Nitrogen: Invisible, but Important!Wetlands: Nitrogen and Pitcher Plants Experiments in New England...
Transcript of Nitrogen: Invisible, but Important!Wetlands: Nitrogen and Pitcher Plants Experiments in New England...
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Nitrogen: Invisible, but Important!
Research & Education based on Ecosystem Ecology
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Nitrogen K-W-LKNOW WANT TO KNOW LEARNED
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Why care about nitrogen?
We should care because it causes…
• Water pollution (eutrophication, dead zones)
• Acidic precipitation (rain, snow, fog)
• Climate change (nitrous oxide)• Climate change (nitrous oxide)
• Air pollution (nitric oxide=smog)
• Acidification of soils, reduction of biodiversity
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The basics…what IS a nutrient cycle?
Soluble
Decomposition
nitrogen
Potassium, etc…Soluble
Nutrients
Plants (and animals)
NEED nutrients
Phosphorus
Potassium, etc…
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Soil organic N
Microbial N
Atmospheric
depositionNO
N2O
N2
Immobilization
Litterfall
Plant N
Dissolved organic N
Uptake
NH4+
NO3-
Nitrogen
mineralization
Nitrification
Immobilization
Denitrification
Leaching to groundwater and surface water
Dissolved organic N
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N TRANSFORMATIONS & REDOX
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N2
atmospheric
fixationFixation
by
bacteria
N2
Uptake by
plants
NOx
NH3
(ammonia)
NO2
(nitrite)
bacteriaHuman
fixation
Nitrification: NH4 NO2 NO3
(bacteria)
NO3 N2
NH4
(ammonium)
plants
Decomposition
mineralization
N in organic
waste
NH4
(ammonium)
Denitrification
NO3 (nitrate)
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Part 1: Nitrogen Fixation
• The atmosphere is ~ 79% N gas
• BUT…it must be converted into ammonia (NH4) or nitrate (NO3) to be taken up by living things
• There is natural and human fixation of N2
Natural: lightning, bacteria (root nodules, free-Natural: lightning, bacteria (root nodules, free-living in soil, cyanobacteria)
Human: fertilizer manufacturing
• Humans have DOUBLED the amount of nitrogen available through the Haber-Bosch process (most fertilizer today is produced using methane as the H source)
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People and Nitrogen
100
150
Tota
l N
fix
ation
(T
gN
yr-
1)
5
6 Hum
an
Po
pula
tion (b
illions)
100
150
Tota
l N
fix
ation
(T
gN
yr-
1)
5
6
5
6 Hum
an
Po
pula
tion (b
illions)
1900 1960 1980 20001920 1940
50
100
0
Tota
l N
fix
ation
(
4
3
2
1
0
Hum
an
Po
pula
tion (b
illions)
1900 1960 1980 20001920 19401900 1960 1980 20001920 1940
50
100
0
Tota
l N
fix
ation
(
4
3
2
1
0
4
3
2
1
0
Hum
an
Po
pula
tion (b
illions)
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Where does all the extra N go?
• About 30% is transported as nitrate through
waterways to the ocean (in the eastern US and
Europe)
• The rest is removed through denitrification or • The rest is removed through denitrification or
stored in forests
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N2
atmospheric
fixationFixation
by
bacteria
N2
Uptake by
plants
NOx
NH3
(ammonia)
NO2
(nitrite)
bacteriaHuman
fixation
Nitrification: NH4 NO2 NO3
(bacteria)
NO3 N2
NH4
(ammonium)
plants
Decomposition
mineralization
N in organic
waste
NH4
(ammonium)
Denitrification
NO3 (nitrate)
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How does a clearcut forest affect
nitrogen levels?
1997 Clearcut – Wildcat Mountain, Frost Valley YMCA
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1997 Clearcut Results - Nitrate
1000
1200
1400
1600
co
nc. (u
mo
l/L
) Clearcut
Reference
EPA Drinking Water Std.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
Jan-94 Jan-96 Jan-98 Jan-00 Jan-02
NO
3- c
on
c. (u
mo
l/L
)
EPA Std.
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Source: Compiled from Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite imagery, Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources.
