Articles | Volume 9, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-3287-2012
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-3287-2012
Research article
 | 
23 Aug 2012
Research article |  | 23 Aug 2012

Isotopic identification of nitrogen hotspots across natural terrestrial ecosystems

E. Bai, B. Z. Houlton, and Y. P. Wang

Abstract. Nitrogen (N) influences local biological processes, ecosystem productivity, the composition of the atmospheric-climate system, and the human endeavour as a whole. Here we use natural variations in N isotopes, coupled with two models, to trace global pathways of N loss from the land to the water and atmosphere. We show that denitrification accounts for approximately 35 % of total N losses from the natural soil, with NO, N2O, and N2 fluxes equal to 15.7 ± 4.7 Tg N yr−1, 10.2 ± 3.0 Tg N yr−1, and 21.0 ± 6.1 Tg N yr−1, respectively. Our analysis points to tropical regions as the major "hotspot" of nitrogen export from the terrestrial biosphere, accounting for 71 % of global N losses from the natural land surface. The poorly studied Congo Basin is further identified as one of the major natural sources of atmospheric N2O. Extra-tropical areas, by contrast, lose a greater fraction of N via leaching pathways (~77 % of total N losses) than do tropical biomes, likely contributing to N limitations of CO2 uptake at higher latitudes. Our results provide an independent constraint on global models of the N cycle among different regions of the unfertilized biosphere.

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