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Manninen OH, Myrsky E, Tolvanen A, Stark S. N-fertilization and disturbance exert long-lasting complex legacies on subarctic ecosystems. Oecologia 2024; 204:689-704. [PMID: 38478083 PMCID: PMC10980618 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-024-05524-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024]
Abstract
Subarctic ecosystems are subjected to increasing nitrogen (N) enrichment and disturbances that induce particularly strong effects on plant communities when occurring in combination. There is little experimental evidence on the longevity of these effects. We applied N-fertilization (40 kg urea-N ha-1 year-1 for 4 years) and disturbance (removal of vegetation and organic soil layer on one occasion) in two plant communities in a subarctic forest-tundra ecotone in northern Finland. Within the first four years, N-fertilization and disturbance increased the share of deciduous dwarf shrubs and graminoids at the expense of evergreen dwarf shrubs. Individual treatments intensified the other's effect resulting in the strongest increase in graminoids under combined N-fertilization and disturbance. The re-analysis of the plant communities 15 years after cessation of N-fertilization showed an even higher share of graminoids. 18 years after disturbance, the total vascular plant abundance was still substantially lower and the share of graminoids higher. At the same point, the plant community composition was the same under disturbance as under combined N-fertilization and disturbance, indicating that multiple perturbations no longer reinforced the other's effect. Yet, complex interactions between N-fertilization and disturbance were still detected in the soil. We found higher organic N under disturbance and lower microbial N under combined N-fertilization and disturbance, which suggests a lower bioavailability of N sources for soil microorganisms. Our findings support that the effects of enhanced nutrients and disturbance on subarctic vegetation persist over decadal timescales. However, they also highlight the complexity of plant-soil interactions that drive subarctic ecosystem responses to multiple perturbations across varying timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Outi H Manninen
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Pohjoisranta 4, 96100, Rovaniemi, Finland.
| | - Eero Myrsky
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Pohjoisranta 4, 96100, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Anne Tolvanen
- Natural Resource Institute Finland, Paavo Havaksen Tie 3, 90570, Oulu, Finland
| | - Sari Stark
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Pohjoisranta 4, 96100, Rovaniemi, Finland
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2
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Suonan J, Lu X, Li X, Hautier Y, Wang C. Nitrogen addition strengthens the stabilizing effect of biodiversity on productivity by increasing plant trait diversity and species asynchrony in the artificial grassland communities. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1301461. [PMID: 38053765 PMCID: PMC10694273 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1301461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Background and aims Nitrogen (N) enrichment usually weakens the stabilizing effect of biodiversity on productivity. However, previous studies focused on plant species richness and thus largely ignored the potential contributions of plant functional traits to stability, even though evidence is increasing that functional traits are stronger predictors than species richness of ecosystem functions. Methods We conducted a common garden experiment manipulating plant species richness and N addition levels to quantify effects of N addition on relations between species richness and functional trait identity and diversity underpinning the 'fast-slow' economics spectrum and community stability. Results Nitrogen addition had a minor effect on community stability but increased the positive effects of species richness on community stability. Increasing community stability was found in the species-rich communities dominated by fast species due to substantially increasing temporal mean productivity relative to its standard deviation. Furthermore, enhancement in 'fast-slow' functional diversity in species-rich communities dominated by fast species under N addition increased species asynchrony, resulting in a robust biodiversity-stability relationship under N addition the artificial grassland communities. Conclusion The findings demonstrate mechanistic links between plant species richness, 'fast-slow' functional traits, and community stability under N addition, suggesting that dynamics of biodiversity-stability relations under global changes are the results of species-specific responses of 'fast-slow' traits on the plant economics spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Suonan
- College of Life Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Xuwei Lu
- College of Life Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, China
| | - Xiaona Li
- Institute of Grassland, Flowers and Ecology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Chao Wang
- Institute of Grassland, Flowers and Ecology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China
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3
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Hai X, Shangguan Z, Peng C, Deng L. Leaf trait responses to global change factors in terrestrial ecosystems. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 898:165572. [PMID: 37454860 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Global change influences plant growth by affecting plant morphology and physiology. However, the effects of global change factors vary based on the climate gradient. Here, we established a global database of leaf traits from 192 experiments on elevated CO2 concentrations (eCO2), drought, N deposition, and warming. The results showed that the leaf mass per area (LMA) significantly increased under eCO2 and drought conditions but decreased with N deposition, whereas eCO2 levels and drought conditions reduced stomatal conductance and increased and decreased photosynthetic rates, respectively. Leaf dark respiration (Rd) increased in response to global change, excluding N deposition. Leaf N concentrations declined with eCO2 but increased with N deposition. Leaf area increased with eCO2, N deposition, and warming but decreased with drought. Leaf thickness increased with eCO2 but decreased with warming. eCO2 and N deposition enhanced plant water-use efficiency (WUE), eCO2 and warming increased photosynthetic N-use efficiency (PNUE), while N fertilization reduced PNUE significantly. eCO2 produced a positive relationship between WUE and PNUE, which were limited under drought but increased in areas with high humidity and high temperature. Trade-offs were observed between WUE and PNUE under drought, N deposition, and warming. These findings suggest that the effects of global change factors on plants can be altered by complex environmental changes; moreover, diverse plant water and nutrient strategy responses can be interpreted against the background of their functional traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuying Hai
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - Zhouping Shangguan
- Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - Changhui Peng
- Center of CEF/ESCER, Department of Biological Science, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal H3C 3P8, Canada
| | - Lei Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Key Laboratory of low-carbon green Agriculture in Northwestern China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China.
