Project description B5
Scientific advisor
Prof. Dr. H. Flessa
Project
Carbon and nitrogen turnover in soils of deciduous forests with differing tree species diversity: Processes of C and N transformation, immobilisation and translocation
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The processes of carbon (C)- and nitrogen (N)-transformation in soil control important ecosystem functions, since they influence the storage and the availability of C and N as well as dissolved and gaseous exports of these elements. Tree species composition can alter the processes of transformations and translocation quantitatively and qualitatively. The project analyses the influence of tree species diversity on soil nutrient status and the processes of C- and N-transformation, -immobilisation and –translocation in soils of three tree species diversity levels in the Hainich. Aims of the project are:
- Characterisation of soil chemical and soil physical properties, of nutrient inputs with tree leaf litter (cooperation with project B1) and nutrient storage in the mineral soil and the organic layer,
- Quantification and analysis of the spatio-temporal dynamics of gross-N- and net-N- mineralisation and biotic and abiotic immobilisation,
- Detection of the dynamics and the controls of gaseous C- and N-fluxes (CO2, CH4, N2O) between soil and atmosphere.
Methods
- Chemical and physical soil properties were determined with standard analyse procedures (automated C and N analyser, atom adsorption spectroscopy after NH4Cl-Extraction to determine cation exchange capacity, sieving and pipette
- 15N-isotope studies, especially the 15N pool dilution method with following diffusion technique
- Chloroform fumigation
- Closed chamber measurements, measurements of soil air, and incubation experiment in the laboratory