Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 25, 2026

Understanding Dissolved Organic Matter Biogeochemistry Through In Situ Nutrient Manipulations in Stream Ecosystems
Published on: October 29, 2016
Effects of surface soil removal on dynamics of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in a snow-dominated forest
1Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. megumi@exfor.agr.hokudai.ac.jp
Abstract:
To clarify the effect of vegetation and surface soil removal on dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) dynamics in a snow-dominated forest soil in northern Japan, the seasonal fluctuation of N concentrations in soil solution and the annual flux of N in soil were investigated at a treated site (in which surface soil, including understory vegetation and organic and A horizons, was removed) and control sites from July 1998 to June 2000. Nitrate (NO3-) concentration in soil solution at the treated site was significantly higher than that of the control in the no-snow period, and it was decreased by dilution from melting snow. The annual net outputs of NO3- from soil at the treated site and control sites were 257 and -12 mmol m(-2) year(-1), and about 57% of the net output at the treated site occurred during the snowmelt period. NO3- was transported from the upper level to the lower level of soil via water movement during late autumn and winter, and it was retained in soil and leached by melt water in early spring. Removing vegetation and surface soil resulted in an increase in NO3- concentration of soil solution, and snowmelt strongly affected the NO3- leaching from treated soil and the NO3- restoration process in a snow-dominated region.
More Related Videos
09:16Methods of Soil Resampling to Monitor Changes in the Chemical Concentrations of Forest Soils
Published on: November 25, 2016
10:16Design and Operation of a Continuous 13C and 15N Labeling Chamber for Uniform or Differential, Metabolic and Structural, Plant Isotope Labeling
Published on: January 16, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Soil Microbial Ecology
Microbial Wastewater Treatment
The Soil Ecosystem
The Nitrogen Cycle
Freshwater Microbial Ecology