Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-08T09:31:51.146Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nitrogenase activity in soil and litter of a tropical lowland rain forest and an adjacent fernland in Sri Lanka

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

J. Maheswaran  and
I. A. U. N. Gunatilleke
J. Maheswaran
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
I. A. U. N. Gunatilleke
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Nitrogenase activity in the surface soil and litter layers from a tropical lowland rain forest and an adjacent fernland in Sri Lanka was measured by the acetylene reduction method. The total amount of acetylene reduced, a measure of biological nitrogen fixation, was greater in the fernland (38.4 µmol m−2 h−1) than in the forest (15.3–29.2 µmol m−2 h−1). In both ecosystems the nitrogenase activity was greater (59–85%) in the soil than in the litter layer. The rates of acetylene reduction in soil and litter showed an inverse relationship with the decay constants of mixed litter and a positive relationship was found between the rate of acetylene reduction and the C:extractable nitrogen ratio of the soil. The relatively greater rate of nitro genase activity coupled with the slower rate of litter decomposition in the fernland indicates that accumulation of nitrogen may result in the soil and litter layers of the deforested areas during their aggrading phases.

Keywords

acetylene reductionbiological nitrogen fixationfernlandnitrogenaseSri Lankatropical rain forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , August 1990 , pp. 281 - 289
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Baker, T. G. & Attiwill, P. M. 1984. Acetylene reduction in soil and litter from pine and eucalypt forests in South-eastern Australia. Soil Biology Biochemistry 16:241–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berg, B. & Soderstrom, B. 1979. Fungal biomass and nitrogen in decomposing Scots pine needle litter. Soil Biology Biochemistry 11:339–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berg, B. & Staaf, , 1981. Leaching, accumulation and release of nitrogen in decomposing forest litter. In Clark, F. E. & Rosswall, T. (eds). Terrestrial nitrogen cycles. Ecological Bulletin 33:163–178.Google Scholar
Bocock, K. S. 1963. Changes in the amount of nitrogen in decomposing leaf litter of sessile oak (Quercus petraea). Journal of Ecology 51:555–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bremner, J. M. 1965. Total nitrogen. In Black, C. A. (ed.). Methods of soil analyses. Agronomy series No. 9. American Society of Agronomy.Google Scholar
Cooray, B. 1967. An introduction to the Geology of Ceylon. Spolia Zeylanica 31:1–324.Google Scholar
Cornaby, B. & Waide, J. B. 1973. Nitrogen fixation in decaying chestnut logs. Plant and Soil 39:445–448.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowie, A. L., Jessop, R. S. & Macleod, D. A. 1987. Effects of external nitrate supply on nodulation of lupins I. Growth and nodulation of Lupinus angustifolius and Lupinus albus. P. 256 in Proceedings 4th Australian Agronomy Conference, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Granhall, U. & Lindberg, T. 1977. Nitrogen fixation at coniferous forest sites within the Swecon project – Swedish coniferous forest project, Technical report 11:1–39.Google Scholar
Gunatilleke, C. V. S. & Gunatilleke, I. A. U. N. 1983. A forestry case study of Sinharaja rain forest in Sri Lanka. Pp. 289–358 in Hamilton, L. S. (ed.). Forest and watershed development con servation in Asia and the Pacific. Westview Press, Colorado.Google Scholar
Gunatilleke, C. V. S. & Gunatilleke, I. A. U. N. 1985. Phytosociology of Sinharaja– A contribution to rain forest conservation in Sri Lanka. Biological Conservation 31:21–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunatilleke, I. A. U. N. & Maheswaran, J. 1987. Soil microbiological studies in a tropical rain forest and an adjacent deforested area in Sri Lanka III. Decomposition of leaf litter of dominant tree species. Pp. 135–150 in Kostermans, A. J. G. H. (ed.). Proceedings of the Third Round Table Conference on Dipterocarps. UNESCO, Regional Office, Jakarta.Google Scholar
Hardy, R. W. F., Burns, R. C. & Holsten, R. D. 1973. Applications of acetylene-ethylene assay for measurement of nitrogen fixation. Soil Biology Biochemistry 5:47–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hesse, P. R. 1971. A texbook of soil chemical analyses. John Murray, London. 520 pp.Google Scholar
Jessop, R. A., Heatherington, S. J. & Hoult, E. H. 1984. The effect of soil nitrate on the growth, nodulation and nitrogen fixation of chickpeas (Cicer arietinum). Plant and Soil 82:205–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joachim, A. W. R. & Pandittesekara, D. G. 1937. Studies on Ceylon soils. VIII. The ferns (kekilla) and some dry zone soils. The Tropical Agriculture (Ceylon) 88:71–85.Google Scholar
Jordan, C., Caskey, W., Escalante, G., Herrera, R., Montagnini, F., Todd, R. & Uhl, C. 1983. Nitrogen dynamics during conservation of primary Amazon forest to slash and burn agriculture. Oikos 40:131–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macura, J. & Kunc, F. 1961. Continuous flow method in soil microbiology. II. Observations on glucose metabolism. Folia Microbiologica, Prague 6:398–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maheswaran, J. & Gunatilleke, I. A. U. N. 1987. Spatial distribution of soil fungi, of Sinharaja forest and an adjacent deforested area in Sri Lanka. Pp. 105–120 in Kostermans, A. J. G. H. (ed.). Proceedings of the Third Round Table Conference on Dipterocarps. UNESCO, Regional Office, Jakarta.Google Scholar
Maheswaran, J. & Gunatilleke, I. A. U. N. 1988. Litter decomposition in a lowland rain forest and a deforested area in Sri Lanka. Biotropica 20:90–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, C. 1932. The origin, nature and importance of soil organic constituents having base exchange properties. Journal of the American Society Agronomy 24:256–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moorman, F. R. & Panabokke, C. R. 1961. Soils of Ceylon. The Tropical Agriculture (Ceylon) 117:5–66.Google Scholar
Mulder, E. G. 1975. Physiology and ecology of free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Pp. 3–28 in Stewart, W. D. P. (ed.). Nitrogen fixation and free living microorganisms. IBP 6, CambridgeUniversity Press. 471 pp.Google Scholar
O'Connell, A. M., Grove, T. S. & Malajezuk, N. 1979. Nitrogen fixation in the litter layer of eucalyptus forests. Soil Biology Biochemistry 11:681–682.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, J. A. 1963. Energy storage and the balance of producers and decomposers in ecological systems. Ecology 44:322–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staaf, H. & Berg, B. 1977. Mobilization of plant nutrients in a Scots pine forest mor in Central Sweden. Silva Fennica 11:210–217.Google Scholar
Streeter, J. G. 1985. Nitrate inhibition of legume nodule growth and activity I. Long-term studies with a continuous supply of nitrate. Plant Physiology 77:321–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tjepkema, J. 1979. Nitrogen fixation in forests of central Massachusetts. Canadian Journal of Botany 57:11–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Usda, , Soil Survey Staff, 1975. Soil taxonomy. A basic system of soil classification for making and inter preting soil surveys. Agricultural Handbook 436. 754 pp.Google Scholar
Vitousek, P. M. 1981. Clear cutting and the nitrogen cycle. In Clark, F. E. & Rosswall, T. (eds). Ter restrial nitrogen cycles. Ecological Bulletin (Stockholm) 33:631–642.Google Scholar