Journal
ECOLOGY
Volume 99, Issue 4, Pages 822-831Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2175
Keywords
climate; eutrophication; fencing; fertilizer; grasses; herbivores; N deposition; Nutrient Network (NutNet); nutrients; solar insolation; stoichiometry
Categories
Funding
- A Wake Forest University
- National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network program [NSF-DEB-1042132]
- Long Term Ecological Research program [NSF-DEB-1234162]
- Institute on the Environment [DG-0001-13]
- NSERC
- University of Guelph's CFREF project Food from Thought
- USGS
- [NSF-DEB 1145861]
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Plant stoichiometry, the relative concentration of elements, is a key regulator of ecosystem functioning and is also being altered by human activities. In this paper we sought to understand the global drivers of plant stoichiometry and compare the relative contribution of climatic vs. anthropogenic effects. We addressed this goal by measuring plant elemental (C, N, P and K) responses to eutrophication and vertebrate herbivore exclusion at eighteen sites on six continents. Across sites, climate and atmospheric N deposition emerged as strong predictors of plot-level tissue nutrients, mediated by biomass and plant chemistry. Within sites, fertilization increased total plant nutrient pools, but results were contingent on soil fertility and the proportion of grass biomass relative to other functional types. Total plant nutrient pools diverged strongly in response to herbivore exclusion when fertilized; responses were largest in ungrazed plots at low rainfall, whereas herbivore grazing dampened the plant community nutrient responses to fertilization. Our study highlights (1) the importance of climate in determining plant nutrient concentrations mediated through effects on plant biomass, (2) that eutrophication affects grassland nutrient pools via both soil and atmospheric pathways and (3) that interactions among soils, herbivores and eutrophication drive plant nutrient responses at small scales, especially at water-limited sites.
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