Trace elements key to nutrient cycle in tropical forests

Researchers from America have revealed new insights into the role of trace elements in the nutrient cycles of tropical forests.

University of Georgia and Princeton University researchers have uncovered that molybdenum has a crucial role to play in the nutrient cycles, which could help scientists more accurately predict how tropical forests will respond to climate change.

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in sustaining environments in the tropical forests, which is added to an ecosystem through a process of nitrogen fixation. Bacteria in the soil convert this nitrogen into a form used by plants by creating an enzyme called nitrogenise, which was previously thought to rely on phosphorus.

However, lead author Nina Wurzburger and colleagues have found that although phosphorus is indeed important to the process, another element—molybdenum—is also crucial.

Ms Wurzburger said: "Our results were quite unexpected. 

We discovered that the trace element molybdenum often was the limiting nutrient, not phosphorus, as most theories would predict."

Posted by Fiona Griffiths