Author:
Attiwill P. M.,Attiwill P. M.,May B. M.,May B. M.
Abstract
It is often stated that the availability of N limits the rate of growth of
native forests. We discuss this hypothesis with particular reference to the
mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of
south-eastern Australia. The abundance of 15 N in leaves and soil of mountain
ash forest is in accord with data for Northern Hemisphere temperate forests
and for tropical forests,and indicates that N availability is relatively
high.None of the nutrient elements has limited the rate of growth of mountain
ash forest regenerating after major disturbance (clear-felling and intense
wild-fire). There is some evidence that P may be limiting to some ecological
processes (e.g. the rate of litter decomposition). We conclude that phosphorus
is more likely to be limiting than nitrogen in mountain ash forest because
nitrogen cycling is conservative and continual inputs of N through biological
fixation supplement this conservative N supply, and the stands never become
N-deficient. The development of methodologies to determine the rate of
N2-fixation in forests should be of high priority in
ecological research.
Subject
Ecology,Aquatic Science,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics,Oceanography
Cited by
14 articles.
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