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Characteristics of DOC Exported from Northern Hardwood Forests Receiving Chronic Experimental NO −3 Deposition

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Abstract

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.)-dominated northern hardwood forests of the Great Lakes Region commonly receive elevated levels of atmospheric nitrate (NO −3 ) deposition, which can alter belowground carbon (C) cycling. Past research has demonstrated that chronic experimental NO −3 deposition (3 g N m−2 y−1 above ambient) elicits a threefold increase in the leaching loss of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Here, we used DOC collected from tension-cup lysimeters to test whether increased DOC export under experimental NO −3 deposition originated from forest floor or mineral soil organic matter (SOM). We used DOC radiocarbon dating to quantify C sources and colorimetric assays to measure DOC aromaticity and soluble polyphenolic content. Our results demonstrated that DOC exports are primarily derived from new C (<50-years-old) in the forest floor under both ambient and experimental NO −3 deposition. Experimental NO −3 deposition increased soluble polyphenolic content from 25.03 ± 4.26 to 49.19 ± 4.23 μg phenolic C mg DOC−1, and increased total aromatic content as measured by specific UV absorbance. However, increased aromatic compounds represented a small fraction (<10%) of the total observed increased DOC leaching. In combination, these findings suggest that experimental NO −3 deposition has altered the production or retention as well as phenolic content of DOC formed in forest floor, however exact mechanisms are uncertain. Further elucidation of the mechanism(s) controlling enhanced DOC leaching is important for understanding long-term responses of Great Lakes forests to anthropogenic N deposition and the consequences of those responses for aquatic ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Chris Blackwood, Wendy Mahaney, Bridgett Emmett, and three anonymous reviewers for comments and advice on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Matt Tomlinson, Weiyin Xu, and Becky Mau provided invaluable field, laboratory and analytical help. Guaciara dos Santos provided invaluable advice and help with radiocarbon analysis and data interpretation. We also thank Michael Wiley for the kind permission to use lab space and the UV spec. Research funding for the Michigan Gradient Study has been provided by National Science Foundation grants DEB−9629842 and DEB-0075397.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1114, USA

    Kurt A. Smemo & Donald R. Zak

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-1048, USA

    Donald R. Zak

  3. Ecosystem Science Center, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan, 49931, USA

    Kurt S. Pregitzer & Andrew J. Burton

  4. The Holden Arboretum, 9500 Sperry Rd. , Kirtland, Ohio, 44094-5172, USA

    Kurt A. Smemo

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  1. Kurt A. Smemo
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Correspondence to Kurt A. Smemo.

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Smemo, K.A., Zak, D.R., Pregitzer, K.S. et al. Characteristics of DOC Exported from Northern Hardwood Forests Receiving Chronic Experimental NO −3 Deposition. Ecosystems 10, 369–379 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-007-9014-2

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