title: Soil functional responses to excess nitrogen inputs at global scale.
abstract: There is little evidence that nitrogen (N) cycling in the highly weathered, low-phosphorus (P), acidic soils found in Southern Hemisphere continents will differ greatly from that in North America and Europe. Evidence from the 'south' shows: the similarity in forms and temporal patterns in losses of N from different land uses; that the C:N ratios of the forest floor/litter layer from different continents are strongly predictive of a range of processes on a global scale; that generalizations based on Northern Hemisphere experience of the impact of N additions to 'P-limited' ecosystems are likely to fail for southern ecosystems where anatomical and physiological adaptation of native plants to low-P soils makes questionable the concept of 'P-limitation'; that the greatest threats in the 'south' are probably changes in land use that may greatly increase N inputs and turnover; that localized increases in N inputs produce similar effects to those seen in the 'north'.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, University of Western Australia, Crawley. adamsma@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Phil
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ineson
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Binkley
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cadisch
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tokuchi
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scholes
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hicks
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005390:Fires; D038622:Internationality; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D009584:Nitrogen