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4
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Tomiolo S, Damgaard CF, Gay L, Ronfort J, Ehlers BK. A plant growth model to test for changes in plant–plant interaction over a growing season: the case of kin competition. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Tomiolo
- Inst. of Ecology and Evolution, Tübingen Univ. Tübingen Germany
- Dept of Ecoscience, Aarhus Univ. Aarhus Denmark
| | | | - Laurène Gay
- CIRAD, INRAE, Inst. Agro, UMR AGAP Inst., Univ. Montpellier Montpellier France
| | - Joëlle Ronfort
- CIRAD, INRAE, Inst. Agro, UMR AGAP Inst., Univ. Montpellier Montpellier France
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5
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Kwaku EA, Dong S, Shen H, Li W, Sha W, Su X, Zhang Y, Li S, Gao X, Liu S, Shi J, Li X, Liu Q, Zhao Z. Biomass and Species Diversity of Different Alpine Plant Communities Respond Differently to Nitrogen Deposition and Experimental Warming. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 10:plants10122719. [PMID: 34961187 PMCID: PMC8703334 DOI: 10.3390/plants10122719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The ability of fragile ecosystems of alpine regions to adapt and thrive under warming and nitrogen deposition is a pressing conservation concern. The lack of information on how these ecosystems respond to the combined impacts of elevated levels of nitrogen and a warming climate limits the sustainable management approaches of alpine grasslands. In this study, we experimented using a completely random blocked design to examine the effects of warming and nitrogen deposition on the aboveground biomass and diversity of alpine grassland plant communities. The experiment was carried out from 2015 to 2018 in four vegetation types, e.g., alpine desert, alpine desert steppe, alpine marsh, and alpine salinised meadow, in the Aerjin Mountain Nature Reserve (AMNR) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). We found that W (warming) and WN (warming plus N deposition) treatment significantly increased the aboveground biomass of all the vegetation types (p < 0.05) in 2018. However, W and WN treatment only significantly increased the Shannon diversity of salinised meadows in 2018 and had no significant effect on the Shannon diversity of other vegetation types. Such results suggested that long-term nitrogen deposition and warming can consistently stimulate biomass accumulation of the alpine plant communities. Compared with other vegetation types, the diversity of alpine salinised meadows are generally more susceptible to long-term warming and warming combined with N deposition. Warming accounts many of such variabilities, while short-term N deposition alone may not significantly have an evident effect on the productivity and diversity of alpine grasslands. Our findings suggested that the effects of short-term (≤4 years) N deposition on alpine vegetation productivity and diversity were minimal, while long-term warming (>4 years) will be much more favourable for alpine vegetation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuella A. Kwaku
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China;
| | - Shikui Dong
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China;
| | - Hao Shen
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China;
| | - Wei Li
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Sanitation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (W.L.); (W.S.); (S.L.); (X.G.); (S.L.); (J.S.); (X.L.)
| | - Wei Sha
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Sanitation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (W.L.); (W.S.); (S.L.); (X.G.); (S.L.); (J.S.); (X.L.)
| | - Xukun Su
- Research Center for Eco-Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China;
| | - Yong Zhang
- National Plateau Wetland Research Center, College of Wetlands, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China;
| | - Shuai Li
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Sanitation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (W.L.); (W.S.); (S.L.); (X.G.); (S.L.); (J.S.); (X.L.)
| | - Xiaoxia Gao
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Sanitation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (W.L.); (W.S.); (S.L.); (X.G.); (S.L.); (J.S.); (X.L.)
| | - Shiliang Liu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Sanitation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (W.L.); (W.S.); (S.L.); (X.G.); (S.L.); (J.S.); (X.L.)
| | - Jianbin Shi
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Sanitation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (W.L.); (W.S.); (S.L.); (X.G.); (S.L.); (J.S.); (X.L.)
| | - Xiaowen Li
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Sanitation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (W.L.); (W.S.); (S.L.); (X.G.); (S.L.); (J.S.); (X.L.)
