Abstract
Soil C and N dynamics were studied in a sequence of old fields of increasing age to determine how these biogeochemical cycles change during secondary succession. In addition, three different late-successional forests were studied to represent possible "steady state" conditions. Surface soil samples collected from the fields and forests were analyzed for total C, H2O-soluble C, total N, potential net N mineralization, potential net nitrification, and microbial biomass. Above-and belowground plant biomass was estimated within each of the old field sites.
Temporal changes in soil organic C, total N and total plant biomass were best described by a gamma function [y =at b ectd +f] whereas a simple exponential model [y =a(l − e−bt) + c] provided the best fit to changes in H2O-soluble C, C:N ratio, microbial C, and microbial N. Potential N mineralization and nitrification linearly increased with field age; however, rates were variable among the fields. Microbial biomass was highly correlated to soil C and N pools and well correlated to the standing crop of plant biomass. In turn, plant biomass was highly correlated to pools and rates of N cycling.
Patterns of C and N cycling within the old field sites were different from those in a northern hardwood forest and a xeric oak forest; however, nutrient dynamics within an oak savanna were similar to those found in a 60-yr old field. Results suggest that patterns in C and N cycling within the old-field chronosequence were predictable and highly correlated to the accrual of plant and microbial biomass.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Anderson TH & Domsch KH (1986) Carbon link between microbial biomass and soil organic matter In: Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Microbial Ecology. (pp 476–471). Megusar F & Gantar M (Eds). Slovence Society fo Microbiology, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
Bard Y (1974) Nonlinear Parameter Estimation. Academic Press, New York
Bormann FH & Likens GE (1979) Pattern and Process in a Forested Ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, NY, 253 pp
Botkin DB, Janak JK & Wallis JR (1972) Some ecological consequences of a computer model of forest growth. Journal of Ecology 60: 849–872
Burford JR & Bremner JM (1975) Relationships between the denitrification capacities of soil and total, water-soluble and readily decomposable soil organic matter. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 7: 389–394
Clark FE & Paul EA (1970) The microflora of grasslands. Advances in Agronomy 22: 375–435
Covington WW (1981) Changes in forest floor organic matter and nutrient content following clear cutting in northern hardwoods. Ecology 62: 41–48
Cushing EJ (1963) Late-Wisconsin pollen stratigraphy in east-central Minnesota. PhD thesis, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. 165 pp
Gay CW & Dwyer DD (1965) Effects of one year's nitrogen fertilization on native vegetation under clipping and burning. Journal of Range Management 18: 273–277
Golley FB (1965) Structure and function of an old field broomsedge community. Ecological Monographs 35: 113–137
Gorham E, Vitousek PM & Reiners WA (1979) The regulation of chemical budgets over the course of terrestrial ecosystem succession. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 10: 53–84
Grey TRG & Williams ST (1971) Microbial productivity in the soil. Symposia of the Society for General Microbiology 21: 255–286
Grigal DF, Chamberlain LM, Finney HR, Wroblewski DV & Gross ER (1974) Soils of the Cedar Creek Natural History Area. Miscellaneous Report 123, University of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, St. Paul, MN, USA
Ingham ER & Horton KA (1987) Bacterial, fungal and protozoan responses to chloroform fumigation in stored soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 19: 545–550
Inouye RS, Huntley NJ, Tilman D, Tester J, Stillwell M & Zinnel K (1987) Old-field succession on a Minnesota sand plain. Ecology 68: 12–26
Insam H & Domsch KH (1988) Relationship between soil organic carbon and microbial biomass on chronosequences of reclamation sites. Microbial Ecology 15: 177–188
Insam H, Parkinson D & Domsch KH (1989) Influence of microclimate on soil microbial biomass. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 21: 211–221
Jenkinson DS & Powlson DS (1976) The effects of biocidal treatments on metabolism in soil V. A method for measuring soil biomass. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 8: 208-213
