Global Patterns and Controls of Nutrient Immobilization on Decomposing Cellulose in Riverine Ecosystems

David M. Costello, Scott D. Tiegs, Luz Boyero, Cristina Canhoto, Krista A. Capps, Michael Danger, Paul C. Frost, Mark O. Gessner, Natalie A. Griffiths, Halvor M. Halvorson, Kevin A. Kuehn, Amy M. Marcarelli, Todd V. Royer, Devan M. Mathie, Ricardo J. Albariño, Clay P. Arango, Jukka Aroviita, Colden V. Baxter, Brent J. Bellinger, Andreas BruderFrancis J. Burdon, Marcos Callisto, Antonio Camacho, Fanny Colas, Julien Cornut, Verónica Crespo-Pérez, Wyatt F. Cross, Alison M. Derry, Michael M. Douglas, Arturo Elosegi, Elvira de Eyto, Verónica Ferreira, Carmen Ferriol, Tadeusz Fleituch, Jennifer J. Follstad Shah, André Frainer, Erica A. Garcia, Liliana García, Pavel E. García, Darren P. Giling, R. Karina Gonzales-Pomar, Manuel A.S. Graça, Hans Peter Grossart, François Guérold, Luiz U. Hepp, Scott N. Higgins, Takuo Hishi, Carlos Iñiguez-Armijos, Tomoya Iwata, Andrea E. Kirkwood, Aaron A. Koning, Sarian Kosten, Hjalmar Laudon, Peter R. Leavitt, Aurea L. Lemes da Silva, Shawn J. Leroux, Carri J. LeRoy, Peter J. Lisi, Frank O. Masese, Peter B. McIntyre, Brendan G. McKie, Adriana O. Medeiros, Marko Miliša, Yo Miyake, Robert J. Mooney, Timo Muotka, Jorge Nimptsch, Riku Paavola, Isabel Pardo, Ivan Y. Parnikoza, Christopher J. Patrick, Edwin T.H.M. Peeters, Jesus Pozo, Brian Reid, John S. Richardson, José Rincón, Geta Risnoveanu, Christopher T. Robinson, Anna C. Santamans, Gelas M. Simiyu, Agnija Skuja, Jerzy Smykla, Ryan A. Sponseller, Franco Teixeira-de Mello, Sirje Vilbaste, Verónica D. Villanueva, Jackson R. Webster, Stefan Woelfl, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Adam G. Yates, Catherine M. Yule, Yixin Zhang, Jacob A. Zwart

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Abstract

Microbes play a critical role in plant litter decomposition and influence the fate of carbon in rivers and riparian zones. When decomposing low-nutrient plant litter, microbes acquire nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the environment (i.e., nutrient immobilization), and this process is potentially sensitive to nutrient loading and changing climate. Nonetheless, environmental controls on immobilization are poorly understood because rates are also influenced by plant litter chemistry, which is coupled to the same environmental factors. Here we used a standardized, low-nutrient organic matter substrate (cotton strips) to quantify nutrient immobilization at 100 paired stream and riparian sites representing 11 biomes worldwide. Immobilization rates varied by three orders of magnitude, were greater in rivers than riparian zones, and were strongly correlated to decomposition rates. In rivers, P immobilization rates were controlled by surface water phosphate concentrations, but N immobilization rates were not related to inorganic N. The N:P of immobilized nutrients was tightly constrained to a molar ratio of 10:1 despite wide variation in surface water N:P. Immobilization rates were temperature-dependent in riparian zones but not related to temperature in rivers. However, in rivers nutrient supply ultimately controlled whether microbes could achieve the maximum expected decomposition rate at a given temperature. Collectively, we demonstrated that exogenous nutrient supply and immobilization are critical control points for decomposition of organic matter.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2021GB007163
Pages (from-to)1-15
Number of pages15
JournalGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles
Volume36
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by awards to S.D.T. from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Science (Secretaría de Educación Superior Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, SENESCYT) through the PROMETEO scholar-exchange program, the Oakland University Research Development Grant program, and a Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation research grant. N.A.G. was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. PRL was supported by NSERC and Canada Research Chair programs. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Funding Information:
We thank a large number of assistants who helped field work, G. Moeen and M. Moeen for preparing cotton strips, and N. Johnson, A. Minerovic, and C. Blackwood for help with C:N analysis. This research was supported by awards to S.D.T. from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Science (Secretaría de Educación Superior Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, SENESCYT) through the PROMETEO scholar‐exchange program, the Oakland University Research Development Grant program, and a Huron Mountain Wildlife Foundation research grant. N.A.G. was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT‐Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE‐AC05‐00OR22725. PRL was supported by NSERC and Canada Research Chair programs. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

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