Fog as a source of nitrogen for redwood trees: evidence from fluxes and stable isotopes

A defining feature of the redwood forest in coastal California is the presence of fog in the summer months, a time when there is typically little rainfall. Our goal was to determine the role of summer fog in canopy transformation of nitrogen, nitrogen uptake by trees and photosynthesis within a coastal redwood forest ecosystem. We measured horizontal and vertical inputs of nitrogen, the isotopic composition of nitrogen in a variety of atmospheric sources (summer fog, winter rain and throughfall throughout the year), nitrogen pools (soil solution) and plant tissue (roots and foliage), as well as rates of photosynthesis and nitrogen uptake by trees. Throughfall nitrogen fluxes were greater at the forest edge compared to the interior both within the canopy (sampled 10 m above-ground) and onto the forest floor (sampled 1 m above-ground; P < 0.05). Similarly, soil solution inline image and total inorganic nitrogen were greater at the forest edge compared to the interior (P = 0.0014 and 0....