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ARS Home » Plains Area » Temple, Texas » Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #384916
Research Project: Contributions of Climate, Soils, Species Diversity, and Management to Sustainable Crop, Grassland, and Livestock Production Systems

Location: Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory

Title: Nutrient identity modifies the destabilizing effects of eutrophication in grasslands

Author
item CARROLL, OLIVER - University Of Guelph
item BATZER, EVAN - University Of California, Davis
item BHARATH, SIDDHARTH - University Of Minnesota
item BORER, ELIZABETH - University Of Minnesota
item CAMPANA, SOFIA - Consejo Nacional De Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas(CONICET)
item ESCH, ELLEN - University Of Guelph
item HAUTIER, YANN - Utrecht University
item OHLERT, TIMOTHY - University Of New Mexico
item SEABLOOM, ERIC - University Of Minnesota
item ADLER, PETER - Utah State University
item BAKKER, JONATHAN - University Of Washington
item BIEDERMAN, LORI - Iowa State University
item BUGALHO, MIGUEL - University Of Lisbon
item CALDEIRA, MARIA - University Of Lisbon
item CHEN, QINGQING - Peking University
item DAVIES, KENDI - University Of Colorado
item Fay, Philip
item KNOPS, JOHANNES - Jiaotong University
item KOMATSU, KIMBERLY - Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
item MARTINA, JASON - Texas State University
item MCCANN, KEVIN - University Of Guelph
item MOORE, JOSLIN - Monash University
item MORGAN, JOHN - La Trobe University
item MURAINA, TAOFEEK - University Of Ibadan
item OSBORNE, BROOKE - Us Geological Survey (USGS)
item RISCH, ANITA - Swiss Federal Research Institute Wsl
item STEVENS, CARLY - Lancaster University
item WILFHART, PETER - University Of Minnesota
item YAHDJIAN, LAURA - Consejo Nacional De Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas(CONICET)
item MACDOUGALL, ANDREW - University Of Guelph

Submitted to: Ecology Letters
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/28/2021
Publication Date: 1/1/2022
Citation: Carroll, O., Batzer, E., Bharath, S., Borer, E.T., Campana, S., Esch, E., Hautier, Y., Ohlert, T., Seabloom, E.W., Adler, P.B., Bakker, J.D., Biederman, L., Bugalho, M.N., Caldeira, M., Chen, Q., Davies, K., Fay, P.A., Knops, J.M., Komatsu, K., Martina, J., McCann, K.S., Moore, J.L., Morgan, J.W., Muraina, T.O., Osborne, B., Risch, A.C., Stevens, C., Wilfhart, P.A., Yahdjian, L., MacDougall, A.S. 2022. Nutrient identity modifies the destabilizing effects of eutrophication in grasslands. Ecology Letters. 25(4):754-765. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13946.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13946

Interpretive Summary: The sustainability of agroecosystems depends on the stability through time in their plant species composition and productivity, but the factors conferring stability remain unclear. Understanding the factors controlling stability is crucial to forecasting the ability of agroecosystems to provide provision services such as forage and supporting services such as biodiversity and pollination. ARS scientists together with U.S. and international collaborators evaluated the effects of multiple nutrients, including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium + micronutrients evaluated on the stability of aboveground biomass in 34 grasslands on 5 continents. The study revealed that N and P reduced stability in aboveground biomass, and that effects were largest in the most nutrient-limited grasslands, or where nutrients reduced species richness or where species displayed more synchronous growth patterns. These findings suggest that the benefits of fertilization with limiting nutrients need to be weighed against the increased variability in ecosystem services that may result.

Technical Abstract: Nutrient enrichment can simultaneously increase and destabilize plant biomass production, with co-limitation by multiple nutrients potentially influencing these effects. Here, we test how factorial additions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium with essential nutrients (K+) affect the stability (mean/standard deviation) of aboveground biomass in 34 grasslands over seven years. Destabilization with fertilization was prevalent and was largely driven by single nutrients, rather than synergistic nutrient interactions. N-based treatments increased mean production by 21-51% but increased temporal variability by 40-68% and so consistently reduced stability. P alone increased variability and instability without altering mean biomass, while K+ had no general effects. Declines in stability were largest in the most nutrient-limited grasslands, or where nutrients reduced species richness or intensified species synchrony. We show that adding limiting nutrients can differentially impact mean-variability proportionality and that N and P in particular magnify fluctuations in inter-annual productivity, even if biomass continues to increase.