Chen C, Li J, Wang G, Shi M.
Accounting for the effect of temperature in clarifying the response of foliar nitrogen isotope ratios to atmospheric nitrogen deposition.
Sci Total Environ 2017;
609:1295-1302. [PMID:
28793398 DOI:
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.088]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2017] [Revised: 06/10/2017] [Accepted: 06/10/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Atmospheric nitrogen deposition affects nitrogen isotope composition (δ15N) in plants. However, both negative effect and positive effect have been reported. The effects of climate on plant δ15N have not been corrected for in previous studies, this has impeded discovery of a true effect of atmospheric N deposition on plant δ15N. To obtain a more reliable result, it is necessary to correct for the effects of climatic factors. Here, we measured δ15N and N contents of plants and soils in Baiwangshan and Mount Dongling, north China. Atmospheric N deposition in Baiwangshan was much higher than Mount Dongling. Generally, however, foliar N contents showed no difference between the two regions and foliar δ15N was significantly lower in Baiwangshan than Mount Dongling. The corrected foliar δ15N after accounting for a predicted value assumed to vary with temperature was obviously more negative in Baiwangshan than Mount Dongling. Thus, this suggested the necessity of temperature correction in revealing the effect of N deposition on foliar δ15N. Temperature, soil N sources and mycorrhizal fungi could not explain the difference in foliar δ15N between the two regions, this indicated that atmospheric N deposition had a negative effect on plant δ15N. Additionally, this study also showed that the corrected foliar δ15N of bulk data set increased with altitude above 1300m in Mount Dongling, this provided an another evidence for the conclusion that atmospheric N deposition could cause 15N-depletion in plants.
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