The Role of Denitrification in the Nitrogen Cycle of New England Salt Marshes
Author: Michael Robert Hamersley
Publisher:
Published: 2002
Total Pages: 188
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK(Cont.) Allochthonous denitrification accounted for 39% of total sediment denitrification (2.7 mol N m−2 yr−1). 46% of remineralized ammonium was denitrified, while the contribution of autochthonous denitrification to 02 and C02 fluxes was 18% and 10%, respectively. A 15N-ammonium tracer was used to study competition between plants and nitrifying bacteria for remineralized ammonium. In undisturbed sediments of Spartina alterniflora, plant uptake out-competed nitrification-denitrification, with plant uptake accounting for 66% of remineralized ammonium during the growing season. Under N fertilization (15.5 mol m−2 yr−1), both plant N uptake and denitrification increased, but denitrification dominated, accounting for 72% of the available N. When plant uptake was hydrologically suppressed, nitrification-denitrification was stimulated by the excess N, shifting the competitive balance toward denitrification.