Nitrogen Fertilization, Botanical Composition and Biomass Production on Mixed-Grass Rangeland

Samuel, Marilyn J.; Hart, Richard H.

doi:10.2307/4003325

Cited by 22 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Other demonstrated N‐induced changes in grasslands include shifts in relative abundance of warm‐ and cool‐season grasses (Wedin and Tilman , Samuel and Hart ), reduction in legume cover (Piper et al. ), decreased tissue C:N (Yang et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bailey, and Carex filifolia . Experimental plots were arranged in a narrow strip (~250 m × 10 m) at the top of the ridge in vegetation chosen for its high apparent species diversity and mixture of C 3 and C 4 grasses: characteristics expected to make it sensitive to N addition based on research in other similar areas (Samuel and Hart , Suding et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimentally derived nitrogen critical loads for northern Great Plains vegetation

Symstad

Smith

Newton

et al. 2019

Ecological Applications

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The critical load concept facilitates communication between scientists and policy makers and land managers by translating the complex effects of air pollution on ecosystems into unambiguous numbers that can be used to inform air quality targets. Anthropogenic atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition adversely affects a variety of ecosystems, but the information used to derive critical loads for North American ecosystems is sparse and often based on experiments investigating N loads substantially higher than current or expected atmospheric deposition. In a 4‐yr field experiment in the northern Great Plains (NGP) of North America, where current N deposition levels range from ~3 to 9 kg N·ha−1·yr−1, we added 12 levels of N, from 2.5 to 100 kg N·ha−1·yr−1, to three sites spanning a range of soil fertility and productivity. Our results suggest a conservative critical load of 4–6 kg N·ha−1·yr−1 for the most sensitive vegetation type we investigated, badlands sparse vegetation, a community that supports plant species adapted to low fertility conditions, where N addition at this rate increased productivity and litter load. In contrast, for the two more productive vegetation types characteristic of most NGP grasslands, a critical load of 6–10 kg N·ha−1·yr−1 was identified. Here, N addition at this level altered plant tissue chemistry and increased nonnative species. These critical loads are below the currently suggested range of 10–25 kg N·ha−1·yr−1 for NGP vegetation and within the range of current or near‐future deposition, suggesting that N deposition may already be inducing fundamental changes in NGP ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimentally derived nitrogen critical loads for northern Great Plains vegetation

Symstad

Smith

Newton

et al. 2019

Ecological Applications

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“…Many of the common species in these ecosystems are perennials (Great Plains Flora Association 1986), so continuity from year-to-year outweighs the effects of Melilotus, at least in the short term. However, studies of long-term N addition find shifts in the plant community, even in communities originally dominated by perennials (Carson and Barrett 1988;Samuel and Hart 1998;Wedin and Tilman 1996). Because we do not have information on plant communities at our study sites prior to Melilotus invasion, we do not know how these communities may have changed in the long term.…”

Section: Effect Sizementioning

confidence: 95%

“…Increased water has been shown to make N fixation more favorable under N-limited conditions and to increase legume competitive ability over nonlegumes (Lauenroth and Dodd 1979). In drier years, water may be limiting to Melilotus, natives, and other exotics; when water is no longer limiting, N limitation may make effects of Melilotus more apparent (Lorenz and Rogler 1972;Samuel and Hart 1998;Wight and Black 1979).…”

Section: Generality Of the Model Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of invasive Melilotus officinalis in two native plant communities

Riper

Larson²

2008

Plant Ecol

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This study examines the impact of the exotic nitrogen-fixing legume Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. on native and exotic species cover in two Great Plains ecosystems in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Melilotus is still widely planted and its effects on native ecosystems are not well studied. Melilotus could have direct effects on native plants, such as through competition or facilitation. Alternatively, Melilotus may have indirect effects on natives, e.g., by favoring exotic species which in turn have a negative effect on native species. This study examined these interactions across a 4-year period in two contrasting vegetation types: Badlands sparse vegetation and western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii) mixed-grass prairie. Structural equation models were used to analyze the pathways through which Melilotus, native species, and other exotic species interact over a series of 2-year time steps. Melilotus can affect native and exotic species both in the current year and in the years after its death (a lag effect). A lag effect is possible because the death of a Melilotus plant can leave an open, potentially nitrogen-enriched site on the landscape. The results showed that the relationship between Melilotus and native and exotic species varied depending on the habitat and the year. In Badlands sparse vegetation, there was a consistent, strong, and positive relationship between Melilotus cover and native and exotic species cover suggesting that Melilotus is acting as a nurse plant and facilitating the growth of other species. In contrast, in western wheatgrass prairie, Melilotus was acting as a weak competitor and had no consistent effect on other species. In both habitats, there was little evidence for a direct lag effect of Melilotus on other species. Together, these results suggest both facilitative and competitive roles for Melilotus, depending on the vegetation type it invades.

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“…Other sources of N addition in the Great Plains are low. Rangelands are generally unfertilized (Jacobsen et al 1996;Samuel and Hart 1998) and atmospheric N deposition ranges from 2 to 4 kg N ha -1 year -1 in western South Dakota (NADP 2005). Therefore relatively small amounts of added N may enrich soils beyond conditions under which the native vegetation evolved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen-limitation and invasive sweetclover impacts vary between two Great Plains plant communities

Riper

Larson²,

Larson

2010

Biol Invasions

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Yellow sweetclover is an exotic herbaceous legume common in the Great Plains of the US. Although woody legumes have been shown to affect ecosystem processes through nitrogen (N) fixation (i.e., they can be considered ''transformers'' sensu Richardson et al. (2000)), the same has not been shown for short-lived herbaceous species. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify the effects of yellow sweetclover on N mineralization and nitrification and (2) assess the effects of N fertilization on two plant communities, badlands sparse vegetation and western wheatgrass prairie. We used in situ (in wheatgrass prairie) and laboratory incubations (for both plant communities) to assess N dynamics at sites with high and low sweetclover cover in the two plant communities. We found that both N mineralization and nitrification were higher in the high sweetclover plots in the sparse plant community, but not in the wheatgrass prairie. To assess fertilization effects and determine if nutrients or water were limiting at our sites, we conducted a field experiment with five resource addition treatments, (1) N, (2) N ? water, (3) water, (4) phosphorus, and (5) no addition. Water was limiting in the wheatgrass prairie but contrary to expectation, N was not. In contrast, N was limiting in the sparse community, where a fertilization effect was seen in exotic forbs, especially the toxic invader Halogeton glomeratus. Our results emphasize the contingent nature of plant invasion in which effects are largely dependent on attributes of the recipient vegetation.

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Nitrogen Fertilization, Botanical Composition and Biomass Production on Mixed-Grass Rangeland

Cited by 22 publications

References 35 publications

Experimentally derived nitrogen critical loads for northern Great Plains vegetation

Experimentally derived nitrogen critical loads for northern Great Plains vegetation

Role of invasive Melilotus officinalis in two native plant communities

Nitrogen-limitation and invasive sweetclover impacts vary between two Great Plains plant communities

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