N content and C stability vary along the soil profile. Drought-induced forest die-off is occurring worldwide and is projected to increase in coming decades. However, if and to what extent this phenomenon affects the content of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soils as well as its stability is far from clear. In a Mediterranean oak forest, we found that forest die-off negatively affected soil C and N contents, and positively affected C stability. We also found that the effect of forest die-off on soil C and N content was more pronounced at the 0–5 cm than at the 5–10 cm soil layer, while the opposite was found for soil C stability. Our results highlight the importance of considering both, soil organic matter quantity and stability, along the soil profile to fully understand the effects of environmental changes on the global C and N cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]