| | - Quanru Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
| | - Zhenzhen Zhao
- School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
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6
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Jungers JM, Yang Y, Fernandez CW, Isbell F, Lehman C, Wyse D, Sheaffer C. Diversifying bioenergy crops increases yield and yield stability by reducing weed abundance. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabg8531. [PMID: 34714680 PMCID: PMC8555906 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg8531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Relationships between species diversity, productivity, temporal stability of productivity, and plant invasion have been well documented in grasslands, and these relationships could translate to improved agricultural sustainability. However, few studies have explored these relationships in agricultural contexts where fertility and weeds are managed. Using 7 years of biomass yield and species composition data from 12 species mixture treatments varying in native species diversity, we found that species richness increased yield and interannual yield stability by reducing weed abundance. Stability was driven by yield as opposed to temporal variability of yield. Nitrogen fertilization increased yield but at the expense of yield stability. We show how relationships between diversity, species asynchrony, invasion, productivity, and stability observed in natural grasslands can extend into managed agricultural systems. Increasing bioenergy crop diversity can improve farmer economics via increased yield, reduced yield variability, and reduced inputs for weed control, thus promoting perennial vegetation on agricultural lands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob M. Jungers
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Yi Yang
- Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region’s Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
- Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, Fujian 361021, China
- Environmental Studies Program, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Christopher W. Fernandez
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Forest Isbell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1985 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Clarence Lehman
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1985 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Don Wyse
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Craig Sheaffer
- Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
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7
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Tognetti PM, Prober SM, Báez S, Chaneton EJ, Firn J, Risch AC, Schuetz M, Simonsen AK, Yahdjian L, Borer ET, Seabloom EW, Arnillas CA, Bakker JD, Brown CS, Cadotte MW, Caldeira MC, Daleo P, Dwyer JM, Fay PA, Gherardi LA, Hagenah N, Hautier Y, Komatsu KJ, McCulley RL, Price JN, Standish RJ, Stevens CJ, Wragg PD, Sankaran M. Negative effects of nitrogen override positive effects of phosphorus on grassland legumes worldwide. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2023718118. [PMID: 34260386 PMCID: PMC8285913 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023718118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment is driving global biodiversity decline and modifying ecosystem functions. Theory suggests that plant functional types that fix atmospheric nitrogen have a competitive advantage in nitrogen-poor soils, but lose this advantage with increasing nitrogen supply. By contrast, the addition of phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrients may benefit such species in low-nutrient environments by enhancing their nitrogen-fixing capacity. We present a global-scale experiment confirming these predictions for nitrogen-fixing legumes (Fabaceae) across 45 grasslands on six continents. Nitrogen addition reduced legume cover, richness, and biomass, particularly in nitrogen-poor soils, while cover of non-nitrogen-fixing plants increased. The addition of phosphorous, potassium, and other nutrients enhanced legume abundance, but did not mitigate the negative effects of nitrogen addition. Increasing nitrogen supply thus has the potential to decrease the diversity and abundance of grassland legumes worldwide regardless of the availability of other nutrients, with consequences for biodiversity, food webs, ecosystem resilience, and genetic improvement of protein-rich agricultural plant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro M Tognetti
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1417DSE, Argentina;
| | - Suzanne M Prober
- Land and Water, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Wembley, WA 6913, Australia;
| | - Selene Báez
- Department of Biology, Escuela Politécnica Nacional del Ecuador, 17-01-2759 Quito, Ecuador
| | - Enrique J Chaneton
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1417DSE, Argentina
| | - Jennifer Firn
- Centre for the Environment, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia
| | - Anita C Risch
- Community Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Martin Schuetz
- Community Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Anna K Simonsen
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199
| | - Laura Yahdjian
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1417DSE, Argentina
| | - Elizabeth T Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
| | - Eric W Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
| | - Carlos Alberto Arnillas
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Jonathan D Bakker
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Cynthia S Brown
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Marc W Cadotte
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Maria C Caldeira
- Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Pedro Daleo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, 7600 Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - John M Dwyer
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- Ecosciences Precinct, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Dutton Park, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Philip A Fay
- Grassland, Soil, and Water Research Lab, US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Temple, TX 76502
| | | | - Nicole Hagenah
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, 0028 Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Rebecca L McCulley
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0312
| | - Jodi N Price
- Institute of Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia
| | - Rachel J Standish
- Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia
| | - Carly J Stevens
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
| | - Peter D Wragg
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
| | - Mahesh Sankaran
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru 560065, Karnataka, India
- School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
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8
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Wimp GM, Lewis D, Murphy SM. Impacts of Nutrient Subsidies on Salt Marsh Arthropod Food Webs: A Latitudinal Survey. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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9
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Wooliver R, Pellegrini AFA, Waring B, Houlton BZ, Averill C, Schimel J, Hedin LO, Bailey JK, Schweitzer JA. Changing perspectives on terrestrial nitrogen cycling: The importance of weathering and evolved resource‐use traits for understanding ecosystem responses to global change. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Wooliver
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennessee
| | | | - Bonnie Waring
- Department of Biology Utah State University Logan Utah
| | - Benjamin Z. Houlton
- Department of Land, Air and Water Resources University of California, Davis Davis California
| | - Colin Averill
- Department of Biology Boston University Boston Massachusetts
| | - Joshua Schimel
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California
| | - Lars O. Hedin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Princeton University Princeton New Jersey
| | - Joseph K. Bailey
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennessee
| | - Jennifer A. Schweitzer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Tennessee Knoxville Tennessee
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10
