Nitrogen dynamics in small watersheds in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado in Northeastern Brazil
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine concentrations of nitrogen (N) in two biomes, Atlantic Forest (AF) and Cerrado (CR), at the interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. This involved evaluating N in vegetation (litterfall), soil and water in small watersheds in environmental protection areas in northeastern Brazil. Soil chemical and physical analyzes were performed and mineralization and nitrification rates were determined. The forms of organic, inorganic and particulate nitrogen in water were determined by spectrophotometry. Two collections were carried out, one in the dry season (October and November 2019) and another in the rainy season (February and March 2020), in two environmental preservation areas, Estação Veracel Private Natural Heritage Reserve - (Atlantic Forest) and Chapada Diamantina National Park (Cerrado), with five small watersheds sampled in each biome. The N concentration in litterfall was similar in both biomes, with averages of 0.69%. In relation to soil and water, N concentrations were higher in AF compared to CR, with concentrations of 0.95 ± 0.40 and 0.59 ± 0.14 µg.Ng-1 of nitrate in the soils of AF and CR, respectively, and 3.53 ± 2.51 µM of nitrate in water in AF and 0.76 ± 0.78 µM in CR.
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References
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Taylor, P. G., Wieder, W. R., Weintraub, S., Cohen, S., Cleveland, C. C., & Townsend, A. R. (2015). Organic forms dominate hydrologic nitrogen export from a lowland tropical watershed. Ecology, 96(5), 1229–1241. Doi: 10.1007/s11707-017-0647-y
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Wohl, E. (2017) The significance of small streams. Frontiers of Earth Science, 11(3), 447–456. doi: 10.1007/s11707-017-0647-y
Austin, A. T., & Ballare, C. L. (2010). Dual role of lignin in plant litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(10), 4618–4622. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909396107
Barbosa, V., Barreto-Garcia, P., Gama-Rodrigues, E., & Paula, A. D. (2017). Biomassa, carbono e nitrogênio na serapilheira acumulada de florestas plantadas e nativa. Floresta e Ambiente, 24. doi: 10.1590/2179-8087.024315
Benites, V. M., Schaefer, C. E. G., Simas, F. N., & Santos, H. G. (2007). Soils associated with rock outcrops in the Brazilian mountain ranges Mantiqueira and Espinhaço. Brazilian Journal of Botany, 30, 569-577. doi: 10.1590/S0100-84042007000400003
De Santana, R. O., Delgado, R. C., & Schiavettic, A. (2020). The past, present and future of vegetation in the Central Atlantic Forest Corridor, Brazil. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 100357 doi: 10.1016/j.rsase.2020.100357
Flindt, M. R. & Lillebø, A. I. (2005). Determination of total nitrogen and phosphorus in leaf litter. In Graça, M. A. S.; Bârlocher, F.; Gessner, M.O. (org.) Methods to study litter decomposition: a practical guide. 329 p. Berlin, Germany: Springer.
García-Palacios, P., McKie, B. G., Handa, I. T., Frainer, A., & Hättenschwiler, S. (2015). The importance of litter traits and decomposers for litter decomposition: a comparison of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems within and across biomes. Functional Ecology, 30(5), 819–829. doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12589
Grasshoff, K.; Erhardt, M.; Kremling, K. (1983). Methods of seawater analysis. Weinheim, Verlag Chemie.
Gonçalves, J. F. Jr.; França, J.S.; Callisto, M. (2006). Dynamics of allochthonous organic matter in a tropical Brazilian headstream. Brazilian archives of biology and technology. 49, 967-973. doi: 10.1590/S1516-89132006000700014
Hedin, L. O., Armesto, J. J., & Johnson, A. H. (1995). Patterns of Nutrient Loss from Unpolluted, Old-Growth Temperate Forests: Evaluation of Biogeochemical Theory. Ecology, 76(2), 493–509. doi: 10.2307/1941208
Martinelli, L. A., Nardoto, G. B., Soltangheisi, A., Reis, C. R. G., Abdalla-Filho, A. L., Camargo, P. B., … Vieira, S. A. (2020). Determining ecosystem functioning in Brazilian biomes through foliar carbon and nitrogen concentrations and stable isotope ratios. Biogeochemistry, 154(2), 405–423. doi: 10.1007/s10533-020-00714-2
