δ 15 N natural abundance in permafrost soil indicates impact of fire on nitrogen cycle
Abstract The impact of fire on the nitrogen (N) cycle of natural ecosystems is arguable. Here we report and interpret an observation from boreal ecosystems in the Lena River basin, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russian Federation. Different types of permafrost soil (0–30 cm depth) were sampled along tra...
| Published in: | Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rcm.4911 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Frcm.4911 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/rcm.4911/fullpdf |
| Summary: | Abstract The impact of fire on the nitrogen (N) cycle of natural ecosystems is arguable. Here we report and interpret an observation from boreal ecosystems in the Lena River basin, Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russian Federation. Different types of permafrost soil (0–30 cm depth) were sampled along transects (60–150 m length) from the forest edge towards the centre of four separate thermokarst depressions under grassland. The average values of δ 15 N were remarkably similar within three transects, but differed systematically between them. Three findings point towards fire being the cause of the observed pattern. First, the spatial extent of systematic differences in soil δ 15 N coincides with the extent of typical fire scars in the region. Second, soil enrichment in 15 N is larger in the proximity of settlements, where fire is generally more frequent than in more remote places. Third, there is a significant positive correlation between δ 15 N values and the ratio of black C to total N. These findings point towards fire having a marked impact on soil δ 15 N and, accordingly, on the N cycle of this cold and dry ecosystem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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