changes to soil organic strongnstrong dynamics with leguminous woody plant.pdfVIP

Biogeochemistry (2013) 113:307–321 DOI 10.1007/s10533-012-9757-5 Changes to soil organic N dynamics with leguminous woody plant encroachment into grasslands Courtney A. Creamer • Timothy R. Filley • Dan C. Olk • Diane E. Stott • Valerie Dooling • Thomas W. Boutton Received: 25 October 2011 / Accepted: 14 June 2012 / Published online: 5 August 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012 Abstract Encroachment of nitrogen-fixing trees and changes to soil N chemistry and extractability. The shrubs into grasslands and savannas is a well-docu- proportion of total N held within amino compounds was mented land cover change that occurs worldwide. In the significantly lower in the woodlands (47 %) relative to Rio Grande Plains region of southern Texas, previous the grassland soils (62 %). This increase in non-hydro- studies have shown woody encroachment by legumi- lysable N was accompanied by increases in plant cell wall nous Prosopis glandulosa (mesquite) trees increases derived amino acids (e.g. hydroxyproline, serine) and soil C and N, decreases microbial biomass N relative to losses of microbial amino sugars, indicating the wood- soil N, and accelerates N mineralization and nitrifica- land organic N pool was altered in composition and tion. We examined responses of the dominant organic N potentially in quality, either because it was more structur- components in soil (amino acids and amino sugars) and ally protected or difficult to degrade due to polymeriza- two soil-bound protein-N acquiring enzymes (arylamidase tion/condensation reactions. Soil carbon-normalized and b-N-acetylglucosaminidase) along a grassland-to- activities of both soil-bound N-acquiring enzymes were woodland successional chronosequence to