Effects of nitrogen enrichment, plant litter removal and cutting on a species‐rich Mediterranean calcareous grassland

Bonanomi, Giuliano; Caporaso, Silvia; Allegrezza, Marina

doi:10.1080/11263500903172128

Cited by 36 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Control plots in managed communities generally had higher richness than control plots in unmanaged communities, and this richness was maintained through time in longitudinal studies (e.g. Krajčovič et al ., ; Kohler et al ., ; Bonanomi et al ., ). As such, these managed communities had more species to ‘lose’ after N addition.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In unmanaged communities, it is likely that successional processes had already reduced diversity in control plots (Pavl u et al, 2012;Gaisler et al, 2013), and so further losses due to N addition were not as pronounced in relative terms. In the subset of studies that applied combinations of fertilization and management treatments to the same community (Kohler et al, 2004(Kohler et al, , 2005Bonanomi et al, 2009;Lanta et al, 2009), fertilized-managed plots displayed higher species richness than fertilized-unmanaged plots in all cases, indicating that mowing and grazing actually maintains a higher level of species richness following fertilization compared with no phytomass removal. This corroborates the findings of Borer et al (2014) that grazing can rescue richness losses in fertilized plots by allowing more light to reach ground level and by preventing competitive exclusion via intense light competition.…”

Section: Influences Of Management Productivity Ratio and Initial Soimentioning

confidence: 97%

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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

186

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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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Influences Of Management Productivity Ratio and Initial Soimentioning

confidence: 97%

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

186

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Experiments have, nevertheless, shown that trampling and grazing can alleviate competitive exclusion through biomass removal (Kohler et al . ; Bonanomi, Caporaso & Allegrezza ; Lanta et al . ) offsetting light limitation and competitive exclusion (Borer et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen deposition and climate change have increased vascular plant species richness and altered the composition of grazed subalpine grasslands

et al. 2017

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Summary Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition and climate warming are two major components of global change that drive species richness and composition in plant communities. However, their combined effects have been insufficiently investigated across large spatial and temporal scales particularly in high‐elevation, nutrient‐limited ecosystems. We examine whether and how N deposition and climate warming have altered the plant richness and the composition of subalpine semi‐natural, extensively grazed grasslands of the Pyrenees, using two complementary approaches: (i) analysis of 553 relevés to explore vegetation changes across large ecological gradients including temperature and N deposition (spatial approach) and (ii) a re‐sampling of a subset of 40 sites among the 553 sites to assess temporal changes over the past decades (temporal approach). Both approaches showed that the vascular plant species richness increased when temperature and cumulative N deposition increase, shifting the species composition towards more thermophilic and eutrophic communities. Synthesis. We hypothesize that the release from abiotic constraints (milder temperature and higher nitrogen availability) due to global changes and long‐standing extensive grazing counteracting the negative effects of nitrogen deposition have been responsible for the diversity and compositional changes of plant communities over the last decades in the Pyrenees. Thus, in contrast with other grasslands, high‐elevation grazed grasslands may increase in species diversity with nitrogen deposition under climate warming.

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“…In general, with reference to the management of coarse tall grasses, it was demonstrated that overstocking in fenced stands by domestic herbivores may be useful (Catorci et al, 2014a), especially if performed by equines (Catorci et al, 2012b) or cows (Schütz, 2003). Mowing has the same output (Bonanomi et al, 2009). However, mowing alone does not ensure the total control of dominant species endowed with competitive strategies (Catorci et al, 2011b), thus calling for management integration with different type of grazers (Gordon, 1988), such as late summer grazing by very little selective herbivores (i.e.…”

Section: Features Of Established Competitive Tall Grasses and Managemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Red Deer Grazing on Alpine Hay Meadows: Biodiversity and Management Implications

Catorci¹

2016

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Abstract. Large mammalian herbivores are keystone species affecting the biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems, since herbivory directly influences plant species competitive ability. Thus, when managing habitats for conservation it is crucial to understand the selection patterns of large herbivores and their effect on plant diversity and assemblage. With this aim, we studied a pastoral system placed in centraleastern Alps, comparing late mowing with grazing by red deer. We found that, with high stocking rates, red deer significantly affects the species and functional composition of alpine productive pastures, mostly by competitive exclusion of subordinate species due to the spread of poorly palatable, competitive, stress-tolerant tall grasses with strong avoidance strategies. We argued that grazing by red deer with high stocking rates is harmful when acts on formerly managed meadows, while it has a positive impact on plant diversity of long-term abandoned grasslands. Our results indicated that grazing by red deer with high stoking rates hinders the spread of successional/ruderal species, but allows the establishment of competitive dominant tall grasses. Our findings also confirmed the hypothesis that the impact of red deer on grassland biodiversity follows the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.

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Effects of nitrogen enrichment, plant litter removal and cutting on a species‐rich Mediterranean calcareous grassland

Cited by 36 publications

References 24 publications

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

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

Nitrogen deposition and climate change have increased vascular plant species richness and altered the composition of grazed subalpine grasslands

Effect of Red Deer Grazing on Alpine Hay Meadows: Biodiversity and Management Implications

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