Abstract
Nutrient dynamics of large grassland ecosystems possessing abundant migratory grazers are poorly understood. We examined N cycling on the northern winter range of Yellowstone National Park, home for large herds of free-roaming elk (Cervus elaphus) and bison (Bison bison). Plant and soil N, net N mineralization, and the deposition of ungulate fecal-N were measured at five sites, a ridgetop, mid-slope bench, steep slope, valley-bottom bench, and riparian area, within a watershed from May, 1991 to April, 1992.
Results indicated similarities between biogeochemical properties of Yellowstone grassland and other grassland ecosystems: (1) landscape position and soil water affected nutrient dynamics, (2) annual mineralization was positively related to soil N content, and (3) the proportion of soil N mineralized during the year was negatively related to soil C/N.
Grazers were a particularly important component of the N budget of this grassland. Estimated rates of N flow from ungulates to the soil ranged from 8.1 to 45.6 kg/ha/yr at the sites (average = 27.0 kg/ha/yr), approximately 4.5 times the amount of N in senescent plants. Rates of nitrogen mineralization for Yellowstone northern range grassland were higher than those measured in other temperate grassland ecosystems, possibly due to grazers promoting N cycling in Yellowstone.
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
Adams MA & Attiwill PM (1986) Nutrient cycling and mineralization in eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia. 1. Nutrient cycling and nitrogen turnover. Plant and Soil 92: 319–339
Barnes P & Harrison AT (1982) Species distribution and community organization in a Nebraska Sandhills mixed prairie as influenced by plant-soil-water relations. Oecologia 52: 192–202
Binkley, D (1984) Ion exchange resin bags: factors affecting estimates of nitrogen availability. Soil Sci Soc Am J 48: 1181–1184
Binkley D & Matson P (1983) Ion exchange resin bag method for assessing forest soil nitrogen availability. Soil Sci Soc Am J 47: 1050–1052
Binkley D, Aber J, Pastor J & Nadelhoffer K (1986) Nitrogen availablity in some Wisconsin forests: comparisons of resin bags and on-site incubations. Biol Fert Soils 2: 77–82
Birch HF (1958) The effect of soil drying on humus decomposition and nitrogen availability. Plant and Soil 10: 9–31
Burke IC (1989) Control of nitrogen mineralization in a sagebrush steppe landscape. Ecology 70: 1115–1126
Day TA & Detling JK (1990) Grassland patch dynamics and herbivore grazing preference following urine deposition. Ecology 71: 180–188
Despain, DG (1990) Yellowstone Vegetation: Consequences of Environment and History in a Natural Setting. Roberts Rinehart Publishers, Boulder, CO
Detling JK (1988) Grasslands and savannas: regulation of energy flow and nutrient cycling by herbivores. In: Pomeroy LR & Alberts JJ (Eds) Concepts of Ecosystem Ecology: A Comparative View (pp 131–148). Ecological studies 67. Springer-Verlag, New York
Eno CF (1960) Nitrate production in the field by incubating the soil in polyethylene bags. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 24: 277–279
Fisher FM, Parker LW Anderson JP & Whitford WG (1987) Nitrogen mineralization in a desert soil: interacting effects of soil moisture and nitrogen fertilizer. Soil Science Society of America Journal 51: 1033–1041
Floate MJS (1981) Effects of grazing by large herbivores in agricultural ecosystems. In: Clark FE, Rosswall T (Eds) Terrestrial nitrogen cycles. Ecological Bulletins-NFR 33: 585–601
Frank DA & McNaughton SJ (1992) The ecology of plants, large mammalian herbivores, and drought in Yellowstone National Park. Ecology 73: 2043–2058
Frank DA & McNaughton SJ (1993) Evidence for the promotion of aboveground grassland production in Yellowstone National Park. Oecologia 96: 157–161
Gregory SV, Swanson FJ, WA Mckee & KW Cummins (1991) An ecosystem perspective of riparian zones. Bioscience 41: 540–551
Groffman PM, Rice CW & Tiedje JM (1993) Denitrification in a tallgrass prairie. Ecology 74: 855–862
Hobbie SE (1992) Effects of plant species on nutrient cycling. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 7: 336–339
Holland EA & Deting JK (1990) Plant response to herbivory and belowground nitrogen cycling. Ecology 71: 1040–1049
Holland EA, Parton WJ, Detling JK & Coppock DL (1992) Physiological responses of plant populations to herbivory and other consequences of ecosystem nutrient flow. American Naturalist 140: 685–706
Houston DB (1982) The Northern Yellowstone Elk: Ecology and Management. Macmillan Publishing, New York
Huntly, N (1991) Herbivores and the dynamics of communities and ecosystems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 22: 477–503
