Premium
Spatial distributions of plants and gross N transformation rates in a forest soil
Author(s) -
BENGTSON PER,
FALKENGRENGRERUP URSULA,
BENGTSSON GÖRAN
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.452
H-Index - 181
eISSN - 1365-2745
pISSN - 0022-0477
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01143.x
Subject(s) - beech , understory , vascular plant , vegetation (pathology) , environmental science , ecology , spatial distribution , spatial heterogeneity , nitrification , spatial variability , forestry , geography , biology , canopy , species richness , mathematics , chemistry , medicine , statistics , remote sensing , organic chemistry , pathology , nitrogen
Summary1 This work demonstrates that spatial distribution of understorey vegetation and gross N transformation rates in a mixed beach‐oak forest is closely correlated within a distance of a few metres. The findings imply that plant diversity and productivity have a major influence on gross rates of N transformation and vice versa. 2 A geostatistical analysis was used to evaluate the spatial relationships between abundance and species composition of the understorey vegetation and in situ gross N mineralization, immobilization and nitrification rates. 3 The gross N transformation rates and the plants spatial variation were correlated within the forest, but plant distribution was more dependent on the fraction of mineralized N that was nitrified than on individual N transformation rates. 4 The total cover of the understorey vegetation varied more in space than the species composition, and was higher in areas with high N transformation rates. 5 Plant species benefiting from high net nitrification rates were more common in areas with a low activity of mineralizing and nitrifying microorganisms, possibly because the net and gross rates were independent of each other. In fact, those species occurred most often in areas in which a large fraction of mineralized N was nitrified. 6 Beech and oak trees also had an effect on the spatial variation of the understorey vegetation. Beech trees provided conditions more suitable for plants benefiting from , whereas the vascular plant cover was greater under oak trees, probably in response to a higher light interception than under beech trees. 7 Oak generally had a positive impact on gross N transformation rates compared with beech, perhaps reflecting differences in litter quality and climate caused by the two species. 8 The influence of trees alone could not explain the full magnitude of the variation of N transformation rates or the presence of overlapping areas with high mineralization and immobilization rates. These were probably caused by other factors, such as soil moisture content. 9 This work sheds new light on the small‐scale spatial links between above‐ground plant diversity and abundance, and below‐ground microbial N transformations.