Nitrogen and carbon cycling in a New Zealand pumice soil under a manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) shrubland
D. J. Ross A D , N. A. Scott A B , S. M. Lambie A , C. M. Trotter A C , N. J. Rodda A and J. A. Townsend AA Landcare Research, Private Bag 11052, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
B Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
C MAF Sustainable Programmes Directorate, PO Box 2526, Wellington, New Zealand.
D Corresponding author. Email: rossdj@landcareresearch.co.nz
Australian Journal of Soil Research 47(7) 725-736 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR08261
Submitted: 3 December 2008 Accepted: 23 July 2009 Published: 6 November 2009
Abstract
Shrubland communities dominated by manuka (Leptospermum scoparium J. Forst. and G. Forst.) and kanuka (Kunzea ericoides var. ericoides ((A. Rich) J. Thompson) are widespread throughout New Zealand. They frequently colonise disturbed land surfaces and are important for erosion mitigation, and also for their capacity to act as a carbon (C) sink. We here investigate C and nitrogen (N) cycling in 3 stands (~26–56 years old) that had established on a repeatedly burned forest site on a Podzolic Orthic Pumice soil in the Turangi area, central North Island. For comparison, limited measurements of N cycling were also made at other manuka–kanuka sites on non-volcanic soils. Leaf N concentrations at the Turangi site were 11.8–13.9 g/kg, and lower than those at many of the other manuka–kanuka stands. Total annual litterfall and N content increased with stand age, as did total N concentrations in FH material and mineral soil (0–100 mm depth). Total C concentrations in mineral soil did not, however, differ significantly in the 3 stands. Levels of soil microbial C and N, rates of carbon dioxide production, and metabolic coefficients (qCO2 values) suggest C cycling could be fairly rapid at this site. In contrast, rates of net mineral-N and nitrate-N production were low to very low compared with those in similar pumice soils under angiosperm–conifer forests, and in the non-volcanic soils under other manuka–kanuka stands. Low N availability and tight N cycling at the Turangi site are thereby strongly suggested. No definitive explanation for the atypically low N availability at this site is apparent, although the possible effects of previous forest burnings may have been a contributing factor. The continued growth of these shrubs, nevertheless, shows they can compete successfully for the N that does become available through gross N mineralisation in the Turangi ecosystem.
Additional keywords: burning, foliar N/P ratio, nitrification, nitrogen availability, phosphorus availability, volcanic ash.
Acknowledgments
We thank Kevin Tate and Charles Feltham for sampling assistance, Michelle Barson for assistance with litter dissections, Charles Feltham and the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory for analytical support, and the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology for financial support.
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