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Fertilizer in
the US
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More forests = less N
More ag lands = more N
Land Use and N loading
More ag lands = more N
More ag + urban = more N
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N2
atmospheric
fixationFixation
by
bacteria
N2
Uptake by
plants
NOx
NH3
(ammonia)
NO2
(nitrite)
bacteriaHuman
fixation
Nitrification: NH4 NO2 NO3
(bacteria)
NO3 N2
NH4
(ammonium)
plants
Decomposition
mineralization
N in organic
waste
NH4
(ammonium)
Denitrification
NO3 (nitrate)
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Nitrate pollution of waterbodies
• NO3- pollution in groundwater is a serious problem in
agricultural areas, including southern Michigan, and may one
day threaten the sustainability of our agricultural systems
• Source: Mueller and Helsel (1996)
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Eutrophication: excess nutrients stimulate plant growth
(algal bloom); when these plants die, decomposers use up the
available oxygen during decomposition
Excess N from humans
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Anatomy of Hypoxia
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Excess N LoadingExcess N Loading
“Dead Zones”“Dead Zones”
Impacts on commercial and Impacts on commercial and recreational fisheriesrecreational fisheries
Gulf of Mexico:Gulf of Mexico:
In 2007, area ~ size of In 2007, area ~ size of
Alexander et al. 2008
Rabalias et al. 2007: http://www.gulfhypoxia.net/shelfwide07/
In 2007, area ~ size of In 2007, area ~ size of MassachusettsMassachusetts
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More human inputs = more river N
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Nitrogen in the Hudson
Where does it come from?
-human waste
-acid deposition
-fertilizer-fertilizer
-agriculture: fixation
and feed
Where does it go?
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Nitrogen in local watersheds
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Surface Water Nitrate in Northeastern U.S.
Spring (n=216)
WVCATADK
VT
NH
ME
Summer (n=354)
30
40
50
60
mo
l/L
)
4 6 8 10 12
0
10
20
30
4 6 8 10 12
Estimated N Deposition (kg ha-1 yr-1)
NO
3-( µµ µµ
mo
l/L
)
From Aber et al Bioscience 2003
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N2
atmospheric
fixationFixation
by
bacteria
N2
Uptake by
plants
NOx
NH3
(ammonia)
NO2
(nitrite)
bacteriaHuman
fixation
Nitrification: NH4 NO2 NO3
(bacteria)
NO3 N2
NH4
(ammonium)
plants
Decomposition
mineralization
N in organic
waste
NH4
(ammonium)
Denitrification
NO3 (nitrate)
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Nitrogen in the air
Precursor to smog
(ozone), acid rain
Greenhouse gas
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Acidic Deposition
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Increasing Greenhouse Gases
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“Leaky pipe” analogy for N2O production
How does this happen? If denitrification means that NO3 –
N2…
• Recent studies have documented that other N transformations involving NO3
- and NH4+, such as nitrification, can also produce
N2O
• This model (by M. Firestone) holds only generally and exceptions are well-known (Davidson et al. 2000)
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Denitrification (NO3-⇒ N2O ⇒ N2)
• A form of dissimilatory anaerobic respiration carried out by
heterotrophic microorganisms that are facultatively anaerobic
• NO3- (nitrate) and NO2
- (nitrite) serve as alternate electron
acceptors; the reduction is coupled with the oxidation of
organic matter by anaerobic respiration
Organic
matter
CO2
NO3- NO2
-, N2O, N2
Denitrification as a
redox reaction
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What are the consequences of all
this extra nitrogen?
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Grasslands
•In MN, N additions decreased plant diversity (Wedin and Tilman 1993)
•In the U.K., plant species richness in acid grasslands declines along a gradient of N deposition (Stevens et al. 2004)
Consequences
Critical load =
10-20 kg N/ha/y
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Wetlands: Nitrogen and Pitcher PlantsExperiments in New England bogs show that increasing nitrogen deposition reduces pitcher development and survivorship
Ellison and Gotelli (2002), Gotelli and Ellison (2002)
European data suggest this is probably true for other bog species also, but little data from eastern U.S.
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Dead zones along coastlines
Phytoplankton Bloom -- Plume of the Mississippi
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N Deposition Effects on Forest Communities
Scientists are studying…How will trees and forests respond over the long term?
• Acidification vs. N enrichment responses
• Effects on susceptibility to insects: e.g. gypsy • Effects on susceptibility to insects: e.g. gypsy moth, hemlock woolly adelgid, beech scale
• Effects on mycorrhizae
• Effects of changing N
source: Organic N or
NH4+ to NO3
-?
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Human perturbation of the global N cycle
• In the last few decades, the global production of fixed N has
doubled due to anthropogenic sources, which are predominantly
associated with food and energy production (Galloway et al.
1995, 2003):
– Industrial N fixation for fertilizer production (~57% of the
anthropogenic sources);
– Cultivation of N-fixing crops such as legumes (~29%);– Cultivation of N-fixing crops such as legumes (~29%);
– Combustion of fossil fuels (~14%); most of this is combustion
of organic nitrogen in the fuel to yield nitric oxide, but
includes some “fixation” of atmospheric N2
• Our current global population is largely dependent on the
industrial production of N fertilizer
– “In one lifetime, humanity has developed a profound chemical
dependence” (Smil 1997)
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N2
atmospheric
fixationFixation
by
bacteria
N2
Uptake by
plants
NOx
NH3
(ammonia)
NO2
(nitrite)
bacteriaHuman
fixation
Nitrification: NH4 NO2 NO3
(bacteria)
NO3 N2
NH4
(ammonium)
plants
Decomposition
mineralization
N in organic
waste
NH4
(ammonium)
Denitrification
NO3 (nitrate)
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Your turn
Use the Nitrogen Cycle Computer Assignment &
the handouts to answer the questions
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Nitrogen Cycle
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Nitrogen Cycle
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Forms of N
• “Reactive” or “combined” N refers to nitrate (NO3-), nitrite
(NO2-), and ammonium (NH4
+), in contrast to dinitrogen (N2).
