Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/18510
Title: Understanding the influences of spatial patterns on N availability within the Brazilian Amazon forest
Authors: Nardoto, G. B.
Ometto, Jean Pierre Henry Balbaud
Ehleringer, James Russell
Higuchi, Niro
Bustamante, Mercedes M.C.
Martinelli, Luiz Antônio
Keywords: Bioenergetics
Clay Soil
Concentration (composition)
Functional Group
Legume
Lowland Environment
Nutrient Availability
Spatial Variation
Tropical Forest
Amazonia
South America
Issue Date: 2008
metadata.dc.publisher.journal: Ecosystems
metadata.dc.relation.ispartof: Volume 11, Número 8, Pags. 1234-1246
Abstract: Nitrogen variations at different spatial scales and integrated across functional groups were addressed for lowland tropical forests in the Brazilian Amazon as follows: (1) how does N availability vary across the region over different spatial scales (regional × landscape scale); (2) how are these variations in N availability integrated across plant functional groups (legume × non-legume trees). Leaf N, P, and Ca concentrations as well the leaf N isotope ratios (δ15N) from a large set of legume and non-legume tree species were measured. Legumes had higher foliar N/Ca ratios than non-legumes, consistent with the high energetic costs in plant growth associated with higher foliar P/Ca ratios found in legumes than in non-legumes. At the regional level, foliar δ15N decreased with increasing rainfall. At the landscape level, N availability was higher in the forests on clayey soils on the plateau than in forests on sandier soils. The isotope as well as the non-isotope data relationships here documented, explain to a large extent the variation in δ15N signatures across gradients of rainfall and soil. Although at the regional level, the precipitation regime is a major determinant of differences in N availability, at the landscape level, under the same precipitation regime, soil type seems to be a major factor influencing the availability of N in the Brazilian Amazon forest. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
metadata.dc.identifier.doi: 10.1007/s10021-008-9189-1
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