RT Journal Article
T1 High nitrogen contribution by Gunnera magellanica and nitrogen transfer by mycorrhizas drive an extraordinarily fast primary succession in sub‐Antarctic Chile
A1 Benavent González, Alberto
A1 Raggio Quílez, José
A1 Villagra, Johana
A1 Pintado Valverde, Ana
A1 Blanquer, José Manuel
A1 Rozzi, Ricardo
A1 Green, Thomas George Allan
A1 García Sancho, Leopoldo
AB Chronosequences at the forefront of retreating glaciers provide information about colonization rates of bare surfaces. In the northern hemisphere, forest development can take centuries, with rates often limited by low nutrient availability. By contrast, in front of the retreating Pia Glacier (Tierra del Fuego, Chile), a Nothofagus forest is in place after only 34 yr of development, while total soil nitrogen (N) increased from near zero to 1.5%, suggesting a strong input of this nutrient.We measured N-fixation rates, carbon fluxes, leaf N and phosphorus contents and leaf δ15N in the dominant plants, including the herb Gunnera magellanica, which is endosymbiotically associated with a cyanobacterium, in order to investigate the role of N-fixing and mycorrhizal symbionts in N-budgets during successional transition.G. magellanica presented some of the highest nitrogenase activities yet reported (potential maximal contribution of 300 kg N ha−1 yr−1). Foliar δ15N results support the framework of a highly efficient N-uptake and transfer system based on mycorrhizas, with c. 80% of N taken up by the mycorrhizas potentially transferred to the host plant.Our results suggest the symbiosis of G. magellanica with cyanobacteria, and trees and shrubs with mycorrhizas, to be the key processes driving this rapid successioncyanobacteria
PB Wiley
SN 0028-646X
YR 2019
FD 2019-06-24
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94070
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94070
LA eng
NO Benavent‐González, A., Raggio, J., Villagra, J., Blanquer, J. M., Pintado, A., Rozzi, R., … & Sancho, L. G. (2019). High nitrogen contribution by gunnera magellanica and nitrogen transfer by mycorrhizas drive an extraordinarily fast primary succession in sub‐antarctic chile. New Phytologist, 223(2), 661-674. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15838
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 28 jul 2024