The stable nitrogen (N) isotope ratio (δ15N) of forest samples (soils, tree foliage, and tree rings) has been used as a powerful indicator to explore the responses of forest N cycling to atmospheric N deposition. This review investigated the patterns of δ15N in forest samples between climate zones in relation to N deposition. Forest samples exhibited distinctive δ15N patterns between climate zones due to differences in site conditions (i.e., N availability and retention capacity) and the atmospheric N deposition characteristics (i.e., N deposition rate, N species, and δ15N of deposited N). For example, the δ15N of soil and foliage was higher for tropical forests than for other forests by >1.2 ‰ and 4 ‰, respectively due to the site conditions favoring N losses coupled with relatively low N deposition for tropical forests. This was further supported by the unchanged or increased δ15N of tree rings in tropical forests, which contrasts with other climate zones that exhibited a decreased wood δ15N since the 1920s. Subtropical forests under a high deposition of reduced N (NHy) had a lower δ15N by 2-5 ‰ in the organic layer compared with the other forests, reflecting high retention of 15N-depleted NHy deposition. At severely polluted sites in East Asia, the decreased δ15N in wood also reflected the consistent deposition of 15N-depleted NHy. Though our data analysis represents only a subset of global forest sites where atmospheric N deposition is of interest, the results suggest that the direction and magnitude of the changes in the δ15N of forest samples are related to both atmospheric N and site conditions particularly for tropical vs. subtropical forests. Site-specific information on the atmospheric N deposition characteristics would allow more accurate assessment of the variations in the δ15N of forest samples in relation to N deposition.
Keywords: Boreal; N loss; N retention; Subtropical; Temperate; Tropical.
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