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7 - Nutrient cycling and nutrient limitation in tropical montane cloud forests

from Part I - General perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2011

By
J. Benner ,
P. M. Vitousek  and
R. Ostertag
Edited by
L. A. Bruijnzeel ,
F. N. Scatena  and
L. S. Hamilton
J. Benner
Affiliation:
Stanford University, USA
P. M. Vitousek
Affiliation:
Stanford University, USA
R. Ostertag
Affiliation:
University of Hawai'i at Hilo, USA
L. A. Bruijnzeel
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
F. N. Scatena
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
L. S. Hamilton
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the role of nutrient supply and cycling with respect to the characteristically low productivity of tropical montane cloud forests is investigated. Studies of nutrient stocks, turnover rates, and foliar nutrients all suggest that nitrogen supply to vegetation is lower in montane tropical forests than in lowland forests, whereas forest fertilization studies indicate that nitrogen and often phosphorus consistently limit above-ground productivity. Slow rates of nitrogen cycling, rather than low nitrogen inputs, appear to be responsible for the depressed nitrogen supply, and the high soil water content of many cloud-immersed montane forests is likely to be an important ultimate cause of the decreased rates of nitrogen cycling. Hydrological losses of biologically unavailable forms of nitrogen (such as dissolved organic nitrogen) may sustain nitrogen limitation over longer timescales.

INTRODUCTION

Regardless of location, tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) worldwide share the same basic differences from lowland tropical forests and montane forests not affected by regular fog: lower productivity and diversity, lower canopy heights, thicker leaves with lower nutrient concentrations (especially of nitrogen), and higher soil organic matter and water content. In this chapter, the importance of nutrient availability in controlling this suite of traits is revisited, summarizing recent information on nutrient distribution, availability, and limitation in TMCF. To the extent that low nutrient availability contributes to the TMCF “syndrome,” this chapter discusses whether it is an independent factor or a consequence of other factors that ultimately control the productivity of TMCF.

Type
Chapter
Information
Tropical Montane Cloud Forests
Science for Conservation and Management
 , pp. 90 - 100
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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