• N is not a significant component in minerals, and thus mineral weathering supplies little N
• Ammonia (NH3) occurs largely as ionized ammonium (NH4+)
in aqueous solutions at normal pHin aqueous solutions at normal pH
• N reactions can be assimilatory (assimilation, N fixation), meant to build structures or dissimilatory (denitrification, nitrification) meant to create energy
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N availability
• Nearly all plants and algae can assimilate either NO3
- or NH4+, but most bacteria and
fungi preferentially assimilate NH4+
• Nitrate reductase is required to assimilate NO3
-
• Plants generally assimilate NH + preferentially • Plants generally assimilate NH4+ preferentially
over NO3- when both are abundant…
– but NO3- is often more abundant because NH4
+ is nitrified to NO3
- in aerobic soils, and certain situations may favor NO3
- uptake by plants even when both are available
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Nitrification (NH4+⇒ N2O ⇒ NO3
-)
• Oxidation of ammonium to nitrate is a form of
chemoautotrophic metabolism carried out by certain
bacteria (e.g., the genera Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter)
• Requires aerobic conditions. Inhibited by low pH.
• Nitrate is a relatively mobile ion in soils and groundwater
• Nitrite is an intermediary but does not usually accumulate, • Nitrite is an intermediary but does not usually accumulate,
and would be toxic if it did
• Nitrification may be closely coupled to bacterial
denitrification of the resultant NO3- in a closely situated
anaerobic environment
– Anaerobic vs. aerobic environments = closely linked
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N fixation (N2⇒ R-NH2)
• Provides “fixed” or “combined” N for use by the biota
• Only prokaryotes can fix N but these are often closely associated with eucaryotes
– Symbiotic associations with vascular plants and algae are important (e.g., legumes-Rhizobium, Azolla-Anabaena, Alnus-actinomycetes)
• Most N fixers live in aerobic environments (e.g., blue-green “algae” (cyanobacteria), Rhizobium, Azotobacter), but there “algae” (cyanobacteria), Rhizobium, Azotobacter), but there are also anaerobic bacteria that fix N (e.g., Clostridium)
• Abiotic N fixation also occurs via lightning and combustion, but natural sources of abiotically fixed N are less important
• Synthetic fertilizer production is effectively N fixation accomplished with fossil-fuel energy
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Importance of denitrification
• Denitrification results in the loss of available N from the
ecosystem, and in many ecosystems the rate of denitrification
appears to balance the rate of N fixation
• Denitrification removes much of the excess NO3- from pollution
sources before it reaches downstream waters
– Most N disappears somewhere along landscape flow paths– Most N disappears somewhere along landscape flow paths
– Hotspots of denitrification on landscapes (e.g., riparian strips between
farmland and streams: Cirmo and McDonnell 1997)
• Nitrous oxide (N2O) is produced in addition to N2, and emission
of N2O to the atmosphere is an important GHG
– N2O is one of the key radiatively-active "greenhouse gases" whose
atmospheric concentrations have been increasing
– N2O is also involved in the depletion of stratospheric ozone
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Controls on nitrification and denitrification
• Denitrification requires the combination of anaerobic conditions, labile organic matter, and oxidized N
Nitrification
(NH4+⇒ N2O ⇒ NO3
-)
NH4+
concentration
O2
concentration
+ +
+
and oxidized N
• High rates of denitrification are commonly found in sediments
• Often these processes are coupled in closely situated oxic/anoxic zones
Denitrification
(NO3-⇒ N2O ⇒ N2)
NO3-
concentration
Inhibits (-)+
Labile
Org. C +
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Ultimate fate of anthropogenic N?
• The ultimate fate of anthropogenically added N is not well
known
• For the eastern US and Europe, about 25% of the added N can
be accounted for in riverine exports from terrestrial watersheds
to the ocean, which have clearly increased in many regions
(Howarth et al. 1996, Conley 1999).
• The atmosphere is an important route for N transport but it • The atmosphere is an important route for N transport but it
does not store a significant amount of reactive N
• The remaining 75% must either be stored in ecosystems or
denitrified
– Most storage would be as organic N in forest ecosystems; groundwater
appears to be small sink
– Denitrification, especially in wetlands and other aquatic ecosystems but
also in soils, is presumably the most important sink for excess N