Alpine plant functional group responses to fertiliser addition depend on abiotic regime and community composition

Онипченко, В. Г.; Макаров, М. И.; Akhmetzhanova, A. A.; Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A.; Aibazova, F. U.; El’kanova, M. Kh.; Stogova, A. V.; Cornelissen, J. H. C.

doi:10.1007/s11104-012-1146-2

Cited by 43 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…N addition increased the leaf length and the biomass of K. macrantha , P. viviparum and P. anserine at the wet site when neighbours were retained, indicating that these three species would be N limited in the studied communities and all of them should be N competitive. This is in line with other researchers, who found that the dominance of some sedge species in subalpine32 and alpine grassland33 and P. viviparum at polar semi-desert site34 was increased by N addition. Moreover, the positive effect of N addition on P. anserine might also be supported by the increased dominance of P. anserine in abandoned livestock enclosures (brush-ringed or fenced paddocks), where the soil is much richer in N content35.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Different responses of alpine plants to nitrogen addition: effects on plant-plant interactions

Wang

Luo

Mou

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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The different responses of plant species to resource stress are keys to understand the dynamics of plant community in a changing environment. To test the hypothesis that nitrogen (N) increase would benefit N competitive species, rather than N stress-tolerant species, to compete with neighbours, we conducted an experiment with neighbour removal, N addition and soil moisture as treatments in an alpine grassland on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Both growths and competitive-response abilities (CRA, the ability to tolerate the inhibitory effects of neighbors) of Kobresia macrantha, Polygonum viviparum and Potentilla anserine in wet site were facilitated by N addition, conversely, both growths and CRA of Taraxacum mongolicum and Ligularia virgaurea were suppressed by N addition, indicating that the responses of CRA of target species under N addition were consistent with the N utilization strategies of them. Moreover, the facilitative effects of N addition on competitive-response abilities of Kobresia macrantha and Polygonum viviparum were not found at the dry site, illustrating that soil moisture can alter the changes of neighbour effects caused by N addition. Life strategy of dominant species in plant community on the undisturbed southeastern Tibetan Plateau may shift from N stress-tolerant to N competitive, if the N increases continuously.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Different responses of alpine plants to nitrogen addition: effects on plant-plant interactions

Wang

Luo

Mou

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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“…Within the sedges, both C. vaginata and C. bigelowii decreased in response to perturbations in the meadow community, while C. bigelowii initially increased, but then dramatically decreased in cover under nutrient amendment in the meadow. As has been documented previously, sedges and grasses differ significantly in their responses to fertilization in alpine and subalpine systems (Soudzilovskaia and Onipchenko 2005, Onipchenko et al 2012, Alatalo et al 2014. Our results add credence to the idea of separating the various subgroups of v www.esajournals.org graminoids instead of grouping them together at the functional group level, but even this may be insufficient to predict individual species responses.…”

Section: Lack Of Functional Group Fidelity In Responses To Perturbationsmentioning

confidence: 70%

Community and species‐specific responses to simulated global change in two subarctic‐alpine plant communities

et al. 2015

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Long‐term observational studies have detected greening and shrub encroachment in the subarctic attributed to current climate change, while global change simulations have showed that community composition and productivity may shift drastically in arctic, subarctic, and alpine tundra plant communities in the future. However, responses to global change can be highly species‐ and context‐dependent. We examined community‐level and species‐specific responses to a six‐year factorial temperature and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) amendment experiment in two alpine plant communities in northern Sweden: a species‐poor dwarf shrub heath, and a more species‐rich meadow. We hypothesized that abundance responses to global change would be variable within commonly defined vascular plant functional groups (e.g., forbs, evergreen shrubs, deciduous shrubs) and that new species would appear in experimental plots over time due to the ameliorated growing conditions. We found that within most functional groups, species were highly individualistic with respect to the global change simulation, particularly within the forbs, whereas within the shrubs, responses were neutral to negative and widely variable in magnitude. In the heath community the response of the graminoid functional group was driven almost entirely by the grass Calamagrostis lapponica, which increased in abundance by an order of magnitude in the combined temperature and nutrient treatment. Furthermore, community context was important for species' responses to the simulations. Abundance of the pan‐arctic species Carex bigelowii and Vaccinium vitis‐idaea responded primarily to the temperature treatment in the meadow community whereas the nutrient treatment had stronger effects in the heath community. Over six growing seasons, more new species appeared in the experimental plots than in control plots in the meadow community, whereas in the heath community only one new species appeared. Our results from two closely situated but different plant communities show that functional groups do not predict individual species responses to simulated global change, and that these responses depend to a large extent on pre‐existing physical conditions as well as biotic interactions such as competition and facilitation. It may be difficult to apply general trends of global change responses to specific local communities.

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“…grasses, forbs, legumes and sedges), can influence the direction and magnitude of the changes to N addition (e.g. Tilman et al ., ; Bassin et al ., ; Marquard et al ., ; Bai et al ., ; Onipchenko et al ., ). Grasses are generally favoured by N addition, while legumes are not, and forb responses tend to be species specific (Theodose & Bowman, ; Leto et al ., ; Niu et al ., ; Duprè et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of nitrogen addition on plant biodiversity in mountain grasslands depend on dose, application duration and climate: a systematic review

Humbert

Dwyer

Andrey

et al. 2015

Global Change Biology

175

130

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Although the influence of nitrogen (N) addition on grassland plant communities has been widely studied, it is still unclear whether observed patterns and underlying mechanisms are constant across biomes. In this systematic review, we use meta-analysis and metaregression to investigate the influence of N addition (here referring mostly to fertilization) upon the biodiversity of temperate mountain grasslands (including montane, subalpine and alpine zones). Forty-two studies met our criteria of inclusion, resulting in 134 measures of effect size. The main general responses of mountain grasslands to N addition were increases in phytomass and reductions in plant species richness, as observed in lowland grasslands. More specifically, the analysis reveals that negative effects on species richness were exacerbated by dose (ha(-1) year(-1) ) and duration of N application (years) in an additive manner. Thus, sustained application of low to moderate levels of N over time had effects similar to short-term application of high N doses. The climatic context also played an important role: the overall effects of N addition on plant species richness and diversity (Shannon index) were less pronounced in mountain grasslands experiencing cool rather than warm summers. Furthermore, the relative negative effect of N addition on species richness was more pronounced in managed communities and was strongly negatively related to N-induced increases in phytomass, that is the greater the phytomass response to N addition, the greater the decline in richness. Altogether, this review not only establishes that plant biodiversity of mountain grasslands is negatively affected by N addition, but also demonstrates that several local management and abiotic factors interact with N addition to drive plant community changes. This synthesis yields essential information for a more sustainable management of mountain grasslands, emphasizing the importance of preserving and restoring grasslands with both low agricultural N application and limited exposure to N atmospheric deposition.

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Alpine plant functional group responses to fertiliser addition depend on abiotic regime and community composition

Cited by 43 publications

References 72 publications

Different responses of alpine plants to nitrogen addition: effects on plant-plant interactions

Different responses of alpine plants to nitrogen addition: effects on plant-plant interactions

Community and species‐specific responses to simulated global change in two subarctic‐alpine plant communities

Impacts of nitrogen addition on plant biodiversity in mountain grasslands depend on dose, application duration and climate: a systematic review

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