Authors
William T Peterjohn, Mary Beth Adams, Frank S Gilliam
Publication date
1996/12
Journal
Biogeochemistry
Volume
35
Pages
507-522
Publisher
Kluwer Academic Publishers
Description
By synthesizing more than twenty years of research at the Fernow Experimental Forest, we have documented 7 symptoms of nitrogen saturation in two adjacent watersheds. The symptoms include: 1) high relative rates of net nitrification, 2) long-term increases in stream-water concentrations of nitrate and base cations, 3) relatively high nitrate concentrations in solution losses, 4) little seasonal variability in stream-water nitrate concentrations, 5) a high discharge of nitrate from a young aggrading forest, 6) a rapid increase in nitrate loss following fertilization of a young aggrading forest, and 7) low retention of inorganic nitrogen when compared with other forested sites. These data support current conceptual models of nitrogen saturation and provide a strong, and perhaps the best, example of nitrogen saturation in the United States.
Total citations
Scholar articles
WT Peterjohn, MB Adams, FS Gilliam - Biogeochemistry, 1996