McGill WB, Hunt HW, Woodmansee RG & Reuss JO (1981) PHOENIX, a model of the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen in grassland soils. In: Clark FE & Rosswall T (Eds) Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles (pp 621–626). Ecological Bulletins 33, Stockholm
McGill WB, Cannon KR, Robertson JA & Cook FD (1986) Dynamics of soil microbial biomass and water soluble organic C in Breton L after 50 years of cropping two rotations. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 66: 1–19
McKone MJ & Biesboer DD (1986) Nitrogen fixation in association with the root systems of goldenrods (Solidago L.). Soil Biology and Biochemistry 18: 543–545
Monk CD & Gabrielson Jr FC (1985) Effects of shade, litter and root competition on old field vegetation in North Carolina. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 93: 402–406
Odum EP (1960) Organic production and turnover in old field succession. Ecology 41: 34–49
Odum EP (1969) The strategy of ecosystem development. Science 164: 262–270
Ovington JD, Heitkamp D & Lawrence DB (1963) Plant biomass and productivity of prairie, savanna, oakwood, and maize field ecosystems in central Minnesota. Ecology 44: 52–63
Pastor J & Post WM (1986) Influence of climate, soil moisture, and succession on forest carbon and nitrogen cycles. Biogeochemistry 2: 2–27
Pastor J, Stillwell MA & Tilman D (1987) Nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in four Minnesota old fields. Oecologia 71: 481–485
Paul EA & Juma NG (1981) Mineralization and immobilization of soil nitrogen by microorganisms. In: Clark FE & Rosswall T (Eds) Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycles (pp 179–195). Ecological Bulletins 33, Stockholm
Peet RK (1981) Changes in biomass and production during secondary forest succession. In: West DC, Shugart HH & Botkin DB (Eds) Forest Succession: Concepts and Applcations (pp 324–337). Springer-Verlag, NY
Reiners WA (1971) Structure and energetics of three Minnesota forests. Ecological Monographs 42: 71–94
SAS Institute (1987) SAS/STAT Guide for Personal Computers, 6th edition, SAS Institute, Cary NC, 1028 pp
Schimel D, Stillwell MA & Woodmansee RG (1985) Biogeochemistry of C, N, and P in a soil catena of the shortgrass steppe. Ecology 66: 276–282
Snedecor GW & Cochran WG (1967) Statistical Methods. The Iowa State University Press, Ames IA
Technicon Instruments (1977a) Individual/simultaneous determination of nitrogen and/or phosphorus in BD acid digests. Technicon Industrial Systems, Terrytown, NY. Industrial Method Number 158-71W
Technicon Instruments (1977b) Nitrate and nitrite in water and seawater. Technicon Industrial Systems, Terrytown, NY. Industrial Method Number 158-71W
Technicon Instruments (1978) Ammonia in water and seawater. Technicon Industrial Systems, Terrytown, NY. Industrial Method Number 154-78W/B
Tilman D. (1984) Plant dominance along an experimental nutrient gradient. Ecology 65: 1445–1453
Tilman D (1986) Nitrogen-limited growth in plants from different successional stages. Ecology 67: 555–563
Tilman D (1987) Secondary successional and the pattern of plant dominance along experimental nitrogen gradients. Ecological Monographs 57: 189–214
van Veen JA Ladd JN & Amatok M (1985) Turnover of carbon and nitrogen through the microbial biomass in a sandy loam and a clay soil incubated with [14C(U)] Glucose and [15N (NH4S04 under different moisture regimes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 17: 747–756
Vitousek PM & Matson PA (1984) Mechanisms of nitrogen retention in forest ecosystems: a field experiment. Science 225: 51–52
Vitousek PM & Matson PA (1985) Disturbance, nitrogen availability, and nitrogen losses in an intensively managed loblolly pine plantation. Ecology 66: 1360–1376
Vitousek PM, Gosz JR, Greir CC, Melillo JM & Reiners WA (1982) A comparative analysis of potential nitrification and nitrate mobility in forest ecosystems. Ecological Monographs 52: 155–177
Voroney RP & Paul EA (1984) Determination of k c and k n in situ for calibration for the chloroform fumigation-incubation method. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 16: 9–14
Zak DR, Groffman PM, Pregitzer KS, Christensen S & Tiedje JM (1990) The vernal dam: plantmicrobe competition for nitrogen in northern hardwood forests. Ecology 71: 651–656
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zak, D.R., Grigal, D.F., Gleeson, S. et al. Carbon and nitrogen cycling during old-field succession: Constraints on plant and microbial biomass. Biogeochemistry 11, 111–129 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002062
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002062