Incorporating clonal growth form clarifies the role of plant height in response to nitrogen addition

Gough, Laura; Gross, Katherine L.; Cleland, Elsa E.; Clark, Christopher M.; Collins, Scott L.; Fargione, Joseph; Pennings, Steven C.; Suding, Katharine N.

doi:10.1007/s00442-012-2264-5

Cited by 97 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…, their abundance declines, while Panicum virgatum increases in abundance (Gough et al 2012). Hence, we calculated the difference in abundance between Panicum and the sum of abundance of Andropogon and Schizachyrium as a way to summarize the C 4 grass differential.…”

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confidence: 99%

Lack of eutrophication in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem over 27 years

McLauchlan

Craine

Nippert

et al. 2014

Ecology

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Abstract. Many North American grasslands are receiving atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition at rates above what are considered critical eutrophication thresholds. Yet, potential changes in grassland function due to anthropogenic N deposition are poorly resolved, especially considering that other dynamic factors such as land use and precipitation can also affect N availability. To better understand whether elevated N deposition has altered ecosystem structure or function in North American grasslands, we analyzed a 27-year record of ecophysiological, community, and ecosystem metrics for an annually burned Kansas tallgrass prairie. Over this time, despite increasing rates of N deposition that are within the range of critical loads for grasslands, there was no evidence of eutrophication. Plant N concentrations did not increase, soil moisture did not decline, forb diversity did not decline, and the relative abundance of dominant grasses did not shift toward more eutrophic species. Neither aboveground primary productivity nor N availability to plants increased. The fates of deposited N in grasslands are still uncertain, and could include management losses through burning and grazing. However, evidence from this grassland indicates that eutrophication of North American grassland ecosystems is not an inevitable consequence of current levels of N deposition.

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confidence: 99%

Lack of eutrophication in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem over 27 years

McLauchlan

Craine

Nippert

et al. 2014

Ecology

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“…1C, 2C, respectively). With the exclusion of injury, height is one of the best indicators of an herbaceous plant's growth and competitiveness in light [22], [23]. Our results show that any study on species-specific or interspecific plant response to climate change should also include consideration of the accompanying precipitation regime.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Response of Two Dominant Boreal Freshwater Wetland Plants to Manipulated Warming and Altered Precipitation

et al. 2014

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This study characterized the morphological and photosynthetic responses of two wetland plant species when they were subject to 2–6°C fluctuations in growth temperature and ±50% of precipitation, in order to predict the evolution of natural wetlands in Sanjiang Plain of North-eastern China. We investigated the morphological and photosynthetic responses of two dominant and competitive boreal freshwater wetland plants in Northeastern China to manipulation of warming (ambient, +2.0°C, +4.0°C, +6.0°C) and altered precipitation (−50%, ambient, +50%) simultaneously by incubating the plants from seedling to senescence within climate-controlled environmental chambers. Post-harvest, secondary growth of C. angustifolia was observed to explore intergenerational effects. The results indicated that C. angustifolia demonstrated a greater acclimated capacity than G. spiculosa to respond to climate change due to higher resistance to temperature and precipitation manipulations. The accumulated effect on aboveground biomass of post-harvest secondary growth of C. angustifolia was significant. These results explain the expansion of C. angustifolia during last 40 years and indicate the further expansion in natural boreal wetlands under a warmer and wetter future. Stability of the natural surface water table is critical for the conservation and restoration of G. spiculosa populations reacting to encroachment stress from C. angustifolia expansion.

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“…Greenhouse experiments cannot reproduce all of the factors likely to affect growth in natural habitats, and it is possible that more complex interactions might show differences in response to N between invasive and native clonal plants in China, such as interactions between response to N and rainfall and temperature (Standish et al 2012;Leffler et al 2013) or clonal architecture (Gough et al 2012). In particular, elevated N is known to shift the balance of competition between some invasive and native species in favor of the invasive species (Sharma et al 2010;Vallano et al 2012), though in some cases, the invasive species whose relative abundance increases with N availability are mainly non-clonal (e.g., Karalius and Alpert 2010;Leffler et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses to simulated nitrogen deposition in invasive and native or non-invasive clonal plants in China

Lei

Alpert³

et al. 2014

Plant Ecol

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Previous studies suggest that a disproportionately high number of invasive plant species are clonal, and that an increase in N availability often promotes the spread of introduced plants. We tested the hypothesis that greater ability to increase performance in response to the increase in N availability is associated with greater invasiveness in clonal plant species on a regional basis in China, where the potentials for new introductions and for N deposition are high. We compared growth, allocation of mass, morphology, and N use efficiency in six pairs of closely related, widespread species of clonal plants with and without N addition designed to simulate future N deposition of 15 g N m -2 year -1 . Within each pair, one species was introduced and invasive in China, and the other was native or in one case introduced but not invasive. Added N increased the final dry mass of species by 10-120 % and the final number of ramets by up to 300 %. However, responses to N did not differ consistently (P [ 0.05) between invasive and native or non-invasive species; increase in total mass with added N ranged from being 6 times greater in the invasive species to 3 times greater in the native species in a pair. Results suggest that increased N availability due to deposition in China will favor the spread of some but not all introduced, clonal plant species in China.

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Incorporating clonal growth form clarifies the role of plant height in response to nitrogen addition

Cited by 97 publications

References 48 publications

Lack of eutrophication in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem over 27 years

Lack of eutrophication in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem over 27 years

Response of Two Dominant Boreal Freshwater Wetland Plants to Manipulated Warming and Altered Precipitation

Responses to simulated nitrogen deposition in invasive and native or non-invasive clonal plants in China

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