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Langley JA, Chapman SK, La Pierre KJ, Avolio M, Bowman WD, Johnson DS, Isbell F, Wilcox KR, Foster BL, Hovenden MJ, Knapp AK, Koerner SE, Lortie CJ, Megonigal JP, Newton PCD, Reich PB, Smith MD, Suttle KB, Tilman D. Ambient changes exceed treatment effects on plant species abundance in global change experiments. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:5668-5679. [PMID: 30369019 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The responses of species to environmental changes will determine future community composition and ecosystem function. Many syntheses of global change experiments examine the magnitude of treatment effect sizes, but we lack an understanding of how plant responses to treatments compare to ongoing changes in the unmanipulated (ambient or background) system. We used a database of long-term global change studies manipulating CO2 , nutrients, water, and temperature to answer three questions: (a) How do changes in plant species abundance in ambient plots relate to those in treated plots? (b) How does the magnitude of ambient change in species-level abundance over time relate to responsiveness to global change treatments? (c) Does the direction of species-level responses to global change treatments differ from the direction of ambient change? We estimated temporal trends in plant abundance for 791 plant species in ambient and treated plots across 16 long-term global change experiments yielding 2,116 experiment-species-treatment combinations. Surprisingly, for most species (57%) the magnitude of ambient change was greater than the magnitude of treatment effects. However, the direction of ambient change, whether a species was increasing or decreasing in abundance under ambient conditions, had no bearing on the direction of treatment effects. Although ambient communities are inherently dynamic, there is now widespread evidence that anthropogenic drivers are directionally altering plant communities in many ecosystems. Thus, global change treatment effects must be interpreted in the context of plant species trajectories that are likely driven by ongoing environmental changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Adam Langley
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania
| | | | | | - Meghan Avolio
- Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - William D Bowman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Mountain Research Station, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
| | - David S Johnson
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, Virginia
| | - Forest Isbell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota
| | - Kevin R Wilcox
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Bryan L Foster
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
| | - Mark J Hovenden
- Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Alan K Knapp
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Sally E Koerner
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina
| | - Christopher J Lortie
- The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, UCSB, Santa Barbara, California
| | | | | | - Peter B Reich
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Melinda D Smith
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Kenwyn B Suttle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, California
| | - David Tilman
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota
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11
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Meza-Lopez MM, Mooney KA, Thompson AL, Ho NK, Pratt JD. A test for clinal variation in Artemisia californica and associated arthropod responses to nitrogen addition. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0191997. [PMID: 29390030 PMCID: PMC5794083 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The response of plant traits to global change is of fundamental importance to understanding anthropogenic impacts on natural systems. Nevertheless, little is known about plant genetic variation in such responses or the indirect effect of environmental change on higher trophic levels. In a three-year common garden experiment, we grew the shrub Artemisia californica from five populations sourced along a 700 km latitudinal gradient under ambient and nitrogen (N) addition (20 kg N ha-1) and measured plant traits and associated arthropods. N addition increased plant biomass to a similar extent among all populations. In contrast, N addition effects on most other plant traits varied among plant populations; N addition reduced specific leaf area and leaf percent N and increased carbon to nitrogen ratios in the two northern populations, but had the opposite or no effect on the three southern populations. N addition increased arthropod abundance to a similar extent among all populations in parallel with an increase in plant biomass, suggesting that N addition did not alter plant resistance to herbivores. N addition had no effect on arthropod diversity, richness, or evenness. In summary, genetic variation among A. californica populations mediated leaf-trait responses to N addition, but positive direct effects of N addition on plant biomass and indirect effects on arthropod abundance were consistent among all populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria M. Meza-Lopez
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Kailen A. Mooney
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Amanda L. Thompson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Nicole K. Ho
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Jessica D. Pratt
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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12
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Stotz GC, Gianoli E, Cahill JF. Maternal experience and soil origin influence interactions between resident species and a dominant invasive species. Oecologia 2017; 186:247-257. [PMID: 29110075 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3996-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/28/2017] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Invasive species dominance in invaded communities may not be long-lasting due to regulatory processes, such as plant-soil feedbacks and neighboring species adaptation. Further, the change in species competitive ability may be contingent upon neighbor identity (i.e., specialized response) or consistent across neighbors (i.e., generalized response). Specialized responses can facilitate overall coexistence, while generalized responses may result in competitive exclusion. We set up a greenhouse experiment to test, in three species, the effect of soil conditions (non-invaded vs. invaded soil) and maternal experience (offspring of maternal plants from invaded vs. non-invaded areas) on species competitive ability against the invader Bromus inermis and conspecifics. If changes in species competitive ability against B. inermis were also evident when interacting with conspecifics, it would suggest a generalized increased/decreased competitive ability. Maternal experience resulted in reduced suppression of B. inermis in the three species and no change in tolerance. On the other hand, tolerance to B. inermis was enhanced when plants grew in soil from invaded areas, compared to non-brome soil. Importantly, both the decreased suppression due to maternal experience with B. inermis and the increased tolerance in invaded soil appear to be invader specific, as no such effects were observed when interacting with conspecifics. Specialized responses should facilitate coexistence, as no individual/species is a weaker or stronger competitor against all other neighbors or under all local soil conditions. Further, the negative plant-soil feedback for B. inermis should facilitate native species recovery in invaded areas and result in lower B. inermis performance and dominance over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela C Stotz
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada.
- Instituto de Investigación Multidisciplinario en Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile.
| | - Ernesto Gianoli
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad de la Serena, Casilla 554, La Serena, Chile
- Departmento de Botánica, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile
| | - James F Cahill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Alberta, T6G 2E9, Canada
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13
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Kimball S, Funk JL, Spasojevic MJ, Suding KN, Parker S, Goulden ML. Can functional traits predict plant community response to global change? Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Kimball
- Center for Environmental Biology University of California Irvine California 92697 USA
| | - Jennifer L. Funk
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Chapman University Orange California 92866 USA
| | - Marko J. Spasojevic
- Department of Biology and Tyson Research Center Washington University in St. Louis St. Louis Missouri 63130 USA
| | - Katharine N. Suding
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 80303 USA
| | - Scot Parker
- Department of Earth System Science University of California Irvine California 92697 USA
| | - Michael L. Goulden
- Department of Earth System Science University of California Irvine California 92697 USA
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14
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Hernández DL, Vallano DM, Zavaleta ES, Tzankova Z, Pasari JR, Weiss S, Selmants PC, Morozumi C. Nitrogen Pollution Is Linked to US Listed Species Declines. Bioscience 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biw003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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15
