Description
Over the past decades, eutrophication has caused many nutrient-poor semi-natural grasslands to become enriched, leading to a loss of species diversity. However, eutrophication can also cause a change in the relative availability of essential resources, i.e. the nutrients nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).Earlier research has shown that 1) especially the relative availability of N and P (the N:P ratio), is important for species richness, independent of productivity; 2) at high N:P ratio’s – indicative of P-limitation – more endangered species are found; 3) there is species turnover and an associated change in species composition along N:P gradients; and 4) species have different niches along the gradient. Generally, niche widths are largest around co-limitation and become narrower towards more N- or P-limited conditions. The presence of specific niches along the N:P gradient suggests that plants can adapt to changes in N:P ratios via phenotypic plasticity. The expectation is that species with broader niches are more plastic.
We performed a greenhouse experiment to test the effect of nutrient limitation on plant trait plasticity, trait strategy and plant performance. Six grassland plant species were selected to represent species growing under N-, co- or P-limited conditions, two species per limitation type. The species were grown in monocultures and submitted to a full factorial treatment of three nutrient levels (low, intermediate, high) and five different N:P ratios (ranging from extreme N-limitation to extreme P-limitation), allowing us to distinguish between responses caused by the N:P ratio, total nutrient availability or an interaction thereof. Plant performance and traits related to nutrient uptake and use were measured. We related trait expression and trait plasticity to plant performance and identified different plant strategies. We discuss what these differences in strategies might imply for species co-occurrence, species dominance and possible species loss.
| Period | 13 Dec 2017 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Ecology Across Borders: Joint Annual Meeting 2017 |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Ghent, BelgiumShow on map |
Keywords
- valorisation