Microbial ecology of á-Proteobacteria ammonia-oxidizers along a concentration gradient of dry atmospheric nitrogen deposition in the San Bernadino Mountain Range.

The fate of atmospherically-deposited nitrogen from industrial pollution is of major concern in the montane ecosystems bordering the South Coast California Air Basin. Nitrogen deposition rates in the more exposed regions of the San Bernardino Mountains (SBM) are among the highest in North America often exceeding 40 kg ha-1 year-1 in throughfall deposition of nitrate and ammonium (Fenn and Poth, 1999). Forest ecosystems with elevated N deposition generally exhibit elevated accumulation of soil nitrate, leaching and runoff, elevated emissions of nitrogenous gases, increased nitrification, and decreased litter decomposition rates. The role of nitrifying microbial populations, especially those taxonomically associated with the beta-Proteobacteria ammonia-oxidizers (AOB), will provide insight into nitrogen-cycling in these extremely N-saturated environments. Using 16S ribosomal DNA-based molecular techniques (16S rDNA clone library construction and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism), we are comparing AOB community diversity at 3 different locations along a natural atmospheric N-deposition concentration gradient in the SBM: from high at Camp Paviaka (CP), medium at Strawberry Peak (SP) to low at Dogwood (DW). As observed for wet N-deposition systems on the east coast, we hypothesized a negative correlation between AOB community diversity, abundance and function with nitrogen loading in the dry N deposition system of SBM. Nitrification potentials determined for the 3 sites along the N-deposition gradient were in the order of CP less than SP less than DW. Preliminary results indicate no correlation between diversity of AOB and increased nitrogen loading. Shannon-Weiner diversity indices calculated for ammonia-oxidizer RFLP group units were 2.22, 2.66 and 1.80 for CP, SP and DW, respectively.