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Xu D, Fang X, Zhang R, Gao T, Bu H, Du G. Influences of nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon addition on plant productivity and species richness in an alpine meadow. AOB PLANTS 2015; 7:plv125. [PMID: 26574603 PMCID: PMC4676797 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plv125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Fertilization, especially with nitrogen (N), increases aboveground primary productivity (APP), but reduces plant species richness at some level. Silicon (Si) fertilization alone, or with addition of N or phosphorus (P), has multiple direct and indirect beneficial effects on plant growth and development, both for individuals and the whole community. This study aimed to examine the effects of Si, N, P, NSi and PSi combinations on APP and species richness of the community and of four functional groups in an alpine meadow. The results showed that plots fertilized with Si in combination with either N or P had higher APP than when fertilized with N or P alone. Addition of N or P increased APP, and the higher APP occurred when the highest level of N was added, indicating co-limitation of N and P, with N being most limiting. Silicon fertilization alone or with addition of N increased the APP of grasses and forbs. Nitrogen addition decreased the community species richness; Si with addition of N alleviated the loss of species richness of the whole community and the forbs group. For the four functional groups, N or P addition increased the species richness of grasses and decreased that of forbs. Our findings highlight the importance of Si in improving APP and alleviating N fertilization-induced biodiversity loss in grasslands, and will help improve our ability to predict community composition and biomass dynamics in alpine meadow ecosystems subject to changing nutrient availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danghui Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems/School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Xiangwen Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems/School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Renyi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems/School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Tianpeng Gao
- Centre of Urban Ecology and Environmental Biotechnology, Lanzhou City University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Haiyan Bu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems/School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
| | - Guozhen Du
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems/School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
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16
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Little CJ, Jägerbrand AK, Molau U, Alatalo JM. Community and species-specific responses to simulated global change in two subarctic-alpine plant communities. Ecosphere 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/es14-00427.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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17
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Shifts in the phylogenetic structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in response to experimental nitrogen and carbon dioxide additions. Oecologia 2015; 179:175-85. [PMID: 25990297 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3337-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2015] [Accepted: 05/01/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Global N inputs and atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased as a result of human activities, and are predicted to increase along with population growth, with potentially negative effects on biodiversity. Using taxonomic and phylogenetic measures, we examined the response of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to experimental manipulations of N and CO2 at the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment. No significant interactions between N and CO2 were observed, but individual effects of N and CO2 were found. Elevated CO2 resulted in changes in phylogenetic similarity, and a shift to phylogenetic clustering of AMF communities. N addition resulted in higher phylogenetic diversity and evenness, with no shifts in community composition and no significant signal for phylogenetic clustering. N addition resulted in an increase in both available N and the N:P ratio in N-amended plots, which suggests that changing patterns of nutrient limitation could have lead to altered species interactions. These findings suggest that elevated levels of N and CO2 altered patterns of AMF community assembly, with potential effects on ecosystem function.
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18
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Zhang T, Guo R, Gao S, Guo J, Sun W. Responses of plant community composition and biomass production to warming and nitrogen deposition in a temperate meadow ecosystem. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0123160. [PMID: 25874975 PMCID: PMC4395313 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0123160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2014] [Accepted: 02/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change has profound influences on plant community composition and ecosystem functions. However, its effects on plant community composition and biomass production are not well understood. A four-year field experiment was conducted to examine the effects of warming, nitrogen (N) addition, and their interactions on plant community composition and biomass production in a temperate meadow ecosystem in northeast China. Experimental warming had no significant effect on plant species richness, evenness, and diversity, while N addition highly reduced the species richness and diversity. Warming tended to reduce the importance value of graminoid species but increased the value of forbs, while N addition had the opposite effect. Warming tended to increase the belowground biomass, but had an opposite tendency to decrease the aboveground biomass. The influences of warming on aboveground production were dependent upon precipitation. Experimental warming had little effect on aboveground biomass in the years with higher precipitation, but significantly suppressed aboveground biomass in dry years. Our results suggest that warming had indirect effects on plant production via its effect on the water availability. Nitrogen addition significantly increased above- and below-ground production, suggesting that N is one of the most important limiting factors determining plant productivity in the studied meadow steppe. Significant interactive effects of warming plus N addition on belowground biomass were also detected. Our observations revealed that environmental changes (warming and N deposition) play significant roles in regulating plant community composition and biomass production in temperate meadow steppe ecosystem in northeast China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Zhang
- Institute of Grassland Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, China
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Rui Guo
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Dryland Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China
| | - Song Gao
- Institute of Grassland Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, China
| | - Jixun Guo
- Institute of Grassland Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, China
- * E-mail: (JG); (WS)
| | - Wei Sun
- Institute of Grassland Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, China
- * E-mail: (JG); (WS)
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19
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Dean SL, Farrer EC, Porras-Alfaro A, Suding KN, Sinsabaugh RL. Assembly of root-associated bacteria communities: interactions between abiotic and biotic factors. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS 2015; 7:102-110. [PMID: 25870878 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) deposition in many areas of the world is over an order of magnitude greater than it would be in absence of human activity. We ask how abiotic (N)and biotic (plant host and neighborhood) effects interact to influence root-associated bacterial (RAB)community assembly. Using 454 pyrosequencing, we examined RAB communities from two dominantal pine tundra plants, Geum rossii and Deschampsia cespitosa, under control, N addition and D. cespitosa removal treatments, implemented in a factorial design. We hypothesized that host would have the strongest effect on RAB assembly, followed by N,then neighbor effects.The most dominant phyla were Proteobacteria (mostly Gammaproteobacteria), Actinobacteria,Bacteroidetes and Acidobacteria. We found RAB communities were host specific, with only 17% overlap in operational taxonomic units. Host effects on composition were over twice as strong as Neffects. D. cespitosa RAB diversity declined with N, while G. rossii RAB did not. D. cespitosa removal did not influence G. rossii RAB community composition, but G. rossii RAB diversity declined with N only when D. cespitosa was absent. We conclude that RAB of both hosts are sensitive to N enrichment, and RAB response to N is influenced by host identity and plant neighborhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Dean
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM, USA.
