Nitrogen dynamics in managed boreal forests: Recent advances and future research directions

Sponseller, Ryan A. and Gundale, Michael J. and Futter, Martyn and Ring, Eva and Nordin, Annika and Näsholm, Torgny and Laudon, Hjalmar (2016) Nitrogen dynamics in managed boreal forests: Recent advances and future research directions. Ambio, 45 (2). pp. 175-187. ISSN 1654-7209

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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) availability plays multiple roles in the boreal landscape, as a limiting nutrient to forest growth, determinant of terrestrial biodiversity, and agent of eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems. We review existing research on forest N dynamics in northern landscapes and address the effects of management and environmental change on internal cycling and export. Current research foci include resolving the nutritional importance of different N forms to trees and establishing how tree–mycorrhizal relationships influence N limitation. In addition, understanding how forest responses to external N inputs are mediated by above- and belowground ecosystem compartments remains an important challenge. Finally, forestry generates a mosaic of successional patches in managed forest landscapes, with differing levels of N input, biological demand, and hydrological loss. The balance among these processes influences the temporal patterns of stream water chemistry and the long-term viability of forest growth. Ultimately, managing forests to keep pace with increasing demands for biomass production, while minimizing environmental degradation, will require multi-scale and interdisciplinary perspectives on landscape N dynamics.

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