A review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost-affected soils—changing the paradigm
The paradigm that permafrost-affected soils show restricted mineral nitrogen (N) cycling in favor of organic N compounds is based on the observation that net N mineralization rates in these cold climates are negligible. However, we find here that this perception is wrong. By synthesizing published d...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac417e |
| _version_ | 1827869548580175872 |
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| author | Elisabeth Ramm Chunyan Liu Per Ambus Klaus Butterbach-Bahl Bin Hu Pertti J Martikainen Maija E Marushchak Carsten W Mueller Heinz Rennenberg Michael Schloter Henri M P Siljanen Carolina Voigt Christian Werner Christina Biasi Michael Dannenmann |
| author_facet | Elisabeth Ramm Chunyan Liu Per Ambus Klaus Butterbach-Bahl Bin Hu Pertti J Martikainen Maija E Marushchak Carsten W Mueller Heinz Rennenberg Michael Schloter Henri M P Siljanen Carolina Voigt Christian Werner Christina Biasi Michael Dannenmann |
| author_sort | Elisabeth Ramm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The paradigm that permafrost-affected soils show restricted mineral nitrogen (N) cycling in favor of organic N compounds is based on the observation that net N mineralization rates in these cold climates are negligible. However, we find here that this perception is wrong. By synthesizing published data on N cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost ecosystems we show that gross ammonification and nitrification rates in active layers were of similar magnitude and showed a similar dependence on soil organic carbon (C) and total N concentrations as observed in temperate and tropical systems. Moreover, high protein depolymerization rates and only marginal effects of C:N stoichiometry on gross N turnover provided little evidence for N limitation. Instead, the rather short period when soils are not frozen is the single main factor limiting N turnover. High gross rates of mineral N cycling are thus facilitated by released protection of organic matter in active layers with nitrification gaining particular importance in N-rich soils, such as organic soils without vegetation. Our finding that permafrost-affected soils show vigorous N cycling activity is confirmed by the rich functional microbial community which can be found both in active and permafrost layers. The high rates of N cycling and soil N availability are supported by biological N fixation, while atmospheric N deposition in the Arctic still is marginal except for fire-affected areas. In line with high soil mineral N production, recent plant physiological research indicates a higher importance of mineral plant N nutrition than previously thought. Our synthesis shows that mineral N production and turnover rates in active layers of permafrost-affected soils do not generally differ from those observed in temperate or tropical soils. We therefore suggest to adjust the permafrost N cycle paradigm, assigning a generally important role to mineral N cycling. This new paradigm suggests larger permafrost N climate feedbacks than assumed previously. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:46:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-260f0ab89038450986f38e3b0b96e970 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:46:44Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-260f0ab89038450986f38e3b0b96e9702023-08-09T15:24:03ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117101300410.1088/1748-9326/ac417eA review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost-affected soils—changing the paradigmElisabeth Ramm0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5294-487XChunyan Liu1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6932-8520Per Ambus2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7580-524XKlaus Butterbach-Bahl3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9499-6598Bin Hu4Pertti J Martikainen5Maija E Marushchak6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2308-5049Carsten W Mueller7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4119-0544Heinz Rennenberg8Michael Schloter9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1671-1125Henri M P Siljanen10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3197-1438Carolina Voigt11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8589-1428Christian Werner12Christina Biasi13Michael Dannenmann14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5924-7612Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) , Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, GermanyState Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) , Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Center for Permafrost (Cenperm), University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen DK-1350, DenmarkInstitute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) , Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, GermanyCenter of Molecular Ecophysiology (CMEP), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University , Chongqing 400715, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland , Kuopio 70210, FinlandDepartment of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä , Jyväskylä FI-40014, FinlandDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Center for Permafrost (Cenperm), University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen DK-1350, DenmarkCenter of Molecular Ecophysiology (CMEP), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University , Chongqing 400715, People’s Republic of ChinaChair of Soil Science, Science Center Weihenstephan, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University Munich , Freising 85354, Germany; Research Unit for Comparative Microbiome Analyses , Helmholtz Zentrum München, Oberschleissheim 85764, GermanyDepartment of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland , Kuopio 70210, FinlandDepartment of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland , Kuopio 70210, Finland; Department of Geography, University of Montreal , Montreal, QC H2V 0B3, CanadaInstitute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) , Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, GermanyDepartment of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland , Kuopio 70210, FinlandInstitute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) , Garmisch-Partenkirchen 82467, GermanyThe paradigm that permafrost-affected soils show restricted mineral nitrogen (N) cycling in favor of organic N compounds is based on the observation that net N mineralization rates in these cold climates are negligible. However, we find here that this perception is wrong. By synthesizing published data on N cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost ecosystems we show that gross ammonification and nitrification rates in active layers were of similar magnitude and showed a similar dependence on soil organic carbon (C) and total N concentrations as observed in temperate and tropical systems. Moreover, high protein depolymerization rates and only marginal effects of C:N stoichiometry on gross N turnover provided little evidence for N limitation. Instead, the rather short period when soils are not frozen is the single main factor limiting N turnover. High gross rates of mineral N cycling are thus facilitated by released protection of organic matter in active layers with nitrification gaining particular importance in N-rich soils, such as organic soils without vegetation. Our finding that permafrost-affected soils show vigorous N cycling activity is confirmed by the rich functional microbial community which can be found both in active and permafrost layers. The high rates of N cycling and soil N availability are supported by biological N fixation, while atmospheric N deposition in the Arctic still is marginal except for fire-affected areas. In line with high soil mineral N production, recent plant physiological research indicates a higher importance of mineral plant N nutrition than previously thought. Our synthesis shows that mineral N production and turnover rates in active layers of permafrost-affected soils do not generally differ from those observed in temperate or tropical soils. We therefore suggest to adjust the permafrost N cycle paradigm, assigning a generally important role to mineral N cycling. This new paradigm suggests larger permafrost N climate feedbacks than assumed previously.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac417epermafrostnitrogengross N turnovermineralizationmeta-analysisplant-soil-microbe system |
| spellingShingle | Elisabeth Ramm Chunyan Liu Per Ambus Klaus Butterbach-Bahl Bin Hu Pertti J Martikainen Maija E Marushchak Carsten W Mueller Heinz Rennenberg Michael Schloter Henri M P Siljanen Carolina Voigt Christian Werner Christina Biasi Michael Dannenmann A review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost-affected soils—changing the paradigm Environmental Research Letters permafrost nitrogen gross N turnover mineralization meta-analysis plant-soil-microbe system |
| title | A review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost-affected soils—changing the paradigm |
| title_full | A review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost-affected soils—changing the paradigm |
| title_fullStr | A review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost-affected soils—changing the paradigm |
| title_full_unstemmed | A review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost-affected soils—changing the paradigm |
| title_short | A review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant-soil-microbe system of permafrost-affected soils—changing the paradigm |
| title_sort | review of the importance of mineral nitrogen cycling in the plant soil microbe system of permafrost affected soils changing the paradigm |
| topic | permafrost nitrogen gross N turnover mineralization meta-analysis plant-soil-microbe system |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac417e |
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