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Nitrogen-fixation in Acer macrophyllum canopy bryophytes in the Pacific Northwest, USA

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Abstract

Purpose

Old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest host a variety of epiphytes on their branches and stem. Given the common and often large epiphytic biomass associated with Acer macrophyllum (Pursh) in this region, we evaluated how seasonal weather changes and urbanization (metal and nitrogen deposition), affect canopy epiphytic N2 fixation in the Hoh Rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula and in urban parks and forests in Seattle.

Methods

We collected Isothecium stoloniferum (Brid.) samples from both the Hoh Rainforest and Seattle at four periods from April 2016 through January 2017. Moss-associated N2 fixation rates were measured in the laboratory using the acetylene reduction assay and trace metal concentrations in the moss were analyzed using NO3 + H2O2 digestion.

Results

We found levels of N2 fixation were highest during the spring sampling period. Elevated levels of heavy metals were observed in I. stoloniferum samples collected in the urban canopies in Seattle where N2 fixation rates were low, suggesting N2 fixation is sensitive to the bioaccumulation of heavy metals. In A. macrophyllum canopies, I. stoloniferum was found to yield 0.1130 g N m−2 yr−1 in canopy branches within the Hoh Rainforest and only 0.0009 g N m−2 yr−1 on branches in Seattle.

Conclusions

These results highlight a rarely explored source of biological N2-fixation in temperate rainforests and suggest that epiphytic N2-fixation may contribute bio-available nitrogen in A. macrophyllum stands. N2-fixation in canopy bryophytes was found to be highly sensitive to urban pollution, possibly due to bioaccumulation of heavy metals in bryophyte tissue.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available at DRYAD entry DOI.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Program (Project #1006427 to THD and PCT). The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA. The authors would like to thank Sean Callahan, Jake Betzen, and Constance Lin for their hard work in the field, and Si Gao for her help in the lab. This research was conducted under Hoh River Trust general use permit, and the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation special use permit. This research was conducted by ALB in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.S. degree from the University of Washington.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental & Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Amanda L. Bidwell & Patrick C. Tobin

  2. College of Forestry, Oregon State University, 311 Peavy Forest Science Center, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Thomas H. DeLuca

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  1. Amanda L. Bidwell
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Contributions

Amanda L. Bidwell: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Analysis, Methodology, Visualization, Writing (Original draft preparation, Reviewing & Editing), Funding Acquisition. Patrick C. Tobin: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing (Original draft preparation, Reviewing & Editing), Funding Acquisition. Thomas H. DeLuca: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing (Original draft preparation, Reviewing & Editing), Supervision, Project Administration, Funding Acquisition.

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Correspondence to Thomas H. DeLuca.

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Bidwell, A.L., Tobin, P.C. & DeLuca, T.H. Nitrogen-fixation in Acer macrophyllum canopy bryophytes in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Plant Soil 490, 387–399 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06082-8

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