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Symbiotic nitrogen fixation in eight Acacia senegal provenances in dryland clays of the Blue Nile Sudan estimated by the 15N natural abundance method

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Abstract

The symbiotic biological N2fixation by Acacia senegal was estimated using the 15N natural abundance (δ 15N) procedure on eight provenances collected from different environments and soil types grown in a clay soil in the Blue Nile region, Sudan. Balanites aegyptiaca (a non-legume) was used as a non-N2-fixing reference plant to allow 15N-based estimates of the proportion of the Acacia N derived from atmospheric N2 (Ndfa) to be calculated. Results show variation in leaf δ 15N between A. senegal and the reference plant and among years. The relative δ 15N values (‰) were higher in B. aegyptiaca than in the N2-fixing acacia provenances. Provenances originally collected from clay soils fixed little N in the first year, but the amount fixed increased as the trees aged. All provenances showed a decrease in δ 15N with age. The Ndfa varied between 24% (Mazmoom provenance) and 61% (Rahad provenance) 4 years after planting. There was no significant difference in δ 15N between provenance groups based on soil type or rainfall at original growing site. The amount of Ndfa increased significantly with age in all provenances. The above-ground contribution of fixed N to foliage growth in a 4-year-old A. senegal was highest in the Rahad sand–soil provenance (46.7 kg N ha−1) and lowest in the Mazmoom clay-soil provenance (28.7 kg N ha−1). Our study represents the first use of the δ 15N method for estimating the N input by A. senegal to the clay plain soils of the gum belt in the Sudan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Viikki Tropical Resources Institute (VITRI), University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, FIN 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    El Amin Yousif Raddad, Mohamed Ahmed El Fadl, Vesa Kaarakka & Olavi Luukkanen

  2. Forestry Research Centre, P.O. Box 7089, Khartoum North, Sudan

    Ahmed Ali Salih

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  1. El Amin Yousif Raddad
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  2. Ahmed Ali Salih
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  3. Mohamed Ahmed El Fadl
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  4. Vesa Kaarakka
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  5. Olavi Luukkanen
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Correspondence to El Amin Yousif Raddad.

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Raddad, E.A.Y., Salih, A.A., Fadl, M.A.E. et al. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation in eight Acacia senegal provenances in dryland clays of the Blue Nile Sudan estimated by the 15N natural abundance method. Plant Soil 275, 261–269 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-005-2152-4

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