Variations in nitrogen isotopic values among various particle-sized fractions in modern soil in northwestern China  

作　　者：LIU Weiguo WANG Zhoufeng WANG Zheng FENG Xiahong ZHANG Pu 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, lEE, CAS, Xi'an 710075, China [2]School of Human Settlement and Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi 'an 710049, China [3]School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang 'an University, Xi'an 710054, China [4]Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA

出　　处：《Chinese Journal Of Geochemistry》2011年第3期295-303,共9页中国地球化学学报

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40673012, 40599422, 40523002);the National Key Funds of China (No. 2004CB720200);the Foundation for Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Awards of the People's Republic of China

摘　　要：Ratios of stable nitrogen isotopes in organic matter derived from plants and preserved in soil are potential tracers for nitrogen cycles in natural ecosystems and valuable for evaluation of climate change. However, the rela-tionship between nitrogen isotopic compositions in surface soil and in plant litter during the decomposition process from plant litter to soil organic matter is not well understood. By using nitrogen isotopic analysis of soil parti-cle-sized fractions, nitrogen isotope discrimination between plant litter and surface soil organic matter in various modern ecosystems in northwestern China was conducted. The results of our study indicate that: (1) in general, the nitrogen isotopic compositions of particle-sized fractions from surface soil are different, and δ15N values increase from plant litter to fine soil organic matter; (2) the δ15N values in the soil particle-sized fractions become larger with increasing relative humidity and temperature, and the largest variation in the δ15N values is from -5.9‰ to -0.3‰; and (3) under a controlled climate, significant nitrogen isotope differences in δ15N values (Δδ15Nplant-soil) between plant litter and bulk soil organic matter were observed, with the values of 1.52 to 4.75 at various sites. Our results suggested that comparisons of Δδ15N values between bulk soil and the particle-sized fractions of soil could reveal the effect of humidity on transferring process of nitrogen from plant to soil in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.Ratios of stable nitrogen isotopes in organic matter derived from plants and preserved in soil are potential tracers for nitrogen cycles in natural ecosystems and valuable for evaluation of climate change. However, the relationship between nitrogen isotopic compositions in surface soil and in plant litter during the decomposition process from plant litter to soil organic matter is not well understood. By using nitrogen isotopic analysis of soil particle-sized fractions, nitrogen isotope discrimination between plant litter and surface soil organic matter in various modern ecosystems in northwestern China was conducted. The results of our study indicate that： （1） in general, the nitrogen isotopic compositions of particle-sized fractions from surface soil are different, and δ^15N values increase from plant litter to fine soil organic matter; （2） the δ^15N values in the soil particle-sized fractions become larger with increasing relative humidity and temperature, and the largest variation in the δ^15N values is from -5.9‰ to -0.3‰; and （3） under a controlled climate, significant nitrogen isotope differences in δ^15N values （△δ^15Nplant_soil） between plant litter and bulk soil organic matter were observed, with the values of 1.52 to 4.75 at various sites. Our results suggested that comparisons of △δ^15N values between effect of humidity on transferring process of nitrogen bulk soil and the particle-sized fractions of soil could reveal the from plant to soil in add and semi-add ecosystems.

关 键 词：稳定氮同位素 中国西北地区 现代土壤 粒子大小 自然生态系统 土壤有机质 颗粒大小 组分 

分 类 号：P642.13[天文地球—工程地质学] X171.1[天文地球—地质矿产勘探]