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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Microplot Design and Plant and Soil Sample Preparation for 15Nitrogen Analysis

Microplot Design and Plant and Soil Sample Preparation for 15Nitrogen Analysis

Published on: May 10, 2020

Sampling spatial and temporal variation in soil nitrogen availability.

Michael L Cain¹, Scott Subler², Jonathan P Evans³

¹Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA e-mail: mcain@nmsu.edu; Fax: +1-505-6465665, , , , , , MX.

|March 18, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Ion exchange membrane spikes offer a new method to track soil nutrients like ammonium and nitrate over time. Soil nitrogen availability in dunes changes significantly throughout the growing season.

Keywords:

Ion exchange membrane spikes Key words Coastal dune ecosystems Soil nitrogen availability Soil resource heterogeneity Spatial statistics

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Area of Science:

Soil Science
Ecology
Environmental Science

Background:

Spatial mapping of soil attributes in natural ecosystems over a growing season is challenging due to sampling difficulties.
Ion exchange membrane spikes provide a non-destructive method for repeated temporal measurements of soil resources at specific locations.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the temporal dynamics of soil ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) availability in a mid-successional coastal dune ecosystem.
To compare soil nitrogen concentrations and spatial patterns across different successional stages (early, mid, late) of coastal dunes.

Main Methods:

Utilized ion exchange membrane spikes for repeated, non-destructive measurements of soil ammonium and nitrate availability over four periods within a growing season.
Collected soil cores from early, mid, and late successional dunes at a single time point to measure soil ammonium and nitrate concentrations.

Main Results:

Soil nitrogen concentrations were generally low and highly variable across all dune successional stages.
Mean soil ammonium and nitrate concentrations increased with dune age, while variability decreased.
Soil nitrate exhibited strong spatial structure, whereas ammonium did not; plant-available nutrients showed limited spatial structure, with nitrate availability in the second sampling period being an exception.
Spatial patterns of soil nitrogen availability shifted significantly over time, with low correlations between measurements at different time points.

Conclusions:

Temporal fluctuations in soil nitrogen availability are substantial, indicating dynamic nutrient patches within the growing season.
While soil nitrogen generally increases with dune age, its spatial distribution and availability fluctuate considerably over time.
The reappearance of nitrate patches at specific locations suggests some degree of temporal predictability, though overall spatial structure is weak and dynamic.