Recuperation of nitrogen cycling in Amazonian forests following agricultural abandonment

Eric A. Davidson (), Cláudio J. Reis de Carvalho, Adelaine Michela Figueira, Françoise Yoko Ishida, Jean Pierre H. B. Ometto, Gabriela B. Nardoto, Renata Tuma Sabá, Sanae N. Hayashi, Eliane C. Leal, Ima Célia G. Vieira and Luiz A. Martinelli
Additional contact information
Eric A. Davidson: The Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, Massachusetts 02540-1644, USA
Cláudio J. Reis de Carvalho: EMBRAPA Amazônia Oriental, C. P. 48, Belém, PA 66.095-100, Brazil
Adelaine Michela Figueira: CENA, University of São Paulo, Avenue Centenário, 303, Piracicaba, SP 13.416-000, Brazil
Françoise Yoko Ishida: CENA, University of São Paulo, Avenue Centenário, 303, Piracicaba, SP 13.416-000, Brazil
Jean Pierre H. B. Ometto: CENA, University of São Paulo, Avenue Centenário, 303, Piracicaba, SP 13.416-000, Brazil
Gabriela B. Nardoto: CENA, University of São Paulo, Avenue Centenário, 303, Piracicaba, SP 13.416-000, Brazil
Renata Tuma Sabá: EMBRAPA Amazônia Oriental, C. P. 48, Belém, PA 66.095-100, Brazil
Sanae N. Hayashi: Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, PA 66.040-179, Brazil
Eliane C. Leal: Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, PA 66.040-179, Brazil
Ima Célia G. Vieira: Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, PA 66.040-179, Brazil
Luiz A. Martinelli: CENA, University of São Paulo, Avenue Centenário, 303, Piracicaba, SP 13.416-000, Brazil

Nature, 2007, vol. 447, issue 7147, 995-998

Abstract: Nitrogen does the rounds Some 16% of the original Amazon forest has been cleared for agriculture, but much of that land is no longer in use and is starting to regrow. Such 'secondary forests' are becoming increasingly important as tropical land-use change results in larger areas that have gone through agricultural phases. A new study of Amazon forest areas between 3 and 70 years into their recovery reveals nitrogen and phosphorus cycling processes consistent with large losses of nitrogen during land use change. Nitrogen availability is ephemeral, and readily disrupted by either natural or anthropogenic disturbance. Understanding how the nutrient cycling processes of secondary forest succession should contribute to the better management Amazonian ecosystems. Elsewhere in the nitrogen cycle, an analysis of virtually all extant data on open oceanic nitrification, in conjunction with a global ecosystem model, demonstrates that the generally accepted assumptions concerning its distribution are incorrect. Much of the nitrate taken up by the oceans is generated through recent nitrification near the surface and, at the global scale, nitrification accounts for about half of the nitrate consumed by growing phytoplankton. This means that many previous attempts to quantify marine carbon export may be significant overestimates.

Date: 2007
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature05900 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:447:y:2007:i:7147:d:10.1038_nature05900

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/nature05900

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().