Inouye RS, Huntly NJ & Tilman D (1987a) Pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius), vegetation, and soil nitrogen along a successional sere in east-central Minnesota. Oecologia 72: 178–184
Inouye RS, Huntly NJ, Tilman D & Tester, JR (1987b) Responses ofMicrolus pennsylvanicus to fertilization of plants with various nutrients, with particular emphasis on sodium and nitrogen concentrations in plant tissues. Holarctic Ecology 10: 110–113
Jaramillo VJ & Detling JK (1988) Grazing history, defoliation, and competition: effects on shortgrass production and nitrogen accumulation. Ecology 69: 1599–1608
Jenny H (1980) The Soil Resource: Origin and Behavior. Ecological Studies, Volume 37. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York, USA
Malo DD, Worcester BK, Cassel DK & Matzdorf KD (1974) Soil-landscape relationships in a closed drainage system. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 38: 813–818
Matson PA & Vitousek PM (1981) Nitrogen mineralization potentials following clearcutting in the Hoosier National Forest, Indiana. Forest Science 27: 781–791
McNaughton SJ (1985) Ecology of a grazing ecosystem: the Serengeti. Ecological Monographs 55: 259–295
McNaughton SJ (1989) Interactions of plants of the field layer with large herbivores. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London. 61: 15–29
McNaughton SJ, Ruess RW & Seagle, SW (1988) Large mammals and process dynamics in African ecosystems. Bioscience 38: 794–800
Meagher MM (1973) The Bison of Yellowstone National Park. National Park Service Scientific Monograph Series Number 1. United States Department of the Interior, Washington DC
Mould ED & Robbins CT (1981) Nitrogen metabolism in elk. Journal of Wildlife Management 45: 323–334
Page, AL, Miller RH & Keeney DR (1982) Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties. 2nd ed. American Society of Agronomy, Inc. and Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, WI
Parton, WJ, Stewart JWB & Cole CV (1988) Dynamics of C, N, P and S in grasslands soils: a model. Biogeochemistry 5: 109–131
Polley HW & Detling JK (1988) Defoliation, nitrogen, and competition: effects on plant growth and nitrogen nutrition. Ecology 70: 721–727
Raison RJ, Connell MJ & Khanna PK (1987) Methodology for studying fluxes of soil mineral Nin situ. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 5: 521–530
Risser PG & Parton WJ (1982) Ecosystem analysis of the tallgrass pairie: nitrogen cycle. Ecology 63: 1342–1351
Ruess RW (1987) The role of large herbivores in nutrient cycling of tropical savannahs. In: Walker BH (Ed) Determinants of Tropical Savannahs (pp 67–91). IRL Press Limited, Oxford
Ruess RW & McNaughton SJ (1988) Ammonia volatilization and effects of large grazing mammals on nutrient loss from East African grasslands. Oecologia 77: 382–386
Ruess RW, McNaughton SJ & Coughenour MB (1983) The effects of clipping, nitrogen source and nitrogen concentration on the growth responses and nitrogen uptake of an East African sedge. Oecologia 59: 253–261
SAS (1988) SAS/STAT 6.03 SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA
Schimel DS & Parton WJ (1986) Microclimatic controls of nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in shortgrass steppe soils. Plant and Soil 93: 347–357
Schimel DS, Coleman DC & Horton KA. (1985a) Soil organic matter dynamics in paired rangeland and cropland toposequences in North Dakota. Geoderma 36: 201–214
Schimel DS, Stillwell MA & Woodmansee RG (1985b) Biogeochemistry of C, N, and P on a catena of the shortgrass steppe. Ecology 66: 276–282
Schimel DS, Parton WJ, Adamsen FJ, Woodmansee RG, Senft RL & Stillwell MA (1986) The role of cattle in the volatile loss of nitrogen from a shortgrass steppe. Biogeochemistry 2: 39–52
Senft RL, Coughenour MB, Bailey DW, Rittenhouse LR, Sala OE & Swift DM (1987) Large herbivore foraging and ecological hierarchies. Bioscience 37: 789–799
Swank, WT (1984) Atmospheric contributions to forest nutrient cycling. Water Resources Bulletin 20: 313–321
Wedin DA & Tilman D (1990) Species effects on nitrogen cycling: a test with perennial grasses. Oecologia 84: 433–441
West NE (1990) Structure and function of microphytic soil crusts in wildland ecosystems of and to semi-arid regions. Advances in Ecological Research 20: 179–223
Woodmansee RG (1978) Additions and losses of nitrogen in grassland ecosystems. Bioscience 28: 448–453
Woodmansee RG, Dodd JL, Bowman RA & Dickinson CE (1978) Nitrogen budget in a shortgrass prairie ecosystem. Oecologia 34: 363–376
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Frank, D.A., Inouye, R.S., Huntly, N. et al. The biogeochemistry of a north-temperate grassland with native ungulates: Nitrogen dynamics in Yellowstone National Park. Biogeochemistry 26, 163–188 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002905
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002905