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Natural abundance of 15N in two cacao plantations with legume and non-legume shade trees

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Abstract

Natural abundance of 15N was sampled in young and mature leaves, branches, stem, and coarse roots of trees in a cacao (Theobroma cacao) plantation shaded by legume tree Inga edulis and scattered non-legumes, in a cacao plantation with mixed-species shade (legume Gliricidia sepium and several non-legumes), and in a tree hedgerow bordering the plantations in Guácimo, in the humid Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. The deviation of the sample 15N proportion from that of atmosphere (δ15N) was similar in non-legumes Cordia alliodora, Posoqueria latifolia, Rollinia pittieri, and T. cacao. Deep-rooted Hieronyma alchorneoides had lower δ15N than other non-N2-fixers, which probably reflected uptake from a partially different soil N pool. Gliricidia sepium had low δ15N. Inga edulis had high δ15N in leaves and branches but low in stem and coarse roots. The percentage of N fixed from atmosphere out of total tree N (%Nf) in G. sepium varied 56–74%; N2 fixation was more active in July (the rainiest season) than in March (the relatively dry season). The variation of δ15N between organs in I. edulis was probably associated to 15N fractionation in leaves. Stem and coarse root δ15N was assumed to reflect the actual ratio of N2 fixation to soil N uptake; stem-based estimates of %Nf in I. edulis were 48–63%. Theobroma cacao below I. edulis had lower δ15N than T. cacao below mixed-species shade, which may indicate direct N transfer from I. edulis to T. cacao but results so far were inconclusive. Further research should address the 15N fractionation in the studied species for improving the accuracy of the N transfer estimates. The δ15N appeared to vary according to ecophysiological characteristics of the trees.

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Acknowledgements

We want to express our special thanks to Ms. Eloni Sonninen of the Dating Laboratory at the University of Helsinki for performing the IRMS analyses, technical advice, and help in interpretation of the results, and Mr. Ricardo Palacios for plantation management. Mr. Minor Cubillo collected all samples that required climbing to trees, Ms. Anu Nygren and Ms. Jenni Luolaja assisted in other samplings, and Ms. Marjut Wallner performed the total N analyses. The study was financed by the grant # 111769 from the Academy of Finland and by the EARTH University research committee.

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  1. Department of Forest Ecology, 00014 University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, Helsinki, Finland

    Pekka Nygren

  2. EARTH University, 4442-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica

    Humberto A. Leblanc

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  1. Pekka Nygren
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  2. Humberto A. Leblanc
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Correspondence to Pekka Nygren.

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Nygren, P., Leblanc, H.A. Natural abundance of 15N in two cacao plantations with legume and non-legume shade trees. Agroforest Syst 76, 303–315 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-008-9160-3

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