Douglas-fir forest soils colonized by ectomycorrhizal mats. I. Seasonal variation in nitrogen chemistry and nitrogen cycle transformation rates

Abstract

Monthly samples of ectomycorrhizal mat soils from a maturing Douglas-fir forest and adjacent nonmat soils were collected and analyzed for respiration, acetylene reduction activity, denitrification rates, extractable ammonium, nitrogen mineralization, microbial biomass, temperature, pH, percent moisture, total phosphate, nitrogen, and carbon. Seasonal patterns suggested complex interactions among the host tree, ectomycorrhizal fungus, and the mat microbial community as influenced by seasonal changes in moisture, temperature, and light availability. The most dramatic changes in rates were found during moisture-temperature transition periods in the spring and fall. Respiration within the mat community was highest during the period when tree growth is normally the greatest (in the spring and fall). In addition, there was a major respiration peak observed in the winter that we hypothesize was caused by the utilization of labile carbon by microheterotrophs. Differences were also observed between mat and nonmat soils in respiration rates, microbial biomass carbon, acetylene reduction activity, and levels of mineralizable nitrogen, which were all generally higher in the mat soils, and pH and denitrification rates, which were generally lower in nonmat soils. There is also evidence that suggests that nitrogen is very tightly coupled within the mat communities.