Decoupling the direct and indirect effects of nitrogen deposition on ecosystem function

Elevated nitrogen (N) inputs into terrestrial ecosystems are causing major changes to the composition and functioning of ecosystems. Understanding these changes is challenging because there are complex interactions between 'direct' effects of N on plant physiology and soil biogeochemistry,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2006-09, Vol.9 (9), p.1015-1024
Main Authors: Manning, Pete, Newington, John E, Robson, Helen R, Saunders, Mark, Eggers, Till, Bradford, Mark A, Bardgett, Richard D, Bonkowski, Michael, Ellis, Richard J, Gange, Alan C, Grayston, Susan J, Kandeler, Ellen, Marhan, Sven, Reid, Eileen, Tscherko, Dagmar, Godfray, H. Charles J, Rees, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
biodiversity
Ecosystem
evapotranspiration
Fertilizers
frequency dependence
mineral-associated carbon
mineralization
net ecosystem productivity
Nitrogen - metabolism
plant community composition
Plant Development
Population Dynamics
Soil
soil decomposer community
soil enzyme activity
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Summary:Elevated nitrogen (N) inputs into terrestrial ecosystems are causing major changes to the composition and functioning of ecosystems. Understanding these changes is challenging because there are complex interactions between 'direct' effects of N on plant physiology and soil biogeochemistry, and 'indirect' effects caused by changes in plant species composition. By planting high N and low N plant community compositions into high and low N deposition model terrestrial ecosystems we experimentally decoupled direct and indirect effects and quantified their contribution to changes in carbon, N and water cycling. Our results show that direct effects on plant growth dominate ecosystem response to N deposition, although long-term carbon storage is reduced under high N plant-species composition. These findings suggest that direct effects of N deposition on ecosystem function could be relatively strong in comparison with the indirect effects of plant community change.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00959.x