Tracking the route of atmospheric nitrogen to diazotrophs colonizing buried mangrove roots

摘要

Nitrogen-fixing activity has been observed in the rhizosphere of mangrove ecosystems, suggesting a close mangrove-diazotroph relationship. In regularly flooded soil, however, the pathway by which atmospheric nitrogen reaches the diazotrophs in the rhizosphere is unknown. This study provides evidence that mangrove aerial roots serve as pathways that supply nitrogen gas to the diazotrophs colonizing buried roots. A plastic chamber was attached on the exposed part of a Rhizophora stylosa Griff prop root, and N-15(2) tracer gas was injected into it. The entire root, including the below-ground part, was collected for analysis of N-15 labelling and nitrogenase activity. We detected N-15 labelling in buried root materials 2 h after gas injection. Compared with the delta N-15 contents in root material from an untreated tree, the increment was >10 parts per thousand in lateral roots. The nitrogenase activity measured on the other R. stylosa roots was highest in lateral roots, matching well with the results of N-15 labelling. Our results indicate that atmospheric nitrogen is taken into aerial mangrove roots through lenticels, diffuses into the buried root system and is fixed by diazotrophs. The unusual appearance of mangrove aerial roots, which has intrigued researchers for many years, could be a key to the high productivity of mangrove ecosystems.