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Science 19 January 2007:
Vol. 315. no. 5810, pp. 361 - 364
DOI: 10.1126/science.1134853
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Reports

Global-Scale Similarities in Nitrogen Release Patterns During Long-Term Decomposition

William Parton,1 Whendee L. Silver,2 Ingrid C. Burke,1,3 Leo Grassens,4 Mark E. Harmon,5 William S. Currie,6 Jennifer Y. King,7 E. Carol Adair,8 Leslie A. Brandt,8 Stephen C. Hart,9 Becky Fasth5

Litter decomposition provides the primary source of mineral nitrogen (N) for biological activity in most terrestrial ecosystems. A 10-year decomposition experiment in 21 sites from seven biomes found that net N release from leaf litter is dominantly driven by the initial tissue N concentration and mass remaining regardless of climate, edaphic conditions, or biota. Arid grasslands exposed to high ultraviolet radiation were an exception, where net N release was insensitive to initial N. Roots released N linearly with decomposition and exhibited little net N immobilization. We suggest that fundamental constraints on decomposer physiologies lead to predictable global-scale patterns in net N release during decomposition.

1 Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, 200 West Lake, Campus Mail 1499, Fort Collins, CO 80523–1499, USA.
2 Ecosystem Science Division, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, 137 Mulford Hall #3114, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
3 Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship, and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523–1472, USA.
4 LSI Logic Inc., 1636 Southwest 26th Street, Loveland, CO 80227, USA.
5 Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
6 School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA.
7 Department of Soil, Water, and Climate and Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 439 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
8 Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
9 School of Forestry and Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA.

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