Nitrogen Fixation in the High Arctic: Role of Vegetation and Environmental Conditions

Abstract

The course of nitrogen fixation by moss-associated cyanobacteria in Svalbard (78°N, 16°E), Norway, was studied using the acetylene reduction assay. In situ field measurements of nitrogen fixation activity were conducted in six different types of moss-dominated arctic vegetation from the beginning of the snowmelt in early June to the end of July 1998. Concurrently, the water content of the soil/vegetation layer was determined and correlated with the nitrogen fixation rates. At all sites with diminishing water content during the summer season, nitrogen fixation activity was positively correlated with the amount of available water in the vegetation. At two sites, where water content of the vegetation was constantly higher than 80% (w/w) throughout the season, nitrogen fixation activity was correlated with temperature. Depending on the type of vegetation, nitrogen fixation became limited when the water status fell below a minimum threshold level. The most desiccation-tolerant vegetation for nitrogen fixation activity was the cryptobiotic crust, where nitrogen fixation decreased only after the water content of the soil/vegetation was less than 50% of the its fresh weight, while in the other types of vegetation nitrogen fixation stopped when water content was around 60%. The results from the present study confirm that, in arctic regions with low precipitation during the growing season, nitrogen fixation in different types of vegetation is mostly limited either to the period of snowmelt when water is sufficiently available, or to habitats that stay wet during summer.