Reconstructing 40ky of N cycling from stable isotopes of plant compounds in a Siberian permafrost soil

Abstract:

Terrestrial nitrogen (N) cycling has an important dual role in regulating global climate, as N is both a limiting plant nutrient and a constituent of a potent greenhouse gas. Reconstructing past terrestrial N cycling is a valuable complement to experimental manipulation of complex climate-carbon-N interactions, but has been challenged by shortcomings of available proxies. We here examine 40ky of terrestrial N cycling on the landscape of northeast Siberia as recorded in N-isotopes of chlorophyll degradation products preserved in a permafrost soil core. This dataset gives insight into the response of the N cycle to concurrent changes in climate, plant community, and atmospheric pCO2 that accompany a cycle of glaciation. This study is the first application to temporal reconstruction of this compound-specific, soil-based proxy for an integrated foliar N isotope signal. We infer ~10 per mil swings in foliar N-isotope values at this site, pointing to the sensitivity of denitrification at high latitudes to changes in environmental conditions. We further observe the effect of increases in N-fixing species on stimulating N cycling as recorded by our proxy. We do not see an effect of progressive N limitation due to pre-anthropogenic increases in pCO2 accompanying deglaciation.