Isotopic evidence for large gaseous nitrogen losses from tropical rainforests.

ABSTRACT: The nitrogen isotopic composition (15N/14N) of forested ecosystems varies systematically worldwide. In tropical forests, which are elevated in 15N relative to temperate biomes, a decrease in ecosystem 15N/14N with increasing rainfall has been reported. This trend is seen in a set of well characterized Hawaiian rainforests, across which we have measured the 15N/14N of inputs and hydrologic losses. We report that the two most widely purported mechanisms, an isotopic shift in N inputs or isotopic discrimination by leaching, fail to explain this climate-dependent trend in 15N/14N. Rather, isotopic discrimination by microbial denitrification appears to be the major determinant of N isotopic variations across differences in rainfall. In the driest climates, the 15N/14N of total dissolved outputs

SUBMITTER: Houlton BZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1469773 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature