Effects of Tsunami on ornithogenic nitrogen in soils at a Black-tailed Gull colony

• Kazama Kentaro

  Faculty of Agriculture, Meijo University Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

• Murano Hirotatsu

  Faculty of Agriculture, Meijo University

• Tomita Naoki

  Yamashina Institute for Ornithology

• Hosoda Akifumi

  Faculty of Agriculture, Meijo University

• Niizuma Yasuaki

  Faculty of Agriculture, Meijo University

• Mizota Chitoshi

  Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University

Abstract

Large amounts of marine-derived nitrogen are carried ashore by seabirds in their feces (ornithogenic N). Various topological, meteorological, and environmental factors can affect microbial transformation of ornithogenic N altering the physical and biochemical conditions of the soils. Tsunami may be a factor affecting ornithgenic soil N dynamics leading to changes in soil conditions. We examined the effects of the tsunami triggered by the 11 March 2011 earthquake off the East Coast of Honshu, Japan, on ornithogenic soil N in the Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris breeding colony on Kabushima (Kabu Island) four months after the disaster. There were no differences in the total N content in soils between tsunami splashed (upper half of the island) and flooded areas (lower half), and the visual topography was comparable to that reported before the tsunami. It seems that the tsunami may not have extensively removed accumulated ornithogenic N in the soils, nor did it induce deposition of organic matter derived from marine sediments. However, δ¹⁵N values of soil N were lower in the area flooded by the tsunami than in the splashed area, suggesting the possibility that the tsunami caused leaching of ornithogenic N from the soil. Soils flooded by the tsunami contained higher levels of marine salts than those from the splashed area. N isotopic differences between NH₄- and NO₃-N were smaller in the flooded soils than in the splashed area. This indicates that nitrification of ornithogenic soil N is suppressed in the flooded area because of the remarkable increase in the salt concentration of the soil.

Journal

• ORNITHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

  ORNITHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 14 (1), 29-39, 2015

  The Ornithological Society of Japan

Keywords

• Ammonium
• Guano
• Nitrate
• Nitrification
• Tsunami

Details

• CRID: 1390001205189173632
• NII Article ID: 130004934978
• DOI: 10.2326/osj.14.29
• ISSN: 13470558
• Text Lang: en
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • Crossref
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed