Functional Ecology of Free-Living Nitrogen Fixation: A Contemporary Perspective

Nitrogen (N) availability is thought to frequently limit terrestrial ecosystem processes, and explicit consideration of N biogeochemistry, including biological N-2, fixation, is central to understanding ecosystem responses to environmental change. Yet, the importance of free-living N-2 fixation-a process that occurs on a wide variety of substrates, is nearly ubiquitous in terrestrial ecosystems, and may often represent the dominant pathway for acquiring newly available N-is often underappreciated. Here, we draw from studies that investigate free-living N-2 fixation from functional, physiological, genetic, and ecological perspectives. We show that recent research and analytical advances have generated a wealth of new information that provides novel insight into the ecology of N-2 fixation as well as raises new questions and priorities for future work. These priorities include a need to better integrate free-living N-2 fixation into conceptual and analytical evaluations of the N cycle's role in a variety of global change scenarios.