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Nutrient identity modifies the destabilising effects of eutrophication in grasslands

  • Oliver Carroll*
  • , Evan Batzer
  • , Siddharth Bharath
  • , Elizabeth T. Borer
  • , Sofía Campana
  • , Ellen Esch
  • , Yann Hautier
  • , Timothy Ohlert
  • , Eric W. Seabloom
  • , Peter B. Adler
  • , Jonathan D. Bakker
  • , Lori Biederman
  • , Miguel N. Bugalho
  • , Maria Caldeira
  • , Qingqing Chen
  • , Kendi F. Davies
  • , Philip A. Fay
  • , Johannes M.H. Knops
  • , Kimberly Komatsu
  • , Jason P. Martina
  • Kevin S. McCann, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Taofeek O. Muraina, Brooke Osborne, Anita C. Risch, Carly Stevens, Peter A. Wilfahrt, Laura Yahdjian, Andrew S. MacDougall
*Corresponding author for this work
  • University of Guelph
  • University of California at Davis
  • University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  • Universidad de Buenos Aires
  • Utrecht University
  • University of New Mexico
  • Utah State University
  • University of Washington
  • Iowa State University
  • University of Lisbon
  • Peking University
  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • United States Department of Agriculture
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Texas State University
  • Monash University
  • La Trobe University
  • Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology
  • United States Geological Survey
  • Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
  • Lancaster University

Research output: Contribution to journalLetterpeer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Nutrient enrichment can simultaneously increase and destabilise plant biomass production, with co-limitation by multiple nutrients potentially intensifying 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 7 years. Destabilisation with fertilisation was prevalent but was driven by single nutrients, not synergistic nutrient interactions. On average, N-based treatments increased mean biomass production by 21–51% but increased its standard deviation by 40–68% and so consistently reduced stability. Adding P increased interannual variability and reduced stability 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 nutrients can differentially impact the stability of biomass production, with N and P in particular disproportionately increasing its interannual variability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)754-765
Number of pages12
JournalEcology Letters
Volume25
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2022

Keywords

  • biodiversity loss
  • biomass
  • co-limitation
  • ecosystem function
  • ecosystem stability
  • nutrient Network (NutNet)
  • nutrient enrichment
  • synchrony
  • variability

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