A NIFTE model of nitrogen isotopes: insights into nitrogen dynamics during succession
Hobbie EA, Macko SA, Shugart HH. 1996. A NIFTE model of nitrogen isotopes: insights into nitrogen dynamics during succession. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 77(3):197
Because nitrogen is often the limiting nutrient for forest growth, the cycling of nitrogen has been intensively studied for many years. Attempts to use natural abundances of nitrogen isotopes to study nitrogen dynamics have been inconclusive however because of the great complexity of the interactions between soil, microbes, and plants and the consequent inability to correlate DELTA 15N changes with biologic processes. We have developed a model of N dynamics and N isotopes (NIFTE: Nitrogen Isotope Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems) which simulates the major transformations of the N cycle and predicts isotopic signatures of different plant species and soil pools. Comparisons with field data from six sites along the 230-yr-old successional sequence in Glacier Bay, Alaska indicate that NIFTE can duplicate observed patterns in soil, foliage, and mineral N DELTA 15N over time. The model should increase the usefulness of N isotope signatures in other field studies and provide insights into the biologic transformations which affect those signatures. This should lead to an enhanced understanding of some of the fundamental controls on nitrogen dynamics.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Hobbie, Erik; Macko, S; Shugart, H
- Units
- BRD
- Keywords
- Biology, Ecology, Nutrients