Capacidad de retención de nitrógeno en el suelo de bosques de Abies Pinsapo Boiss. con diferente disponibilidad de nitrógeno

Abstract

Chronic nitrogen (N) inputs due to atmospheric deposition can lead to N saturation in forests ecosystems. N saturation can be considered most generally as the long-term removal of N limitations on biotic activity, accompanied by a decrease in N retention capacity, and eventually resulting in increases in ecosystem N loss and forest decline. Results from fertilization experiments in temperate forests suggest that soils, rather than plants, are the dominant long-term sink for added N, and, by inference, for chronic N atmospheric inputs. In this Thesis work we studied biotic and abiotic N retention mechanisms in forests soils, using Abies pinsapo fir forests, remnants of temperate-like conifer forests that are currently subjected to Mediterranean climate, as an experimental model to test the effect of different variation sources (N atmospheric deposition, successional stage, lithology) in N retention capacity