Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic.
Low nitrogen availability in the high Arctic represents a major constraint for plant growth, which limits the tundra capacity for carbon retention and determines tundra vegetation types. The limited terrestrial nitrogen (N) pool in the tundra is augmented significantly by nesting seabirds, such as t...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:83cf17fa00024c33acdad3b06d013035 2023-05-15T13:16:21+02:00 Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic. Grzegorz Skrzypek Bronisław Wojtuń Dorota Richter Dariusz Jakubas Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas Aleksandra Samecka-Cymerman 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136536 https://doaj.org/article/83cf17fa00024c33acdad3b06d013035 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4574312?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0136536 https://doaj.org/article/83cf17fa00024c33acdad3b06d013035 PLoS ONE, Vol 10, Iss 9, p e0136536 (2015) Medicine R Science Q article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136536 2022-12-31T00:59:35Z Low nitrogen availability in the high Arctic represents a major constraint for plant growth, which limits the tundra capacity for carbon retention and determines tundra vegetation types. The limited terrestrial nitrogen (N) pool in the tundra is augmented significantly by nesting seabirds, such as the planktivorous Little Auk (Alle alle). Therefore, N delivered by these birds may significantly influence the N cycling in the tundra locally and the carbon budget more globally. Moreover, should these birds experience substantial negative environmental pressure associated with climate change, this will adversely influence the tundra N-budget. Hence, assessment of bird-originated N-input to the tundra is important for understanding biological cycles in polar regions. This study analyzed the stable nitrogen composition of the three main N-sources in the High Arctic and in numerous plants that access different N-pools in ten tundra vegetation types in an experimental catchment in Hornsund (Svalbard). The percentage of the total tundra N-pool provided by birds, ranged from 0-21% in Patterned-ground tundra to 100% in Ornithocoprophilous tundra. The total N-pool utilized by tundra plants in the studied catchment was built in 36% by birds, 38% by atmospheric deposition, and 26% by atmospheric N2-fixation. The stable nitrogen isotope mixing mass balance, in contrast to direct methods that measure actual deposition, indicates the ratio between the actual N-loads acquired by plants from different N-sources. Our results enhance our understanding of the importance of different N-sources in the Arctic tundra and the used methodological approach can be applied elsewhere. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alle alle Arctic Climate change Hornsund little auk Svalbard Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Hornsund ENVELOPE(15.865,15.865,76.979,76.979) Svalbard PLOS ONE 10 9 e0136536 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Grzegorz Skrzypek Bronisław Wojtuń Dorota Richter Dariusz Jakubas Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas Aleksandra Samecka-Cymerman Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Low nitrogen availability in the high Arctic represents a major constraint for plant growth, which limits the tundra capacity for carbon retention and determines tundra vegetation types. The limited terrestrial nitrogen (N) pool in the tundra is augmented significantly by nesting seabirds, such as the planktivorous Little Auk (Alle alle). Therefore, N delivered by these birds may significantly influence the N cycling in the tundra locally and the carbon budget more globally. Moreover, should these birds experience substantial negative environmental pressure associated with climate change, this will adversely influence the tundra N-budget. Hence, assessment of bird-originated N-input to the tundra is important for understanding biological cycles in polar regions. This study analyzed the stable nitrogen composition of the three main N-sources in the High Arctic and in numerous plants that access different N-pools in ten tundra vegetation types in an experimental catchment in Hornsund (Svalbard). The percentage of the total tundra N-pool provided by birds, ranged from 0-21% in Patterned-ground tundra to 100% in Ornithocoprophilous tundra. The total N-pool utilized by tundra plants in the studied catchment was built in 36% by birds, 38% by atmospheric deposition, and 26% by atmospheric N2-fixation. The stable nitrogen isotope mixing mass balance, in contrast to direct methods that measure actual deposition, indicates the ratio between the actual N-loads acquired by plants from different N-sources. Our results enhance our understanding of the importance of different N-sources in the Arctic tundra and the used methodological approach can be applied elsewhere. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Grzegorz Skrzypek Bronisław Wojtuń Dorota Richter Dariusz Jakubas Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas Aleksandra Samecka-Cymerman |
author_facet |
Grzegorz Skrzypek Bronisław Wojtuń Dorota Richter Dariusz Jakubas Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas Aleksandra Samecka-Cymerman |
author_sort |
Grzegorz Skrzypek |
title |
Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic. |
title_short |
Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic. |
title_full |
Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic. |
title_fullStr |
Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Diversification of Nitrogen Sources in Various Tundra Vegetation Types in the High Arctic. |
title_sort |
diversification of nitrogen sources in various tundra vegetation types in the high arctic. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136536 https://doaj.org/article/83cf17fa00024c33acdad3b06d013035 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(15.865,15.865,76.979,76.979) |
geographic |
Arctic Hornsund Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Hornsund Svalbard |
genre |
Alle alle Arctic Climate change Hornsund little auk Svalbard Tundra |
genre_facet |
Alle alle Arctic Climate change Hornsund little auk Svalbard Tundra |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 10, Iss 9, p e0136536 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4574312?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0136536 https://doaj.org/article/83cf17fa00024c33acdad3b06d013035 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136536 |
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PLOS ONE |
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10 |
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9 |
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e0136536 |
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