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dc.contributor.authorPriyadarshini, K. V. R.
dc.contributor.authorPrins, Herbert H. T.
dc.contributor.authorBie, Steven
dc.contributor.authorHeitkonig, Ignas M. A.
dc.contributor.authorWoodborne, Stephan
dc.contributor.authorGort, Gerrit
dc.contributor.authorKirkman, Kevin
dc.contributor.authorFry, Brian
dc.contributor.authorKroon, Hans
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-13T02:30:31Z
dc.date.available2017-07-13T02:30:31Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.date.modified2014-04-15T22:25:24Z
dc.identifier.issn14321939
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s00442-013-2848-8
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/58474
dc.description.abstractA key question in savanna ecology is how trees and grasses coexist under N limitation. We used N stable isotopes and N content to study N source partitioning across seasons from trees and associated grasses in a semi-arid savanna. We also used 15N tracer additions to investigate possible redistribution of N by trees to grasses. Foliar stable N isotope ratio (δ15N) values were consistent with trees and grasses using mycorrhiza-supplied N in all seasons except in the wet season when they switched to microbially fixed N. The dependence of trees and grasses on mineralized soil N seemed highly unlikely based on seasonal variation in mineralization rates in the Kruger Park region. Remarkably, foliar δ15N values were similar for all three tree species differing in the potential for N fixation through nodulation. The tracer experiment showed that N was redistributed by trees to understory grasses in all seasons. Our results suggest that the redistribution of N from trees to grasses and uptake of N was independent of water redistribution. Although there is overlap of N sources between trees and grasses, dependence on biological sources of N coupled with redistribution of subsoil N by trees may contribute to the coexistence of trees and grasses in semi-arid savannas.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.description.publicationstatusYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherSpringer
dc.publisher.placeGermany
dc.relation.ispartofstudentpublicationN
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom1107
dc.relation.ispartofpageto1116
dc.relation.ispartofissue4
dc.relation.ispartofjournalOecologia
dc.relation.ispartofvolume174
dc.rights.retentionY
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEcosystem Function
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEcology
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode050102
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode0602
dc.titleOverlap in nitrogen sources and redistribution of nitrogen between trees and grasses in a semi-arid savanna
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
gro.date.issued2013
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorFry, Brian D.


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