Patterns of nitrogen and carbon stable isotope ratios in macrofungi, plants and soils in two old-growth conifer forests
Trudell SA, Rygiewicz PT, Edmonds RL. 2004. Patterns of nitrogen and carbon stable isotope ratios in macrofungi, plants and soils in two old-growth conifer forests. New Phytologist. 164:317-335
From the Introduction: "Traditionally, the soil nitrogen cycle in forests has been thought to be governed by mineralization processes driven by bacteria. ... To further assess the usefulness of stable isotopes for understanding elemental cycling and fungal ecology in forests, we have been studying the N and C stable isotope patterns in macrofungi, plants and soils in two old-growth conifer forests from climatically different areas of the Olympic Peninsula, western Washington, USA. Here we (1) present the largest set of N and C stable isotope patterns in macrofungi and associated ecosystem pools reported to date; (2) provide additional support for the principal conclusions of Taylor et al. (2003) and extend their observations to additional taxa in a different forest setting; (3) relate the observed stable isotope patterns to differences in the species composition of the macrofungi and discuss possible ecophysiological bases for the relationship; and (4) compare our data with the model of Hobbie and Colpaert (2003) to assess its usefulness for interpreting field isotope measurements."
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Trudell, Steven; Rygiewicz, Paul; Edmonds, Robert
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- Fungi, Mycorrhizae, Nutrient Cycling, Plant Studies, soil nitrogen cycle, Stable Isotopes