Nitrogen cycle
Vanadium nitrogenase fuels forest moss N fixation
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Vanadium nitrogenase was active in most valid moss and lichen samples across three continents, averaging about 40% of moss N2 fixation.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cross-sectional — LISARA assays of moss and lichen V-nitrogenase across three continents
- N
- N=109 · 109 sampling plots (>40 sites, 9 locations); multiple cryptogam samples per plot
- Population
- Mosses and lichens in extratropical forests of North America, South America, and East Asia
- Outcome
- Share of biological N2 fixation attributable to vanadium nitrogenase
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Key findings
V-Nase occurred in 68±20% of samples by site (79% of valid assays), 15 of 28 genera, from 28% of Hokkaido samples to 94% in North Carolina; mosses ~40% and lichens ~25% of BNF.
Methodology
Used low-activity isotopic acetylene reduction (LISARA) on cryptogams from over 40 sites in 9 locations across North America, South America, and East Asia.
Limitations
Isotopes cannot yet separate V-only from Fe-only nitrogenase, and assays do not scale measured rates to a global N budget.
How this study connects
Role on claims
Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.
This library holds 6 empirical papers on nitrogen cycle with measured outcomes rather than reviews.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Vanadium nitrogenase was active in most valid moss and lichen samples across three continents, averaging about 40% of moss N2 fixation.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
A reactor microbiome or a canopy 15N tracer is not catchment-scale load.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
A reactor microbiome or a canopy 15N tracer is not catchment-scale load.
- Supports · ‘Black’ nitrogen can form without fire
Related papers in this topic
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