The Boreal Nitrogen Gap: Size, fate and impacts of nitrogen fixation in Fennoscandia forest ecosystems

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Nitrogen is a primary limiting nutrient in high boreal and subarctic forest ecosystems, unfortunately, our understanding of fundamental N cycling processes in these oligotrophic environs remains limited which in turn hinders our ability to effectively predict ecosystem carbon (C) turnover and greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past 10 years we have elucidated a major N input in high boreal and subarctic ecosystems (1, 2), specifically we described the occurrence of an association between cyanobacteria and the ubiquitous and dominant feathermosses Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens (3, 4). These two mosses act as the primary sources of biologically fixed N in subarctic and boreal forest systems and are also important in Arctic alpine tundra ecosystems (5). Although we have developed a clear picture of the quantity of N fixed by this association (6), our understanding of the pathway for N release into the ecosystems from the feathermosses remains greatly incomplete. A thorough understanding of these pathways will lead to a better understanding of C cycling processes at high latitudes and benefit a range of researchers from botanists, to ecologists, to ecosystem modellers.In this proposal we put forth several compelling hypotheses to further our understanding of fundamental processes in the N cycle of boreal Scots pine ecosystems and advance our general knowledge of the ecology of the feathermoss-cyanobacterial association in boreal forests of northern Sweden. To date most of our understanding of this association has surrounded field studies regarding the ecology of the feathermosses, little effort has been made to link the association to the belowground nutrient cycles and microbial community. Studies have been designed to address the following objectives: The four primary objectives of this proposed research are therefore to: (1) Assess the relationship between feathermoss N fixation and site productivity along natural fertility gradients and N deposition gradients in northern Fennoscandia; (2) Determine the portion of fixed N that remains in an organic form in moss detritus and the role of disturbance in liberating this N; (3) Evaluate the role of mycorrhizas in the transfer of N (amino acid and peptide N) from feather mosses to plants; (4) Evaluate the relationship between fixed N and forest floor CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes across N enrichment gradients (i.e. N deposition gradient and fire-chronosequence). Experiments will be conducted on established field sites in northern Sweden including a fire chronosequence to address change in N turnover with natural forest succession; a total of five natural fertility gradients to assess the influence of variable N and P limitation on N fixation, turnover and greenhouse gas emissions; and an anthropogenic N deposition gradient from southern to northern Sweden along which we will assess the influence of increased N deposition on N fixation, turnover and loss. These findings will have significant implications for those studying ecosystem processes at high latitudes including N fixation, N turnover, C fixation, and greenhouse gas emissions. It is our intent to work these results into existing biogeochemistry models that are designed to predict linked C and N dynamics as related to productivity and greenhouse gas emissions.Literature Cited1. T. H. DeLuca, O. Zackrisson, M.-C. Nilsson, A. Sellstedt, Nature 419, 917 (2002).2. O. Zackrisson, T. H. DeLuca, M.-C. Nilsson, A. Sellstedt, L. Berglund, Ecology 85, 3327 (2004).3. O. Zackrisson, T. H. DeLuca, F. Gentili, A. Sellstedt, A. Jäderlund, Oecologia In Press, (2009).4. F. Gentili, M. C. Nilsson, O. Zackrisson, T. H. DeLuca, A. Sellstedt, Journal of Experimental Botany 56, 3121 (2005).5. T. H. DeLuca, O. Zackrisson, Plant and Soil 294, 147 (2007).6 T. H. DeLuca, O. Zackrisson, M.-C. Nilsson, M. J. Gundale, Science 320, 1181 (2008).