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Chestnut et al., 1999

Paper/Book

A nitrogen budget for late-successional hill slope tabonuco forest, Puerto Rico

Chestnut, T.J., D.J. Zarin, W.H. McDowell and M. Keller (1999)
Biogeochemistry  

Abstract

Nitrogen budgets of late successional forested stands and watersheds provide baseline data against which the effects of small- and large-scale disturbances may be measured. Using previously published data and supplemental new data on gaseous N loss, we construct a N budget for hillslope tabonuco forest (HTF) stands in Puerto Rico. HTF stands are subject to frequent hurricanes and landslides; here, we focus on N fluxes in the late phase of inter-disturbance forest development. N inputs from atmospheric deposition (4-6 kg N/ha/yr) are exceeded by N outputs from groundwater, gaseous N loss, and particulate N loss (6.3-15.7 kg N/ha/yr). Late-successional HTF stands also sequester N in their aggrading biomass (8 kg N/ha/yr), creating a total budget imbalance of 8.3-19.7 kg N/ha/yr. We surmise that this imbalance may be accounted for by unmeasured inputs from above- and belowground N-fixation and/or slow depletion of the large N pool in soil organic matter. Spatial and temporal variability, especially that associated with gaseous exchange and soil organic matter N-mineralization, constrain the reliability of this N budget.

Citation

Chestnut, T.J., D.J. Zarin, W.H. McDowell and M. Keller (1999): A nitrogen budget for late-successional hill slope tabonuco forest, Puerto Rico. Biogeochemistry.