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20
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Pannek A, Duprè C, Gowing DJG, Stevens CJ, Diekmann M. Spatial gradient in nitrogen deposition affects plant species frequency in acidic grasslands. Oecologia 2014; 177:39-51. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-014-3120-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2013] [Accepted: 10/14/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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21
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Llusia J, Bermejo-Bermejo V, Calvete-Sogo H, Peñuelas J. Decreased rates of terpene emissions in Ornithopus compressus L. and Trifolium striatum L. by ozone exposure and nitrogen fertilization. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2014; 194:69-77. [PMID: 25094059 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2014.06.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2014] [Revised: 06/26/2014] [Accepted: 06/27/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Increasing tropospheric ozone (O3) and nitrogen soil availability (N) are two of the main drivers of global change. They both may affect gas exchange, including plant emission of volatiles such as terpenes. We conducted an experiment using open-top chambers to analyze these possible effects on two leguminous species of Mediterranean pastures that are known to have different O3 sensitivity, Ornithopus compressus and Trifolium striatum. O3 exposure and N fertilization did not affect the photosynthetic rates of O. compressus and T. striatum, although O3 tended to induce an increase in the stomatal conductance of both species, especially T. striatum, the most sensitive species. O3 and N soil availability reduced the emission of terpenes in O. compressus and T. striatum. If these responses are confirmed as a general pattern, O3 could affect the competitiveness of these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Llusia
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain.
| | | | - Héctor Calvete-Sogo
- CIEMAT, Ecotoxicology of Air Pollution, Av. Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain; CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CEAB-UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193 Catalonia, Spain
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22
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Resource competition and community response to fertilization: the outcome depends on spatial strategies. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-013-0205-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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23
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Dean SL, Farrer EC, Taylor DL, Porras-Alfaro A, Suding KN, Sinsabaugh RL. Nitrogen deposition alters plant-fungal relationships: linking belowground dynamics to aboveground vegetation change. Mol Ecol 2013; 23:1364-1378. [PMID: 24112704 DOI: 10.1111/mec.12541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2013] [Revised: 09/17/2013] [Accepted: 09/20/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) deposition rates are increasing globally due to anthropogenic activities. Plant community responses to N are often attributed to altered competitive interactions between plants, but may also be a result of microbial responses to N, particularly root-associated fungi (RAF), which are known to affect plant fitness. In response to N, Deschampsia cespitosa, a codominant plant in the alpine tundra at Niwot Ridge (CO), increases in abundance, while Geum rossii, its principal competitor, declines. Importantly, G. rossii declines with N even in the absence of its competitor. We examined whether contrasting host responses to N are associated with altered plant-fungal symbioses, and whether the effects of N are distinct from effects of altered plant competition on RAF, using 454 pyrosequencing. Host RAF communities were distinct (only 9.4% of OTUs overlapped). N increased RAF diversity in G. rossii, but decreased it in D. cespitosa. D. cespitosa RAF communities were more responsive to N than G. rossii RAF communities, perhaps indicating a flexible microbial community aids host adaptation to nutrient enrichment. Effects of removing D. cespitosa were distinct from effects of N on G. rossii RAF, and D. cespitosa presence reversed RAF diversity response to N. The most dominant G. rossii RAF order, Helotiales, was the most affected by N, declining from 83% to 60% of sequences, perhaps indicating a loss of mutualists under N enrichment. These results highlight the potential importance of belowground microbial dynamics in plant responses to N deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Dean
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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24
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Variability of polar scurvygrass Cochlearia groenlandica individual traits along a seabird influenced gradient across Spitsbergen tundra. Polar Biol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-013-1385-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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25
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Species Composition of Subalpine Grassland is Sensitive to Nitrogen Deposition, but Not to Ozone, After Seven Years of Treatment. Ecosystems 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-013-9670-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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26
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Lan Z, Bai Y. Testing mechanisms of N-enrichment-induced species loss in a semiarid Inner Mongolia grassland: critical thresholds and implications for long-term ecosystem responses. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2012; 367:3125-34. [PMID: 23045710 PMCID: PMC3479690 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The increase in nutrient availability as a consequence of elevated nitrogen (N) deposition is an important component of global environmental change. This is likely to substantially affect the functioning and provisioning of ecosystem services by drylands, where water and N are often limited. We tested mechanisms of chronic N-enrichment-induced plant species loss in a 10-year field experiment with six levels of N addition rate. Our findings on a semi-arid grassland in Inner Mongolia demonstrated that: (i) species richness (SR) declined by 16 per cent even at low levels of additional N (1.75 g N m(-2) yr(-1)), and 50-70% species were excluded from plots which received high N input (10.5-28 g N m(-2) yr(-1)); (ii) the responses of SR and above-ground biomass (AGB) to N were greater in wet years than dry years; (iii) N addition increased the inter-annual variations in AGB, reduced the drought resistance of production and hence diminished ecosystem stability; (iv) the critical threshold for chronic N-enrichment-induced reduction in SR differed between common and rare species, and increased over the time of the experiment owing to the loss of the more sensitive species. These results clearly indicate that both abundance and functional trait-based mechanisms operate simultaneously on N-induced species loss. The low initial abundance and low above-ground competitive ability may be attributable to the loss of rare species. However, shift from below-ground competition to above-ground competition and recruitment limitation are likely to be the key mechanisms for the loss of abundant species, with soil acidification being less important. Our results have important implications for understanding the impacts of N deposition and global climatic change (e.g. change in precipitation regimes) on biodiversity and ecosystem services of the Inner Mongolian grassland and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhichun Lan
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, People's Republic of China
- Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongfei Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, People's Republic of China
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27
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28
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McCall BD, Pennings SC. Geographic variation in salt marsh structure and function. Oecologia 2012; 170:777-87. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-012-2352-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2011] [Accepted: 04/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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29
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Scientific Workflow, Provenance, and Data Modeling Challenges and Approaches. JOURNAL ON DATA SEMANTICS 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s13740-012-0004-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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30
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31
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Gough L, Gross KL, Cleland EE, Clark CM, Collins SL, Fargione JE, Pennings SC, Suding KN. Incorporating clonal growth form clarifies the role of plant height in response to nitrogen addition. Oecologia 2012; 169:1053-62. [PMID: 22302512 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-012-2264-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2011] [Accepted: 01/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Gough
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Box 19498, Arlington, TX 76019, USA.
