1 - Carex curvula grassland (Curvuletum) at 2350 m, Swiss Alps.

• The annual nitrogen demand of an alpine grassland is largely derived from the nutrient cycle.

• Use of instantaneous N-input via N-deposition and biological N-fixation is small (not shown here).

• A cycle similar to the one shown here exists below the ground, although the "grazers" are different (soil animals).

• Note that grasshoppers recycle nearly as much N as ruminants.

1 - The fate of nitrogen in an alpine grassland at 2500 m elevation in the Swiss Alps (all numbers in g N m^-2).

29 August 2011
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