Early spring nitrogen uptake by snow-covered plants: A comparison of arctic and alpine plant function under the snowpack

We compared nitrogen (N) acquisition by alpine and arctic tundra plants during snowmelt, and assessed its significance relative to season-long N demand. We then related plant responses in alpine and arctic tundra to soil and air temperature.. parallel experiments were conducted in an alpine moist meadow at Niwot Ridge, Colorado, and in arctic dry heath and moist tussock tundra near Toolik Lake Alaska. We added 99%-enriched (NH4NO3)-N-15-N-15 (0.5 g N m(-2)) to the snowpack, and traced the fate of the N-15 into plants and soil by harvesting samples before snowmelt ended. All alpine and arctic plants acquired N during snowmelt. However, alpine plants acquired 100 times more N than arctic plants. Using data from published studies, we estimated season-long N demand for the vascular plant species. In the: alpine tundra, N uptake during snowmelt constituted over 12% of season-long uptake for a graminoid species, and averaged 7.4% for perennial forbs. In contrast, N uptake during snowmelt by arctic plants averaged less than 0.1% of season-long N uptake. Soil temperatures were similar in these systems during snowmelt, averaging -0.4 degreesC in the arctic and -0.5 degreesC in the alpine tundra. However, arctic plants experienced lower winter soil temperatures, than alpine plants. Winter soil surface temperatures averaged -7.75 degreesC in arctic and -2.43 degreesC in alpine tundra systems, and the lowest weekly mean temperature was -14.5 degreesC in the arctic and -6.14 degreesC in the alpine systems. Thus, differences in plant N uptake are likely due to winter conditions, rather than conditions that occurred during uptake. In conclusion, plant acquisition of N resources during snow-melt is important in alpine systems.