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32
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Eilts JA, Mittelbach GG, Reynolds HL, Gross KL. Resource heterogeneity, soil fertility, and species diversity: effects of clonal species on plant communities. Am Nat 2011; 177:574-88. [PMID: 21508605 DOI: 10.1086/659633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Spatial heterogeneity in soil resources is widely thought to promote plant species coexistence, and this mechanism figures prominently in resource-ratio models of competition. However, most experimental studies have found that nutrient enhancements depress diversity regardless of whether nutrients are uniformly or heterogeneously applied. This mismatch between theory and empirical pattern is potentially due to an interaction between plant size and the scale of resource heterogeneity. Clonal plants that spread vegetatively via rhizomes or stolons can grow large and may integrate across resource patches, thus reducing the positive effect of small-scale resource heterogeneity on plant species richness. Many rhizomatous clonal species respond strongly to increased soil fertility, and they have been hypothesized to drive the descending arm of the hump-shaped productivity-diversity relationship in grasslands. We tested whether clonals reduce species richness in a grassland community by manipulating nutrient heterogeneity, soil fertility, and the presence of rhizomatous clonal species in a 6-year field experiment. We found strong and consistent negative effects of clonals on species richness. These effects were greatest at high fertility and when soil resources were applied at a scale at which rhizomatous clonals could integrate across resource patches. Thus, we find support for the hypothesis that plant size and resource heterogeneity interact to determine species diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Alexander Eilts
- W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, 49060, USA.
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33
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Kirkpatrick HE, Lubetkin KC. Responses of Native and Introduced Plant Species to Sucrose Addition in Puget Lowland Prairies. NORTHWEST SCIENCE 2011. [DOI: 10.3955/046.085.0214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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34
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Nitrogen deposition, competition and the decline of a regionally threatened legume, Desmodium cuspidatum. Oecologia 2010; 165:261-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-010-1818-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2009] [Accepted: 10/11/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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35
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Langley JA, Megonigal JP. Ecosystem response to elevated CO2 levels limited by nitrogen-induced plant species shift. Nature 2010; 466:96-9. [DOI: 10.1038/nature09176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 195] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2009] [Accepted: 05/11/2010] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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36
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37
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Contrasting effects of clipping and nutrient addition on reproductive traits of Heteropappus altaicus at the individual and population levels. Ecol Res 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s11284-010-0718-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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38
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Wang P, Stieglitz T, Zhou DW, Cahill Jr JF. Are competitive effect and response two sides of the same coin, or fundamentally different? Funct Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2009.01612.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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39
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Houseman GR, Mittelbach GG, Reynolds HL, Gross KL. Perturbations alter community convergence, divergence, and formation of multiple community states. Ecology 2008; 89:2172-80. [PMID: 18724727 DOI: 10.1890/07-1228.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Environmental perturbations (e.g., disturbance, fertilization) commonly shift communities to a new mean state, but much less is known about their effects on the variability (dispersion) of communities around the mean, particularly when perturbations are combined. Community dispersion may increase or decrease (representing a divergence or convergence among communities) if changing environmental conditions alter species interactions or magnify small initial differences that develop during community assembly. We used data from an experimental study of disturbance and fertilization in a low-productivity grassland to test how these two perturbations affect patterns of species composition and abundance. We found that a one-time biomass reduction decreased community dispersion, which persisted over four growing seasons. Conversely, continuous fertilization increased community dispersion and, when combined with disturbance, led to the formation of three distinct community states. These results illustrate that perturbations can have differing effects on community dispersion. Attention to the variance in community responses to perturbations lends insight into how ecological interactions determine community structure, which may be missed when focusing only on mean responses. Furthermore, multiple perturbations may have complex effects on community dispersion, yielding convergence or divergence patterns that are difficult to predict based on analysis of single factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory R Houseman
- W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, Michigan 49060-9516, USA.
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Manning P, Morrison SA, Bonkowski M, Bardgett RD. Nitrogen enrichment modifies plant community structure via changes to plant-soil feedback. Oecologia 2008; 157:661-73. [PMID: 18629543 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-008-1104-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2007] [Accepted: 06/18/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that N enrichment modifies plant-soil feedback relationships, resulting in changes to plant community composition. This was done in a two-phase glasshouse experiment. In the first phase, we grew eight annual plant species in monoculture at two levels of N addition. Plants were harvested at senescence and the effect of each species on a range of soil properties was measured. In the second phase, the eight plant species were grown in multi-species mixtures in the eight soils conditioned by the species in the first phase, at both levels of N addition. At senescence, species performance was measured as aboveground biomass. We found that in the first phase, plant species identity strongly influenced several soil properties, including microbial and protist biomass, soil moisture content and the availability of several soil nutrients. Species effects on the soil were mostly independent of N addition and several were strongly correlated with plant biomass. In the second phase, both the performance of individual species and overall community structure were influenced by the interacting effects of the species identity of the previous soil occupant and the rate of N addition. This indicates that N enrichment modified plant-soil feedback. The performance of two species correlated with differences in soil N availability that were generated by the species formerly occupying the soil. However, negative feedback (poorer performance on the soil of conspecifics relative to that of heterospecifics) was only observed for one species. In conclusion, we provide evidence that N enrichment modifies plant-soil feedback relationships and that these modifications may affect plant community composition. Field testing and further investigations into which mechanisms dominate feedback are required before we fully understand how and when feedback processes determine plant community responses to N enrichment.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Manning
- Natural Environment Research Council Centre for Population Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, UK.
