Abstract
PLANT growth in arctic tundra is strongly nitrogen limited despite large pools of soil organic nitrogen1–4. Here we report that fieldcollected roots of Eriophorum vaginatum, an arctic sedge, rapidly absorb free amino acids, accounting for at least 60% of the nitrogen absorbed by this species in the field. In solution culture, Eriophorum accumulates more nitrogen and biomass when supplied with amino acids than when grown on inorganic nitrogen, whereas Hordeum vulgare (a cereal adapted to mineral soils) grows least when nitrogen is supplied as amino acids. To our knowledge, this is the first documentation of preferential absorption and use of organic nitrogen by a non-mycorrhizal vascular plant. The direct absorption of amino acids by Eriophorum short-circuits the bottleneck in arctic nitrogen cycles imposd by temperature-limited mineralization.
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Chapin, F., Moilanen, L. & Kielland, K. Preferential use of organic nitrogen for growth by a non-mycorrhizal arctic sedge. Nature 361, 150–153 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/361150a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/361150a0
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