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Declining nitrogen (N) availability relative to plant demand, known as N oligotrophication, is a widespread phenomenon that has been particularly well documented in northern hardwood forests of the northeast U.S. It is hypothesized that later fall senescence contributes to this trend by increasing tree resorption of N, resulting in higher carbon:nitrogen ratios (C:N) in litterfall and reduced N availability in soil. To examine the effects of litterfall C:N on soil N cycling, we conducted a litter quality manipulation experiment comparing low C:N and high C:N litter with native litter along an elevation and aspect gradient at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, USA. We found that potential net ammonification and mineralization rates were positively correlated with litter N and negatively correlated with litter C:N under high C:N litter, but these relationships were not present under native or low C:N litter. Differences in nitrate pools and net mineralization rates between high- and low-quality litter treatments were greater at colder sites where native litterfall tends to have lower C:N than at low elevation sites. Together, these results demonstrate that higher C:N litter and a warming climate likely contribute to N oligotrophication through effects on microbially driven N cycling rates in organic soils. These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 

In seasonally snow-covered ecosystems such as northern hardwood forests of the northeastern U.S., spring snowmelt is a critical transition period for plant and microbial communities, as well as for the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen (N). However, it remains unknown how shifting snowmelt dynamics influence soil and plant processing and uptake of N in these forests, which are experiencing reductions in N availability relative to demand, a process known as oligotrophication. We determined the role of changing spring snowmelt timing on root production and N pools and fluxes by manipulating snowmelt timing along a climate elevation gradient at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. We manually halved or doubled snow water equivalent (SWE) in experimental plots in March of 2022 and 2023 to accelerate or delay by an average of one week, respectively, the onset of spring snowmelt. Earlier snowmelt led to reduced snowpack depth and duration, as well as deeper, more sustained soil frost during the snowmelt period in 2022, but soil freezing did not occur in 2023. Soil nitrate and net nitrification rates were significantly lower with shallower snowpack and earlier snowmelt compared to plots with deeper snow and later snowmelt. Shallower snowpack and early snowmelt were also associated with decreased foliar N concentrations and 15N values, indications that earlier snowmelt contributes to lower N availability relative to plant N uptake and demand. Our study provides evidence that early snowmelt resulting from shallower snowpack contributes to N oligotrophication, primarily through impacts on soil nitrate supply and uptake of N by trees. These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.