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Lau JA, Strengbom J, Stone LR, Reich PB, Tiffin P. DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF CO2, NITROGEN, AND COMMUNITY DIVERSITY ON PLANT–ENEMY INTERACTIONS. Ecology 2008; 89:226-36. [DOI: 10.1890/07-0423.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Clark CM, Cleland EE, Collins SL, Fargione JE, Gough L, Gross KL, Pennings SC, Suding KN, Grace JB. Environmental and plant community determinants of species loss following nitrogen enrichment. Ecol Lett 2007; 10:596-607. [PMID: 17542938 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01053.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 258] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Global energy use and food production have increased nitrogen inputs to ecosystems worldwide, impacting plant community diversity, composition, and function. Previous studies show considerable variation across terrestrial herbaceous ecosystems in the magnitude of species loss following nitrogen (N) enrichment. What controls this variation remains unknown. We present results from 23 N-addition experiments across North America, representing a range of climatic, soil and plant community properties, to determine conditions that lead to greater diversity decline. Species loss in these communities ranged from 0 to 65% of control richness. Using hierarchical structural equation modelling, we found greater species loss in communities with a lower soil cation exchange capacity, colder regional temperature, and larger production increase following N addition, independent of initial species richness, plant productivity, and the relative abundance of most plant functional groups. Our results indicate sensitivity to N addition is co-determined by environmental conditions and production responsiveness, which overwhelm the effects of initial community structure and composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris M Clark
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN 55108, USA.
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Crait JR, Ben-David M. EFFECTS OF RIVER OTTER ACTIVITY ON TERRESTRIAL PLANTS IN TROPHICALLY ALTERED YELLOWSTONE LAKE. Ecology 2007; 88:1040-52. [PMID: 17536719 DOI: 10.1890/06-0078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Animals that deposit aquatically derived nutrients on terrestrial landscapes link food webs and affect a variety of in situ processes. This phenomenon, however, is poorly documented in freshwater habitats, especially where species introductions have drastically changed an ecosystem's trophic structure. In this study, we used stable isotopes to document water-to-land nutrient transport by river otters (Lontra canadensis) around Yellowstone Lake, an ecosystem recently altered by nonnative species invasions. We then investigated the effects of otter fertilization on plant growth and prevalence at latrine (scent-marking) sites and evaluated how the recent changes to the lake's food web could influence these plant responses. Values of delta15N were higher on latrines compared to non-latrine sites in five of seven sample plant taxa. Additionally, latrine grasses had higher percentage N than those from non-latrines. Foliar delta15N positively related to fecal deposition rate for some plants, indicating that increased otter scent-marking led to a rise in these N values. Logistic regression models indicated that otters selected for well-shaded latrines with access to foraging. Atypical latrines, misclassified as non-latrines by the regression models, had values of delta15N similar to correctly classified latrines, suggesting that site effects alone cannot explain elevated N values at otter latrine sites. No difference in plant diversity or percent cover of N-fixing taxa occurred between latrine and nonlatrine sites, though specific genera did differ between site types. Measurements of shoot lengths indicated increased growth of some latrine currants (Ribes sp.). In Yellowstone Lake, a twofold reduction in otter numbers could result in an even greater decline in nutrient deposition at latrines, as otters may become less social in a system with decreased prey availability. Our results highlight the role of animals in linking aquatic and terrestrial habitats in inland freshwater systems and suggest that ongoing changes in the trophic structure of Yellowstone Lake could have unexpected ramifications well beyond the lake itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie R Crait
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie 82071, USA.
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Nutrient Addition Differentially Affects Ecological Processes of Avicennia germinans in Nitrogen versus Phosphorus Limited Mangrove Ecosystems. Ecosystems 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-007-9025-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Nitrogen Saturation of Terrestrial Ecosystems: Some Recent Findings and Their Implications for Our Conceptual Framework. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s11267-006-9103-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Morgan JW. Relationship between fire frequency and nitrogen limitation on foliage production in a native grassland community in Victoria, Australia. RANGELAND JOURNAL 2007. [DOI: 10.1071/rj06046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The relationship between fire frequency (annual v. infrequent) and nitrogen (N) limitation to foliage production in a temperate native grassland community in western Victoria, Australia, was assessed over one growing season using a simple ammonium nitrate addition experiment. Fire history affected the magnitude of the vegetation responses to N addition. At the community level, mean live biomass in infrequently-burned grasslands declined by 20 ± 8% in response to N addition. In contrast, mean biomass increased by 60 ± 15% in annually-burned grasslands in response to N addition. Both grasses and forbs responded positively to N addition in annually-burned grasslands, with forbs responding more substantially than grasses. Foliage production in annually-burned native grasslands therefore appears to be constrained by N availability. The results of this study may have important implications for understanding species coexistence and invasion by non-native species in temperate native grasslands.
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