(15)N in tree rings as a bio-indicator of changing nitrogen cycling in tropical forests: an evaluation at three sites using two sampling methods.

ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition is currently causing a more than twofold increase of reactive nitrogen input over large areas in the tropics. Elevated (15)N abundance (δ(15)N) in the growth rings of some tropical trees has been hypothesized to reflect an increased leaching of (15)N-depleted nitrate from the soil, following anthropogenic nitrogen deposition over the last decades. To find further evidence for altered nitrogen cycling in tropical forests, we measured long-term δ(15)N values in trees from Bolivia, Cameroon, and Thailand. We used two different sampling methods. In the first, wood samples were taken in a conventional way: from the pith to the bark across the stem of 28 large trees (the "radial" method). In the second, δ(15)N values were compared across a fixed diameter (the "f

SUBMITTER: van der Sleen P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4390989 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature