Trade-off between root nitrogen acquisition and shoot nitrogen utilization across 13 co-occurring pasture grass species

Differential effects of plant diversity on functional trait variation of grass species

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Functional trait differences and trait adjustment in response to influences of the biotic environment could reflect niche partitioning among species. In this study, we tested how variation in above-ground plant traits, chosen as indicators for light and nitrogen acquisition and use, differs among taxonomically closely related species (Poaceae) to assess their potential for niche segregation at increasing plant diversity.

METHODS

Traits of 12 grass species were measured in experimental grasslands (Jena Experiment) of varying species richness (from 1 to 60) and presence of particular functional groups (grasses, legumes, tall herbs and small herbs).

KEY RESULTS

Grass species increased shoot and leaf length, investment into supporting tissue (stem mass fraction) and specific leaf area as well as reduced foliar δ(13)C values with increasing species richness, indicating higher efforts for light acquisition. These species-richness effects could in part be explained by a higher probability of legume presence in more diverse communities. Leaf nitrogen concentrations increased and biomas s : N ratios in shoots decreased when grasses grew with legumes, indicating an improved nitrogen nutrition. Foliar δ(15)N values of grasses decreased when growing with legumes suggesting the use of depleted legume-derived N, while decreasing δ(15)N values with increasing species richness indicated a shift in the uptake of different N sources. However, efforts to optimize light and nitrogen acquisition by plastic adjustment of traits in response to species richness and legume presence, varied significantly among grass species. It was possible to show further that trait adjustment of grass species increased niche segregation in more diverse plant communities but that complementarity through niche separation may differ between light and nutrient acquisition.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that even among closely related species such as grasses different strategies are used to cope with neighbours. This lack in redundancy in turn may facilitate complementary resource use and coexistence.

The role of plant traits and their plasticity in the response of pasture grasses to nutrients and cutting frequency

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Although plant functional traits (PFTs) appear to be important indicators of species' responses to land use changes, there is no clear understanding of how the variations in traits and their plasticity determine variations in species performance. This study investigated the role of functional shoot traits and their plasticity for variation in above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) due to changes in N supply and in cutting frequency for 13 native perennial C(3) grass species.

METHODS

Monocultures of the grass species were grown in a fully factorial block design combining plant species, cutting frequency and N supply as factors.

KEY RESULTS

Four major trait associations were obtained by reducing the dimensions of 14 PFTs with a principal component analysis (PCA).Variations in species' productivity in response to an increase in cutting frequency was mainly explained by traits linked to the first PCA axis, opposing high plant stature from lower shoot cellulose and lignin contents and high leaf N content. Variation in species productivity in response to change in N supply was mainly explained by a set of predictor variables combining traits (average flowering date) and a trait's plasticity (tiller density per unit land area and leaf dry matter content, i.e. mg dry matter g fresh mass(-1)). These traits involved are linked to the second PCA axis ('nutrient acquisition-conservation'), which opposes distinct strategies based on response to nutrient supply.

CONCLUSIONS

Variations in ANPP of species in response to an increase in cutting frequency and a decrease in N supply are controlled by a group of traits, rather than by one individual trait. Incorporating plasticity of the individual traits into these trait combinations was the key to explaining species' productivity responses, accounting for up to 89 % of the total variability in response to the changes in N supply.