Applications of nitrogen stable isotope techniques in the study of nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems

Abstract

In the past several decades, the development of nitrogen (N) stable isotope techniques has improved the understanding of N cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. This review briefly introduced the history of N stable isotope techniques in studying N cycling in terrestrial ecosystems and summarized typical studies focusing on different aspects of ecosystem N cycling in recent years, including using 1) 15N natural abundance to identify plant N sources, indicate N status of ecosystems, and quantify N transformation rates; 2) 15N enriched tracers to study N fates, redistribution and gaseous loss from ecosystems. In the end, this review points out challenges and future applications of N stable isotope techniques on studying N cycling in terrestrial ecosystems.