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15 N NATURAL ABUNDANCE IN WOODY PLANTS AND SOILS OF CENTRAL BRAZILIAN SAVANNAS (CERRADO)
Author(s) -
Bustamante M. M. C.,
Martinelli L. A.,
Silva D. A.,
Camargo P. B.,
Klink C. A.,
Domingues T. F.,
Santos R. V.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
ecological applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.864
H-Index - 213
eISSN - 1939-5582
pISSN - 1051-0761
DOI - 10.1890/01-6013
Subject(s) - ecosystem , abundance (ecology) , soil water , ecology , environmental science , range (aeronautics) , mineralization (soil science) , plant community , biology , agronomy , species richness , materials science , composite material
We measured the 15 N natural abundance values of 320 individuals belonging to 45 different plant species of the Brazilian cerrado. We also determined δ 15 N of soil nitrogen as a function of soil depth. Our purpose was to test the hypothesis that N‐limited cerrado would have a large range of plant δ 15 N values, similar to patterns seen in northern high‐latitude ecosystems. Foliar δ 15 N values did demonstrate the large range found in some other N‐limited ecosystems, varying from −5‰ to +7.9‰. Significant variability within individual species was also seen across cerrado community types. Several factors contributed to this variability, including the presence of N‐fixing legumes, associations with mycorrhizal fungi, δ 15 N variability of soil organic matter with depth, fire events, and the seasonality of N‐immobilization and mineralization processes in cerrado soils.