Mitre, S. K., Mardegan, S. F., Caldeira, C. F., Ramos, S. J., Furtini Neto, A. E., Siqueira, J. O., & Gastauer, M. (2018). Nutrient and water dynamics of Amazonian canga vegetation differ among physiognomies and from those of other neotropical ecosystems. Plant Ecology, 219(11), 1341–1353. doi: 10.1007/s11258-018-0883-6
Miranda, L. d’Afonsêca P. de, Vitória, A. P., & Funch, L. S. (2011). Leaf phenology and water potential of five arboreal species in gallery and montane forests in the Chapada Diamantina; Bahia; Brazil. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 70(2-3), 143–150. doi: 10.1016/j.envexpbot.2010.08.011
Oliveira, R. S., Galvão, H. C., de Campos, M. C., Eller, C. B., Pearse, S. J., & Lambers, H. (2015). Mineral nutrition of campos rupestres plant species on contrasting nutrient‐impoverished soil types. New Phytologist, 205(3), 1183-1194. doi: 10.1111/nph.13175
Peña-Peña, K., & Irmler, U. (2016). Moisture seasonality, soil fauna, litter quality and land use as drivers of decomposition in Cerrado soils in SE-Mato Grosso, Brazil. Applied Soil Ecology, 107, 124–133. doi: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2016.05.007
Parron, L. M., Bustamante, M. M. C., Markewitz, D. (2011). Fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus in a gallery forest in the Cerrado of central Brazil. Biogeochemistry, 10, 89-104. doi: 10.1007/s10533-010-9537-z
Piccolo, M. C., Neill, C., & Cerri, C. C. (1994). Net nitrogen mineralization and net nitrification along a tropical forest-to-pasture chronosequence. Plant and Soil, 162(1), 61–70. doi: 10.1007/BF01416090
Resende, J. C. F., Markewitz, D., Klink, C. A., Bustamante, M. M. D. C., & Davidson, E. A. (2011). Phosphorus cycling in a small watershed in the Brazilian Cerrado: impacts of frequent burning. Biogeochemistry. 105(1), 105–118.
doi: 10.1007/s10533-010-9531-5
Rezende, R. S., Sales, M. A., Hurbath, F., Roque, N., Gonçalves, J. F., & Medeiros, A. O. (2017). Effect of plant richness on the dynamics of coarse particulate organic matter in a Brazilian Savannah stream. Limnologica, 63, 57-64. doi: 10.1016/j.limno.2017.02.002
Ronquim, C. C. (2010). Conceitos de fertilidade do solo e manejo adequado para as regiões tropicais. – Boletim de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento. Campinas: Embrapa Monitoramento por Satélite, 26. Recovered from http://www.infoteca.cnptia.embrapa.br/infoteca/handle/doc/1128267
RPPN - Estação Veracel. (2016). Plano de Manejo. Eunápolis: Veracel Celulose, Gerência de Sustentabilidade, e Conservação Internacional.
Schorn, L. A., Galvão, F. (2006) Dinâmica da regeneração natural em três estágios sucessionais de uma Floresta Ombrófila Densa em Blumenau, SC. Floresta, 36: 59-74. doi: 10.5380/rfv36i1.5508
Silva D.M.L. (2005). Dinâmica de nitrogênio em microbacias do Estado de São Paulo. (Tese de Doutorado). Universidade de São Paulo.
Silveira, F. A. O., Negreiros, D., Barbosa, N. P. U., Buisson, E., Carmo, F. F., Carstensen, D. W., Lambers, H. (2016). Ecology and evolution of plant diversity in the endangered “Campo Rupestre”: a neglected conservation priority. Plant and Soil, 403(1-2), 129–152. doi: 10.1007/s11104-015-2637-8
Souza, J. C., Pereira, M. A., Costa, E. N. D., Silva, D. M. L. (2017). Nitrogen dynamics in soil solution under different land uses: Atlantic forest and cacao–AFS cacao-cabruca system. Agroforestry Systems, 92(2), 425–435. doi: 10.1007/s10457-017-0077-6
Taylor, P. G., Wieder, W. R., Weintraub, S., Cohen, S., Cleveland, C. C., & Townsend, A. R. (2015). Organic forms dominate hydrologic nitrogen export from a lowland tropical watershed. Ecology, 96(5), 1229–1241. Doi: 10.1007/s11707-017-0647-y
Villela, D., de Mattos, E., Pinto, A., Vieira, S., & Martinelli, L. (2012). Carbon and nitrogen stock and fluxes in coastal Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil: potential impacts of climate change on biogeochemical functioning. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 72(3), 633–642. doi: 10.1590/S1519-69842012000400003
Wohl, E. (2017) The significance of small streams. Frontiers of Earth Science, 11(3), 447–456. doi: 10.1007/s11707-017-0647-y
Published
2022-09-30
How to Cite
SOUZA, Jessica Carneiro et al.
Nitrogen dynamics in small watersheds in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado in Northeastern Brazil.
Acta Brasiliensis, [S.l.], v. 6, n. 3, p. 72-78, sep. 2022.
ISSN 2526-4338.
Available at: <http://revistas.ufcg.edu.br/actabra/index.php/actabra/article/view/620>. Date accessed: 11 may 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.22571/2526-4338620.
Section
Ecology
