Belowground Biomass Response to Nutrient Enrichment Depends on Light Limitation Across Globally Distributed Grasslands

Elsa E. Cleland, Eric M. Lind, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Elizabeth DeLorenze, Rachel Abbott Wilkins, Peter B. Adler, Jonathan D. Bakker, Cynthia S. Brown, Kendi F. Davies, Ellen Esch, Jennifer Firn, Scott Gressard, Daniel S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, W. Stanley Harpole, Yann Hautier, Sarah E. Hobbie, Kirsten S. Hofmockel, Kevin Kirkman, Johannes KnopsChristopher W. Kopp, Kimberly J. La Pierre, Andrew MacDougall, Rebecca L. McCulley, Brett A. Melbourne, Joslin L. Moore, Suzanne M. Prober, Charlotte Riggs, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schuetz, Carly Stevens, Peter D. Wragg, Justin Wright, Elizabeth T. Borer, Eric W. Seabloom

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities are increasing nutrient inputs to ecosystems worldwide, with consequences for global carbon and nutrient cycles. Recent meta-analyses show that aboveground primary production is often co-limited by multiple nutrients; however, little is known about how root production responds to changes in nutrient availability. At twenty-nine grassland sites on four continents, we quantified shallow root biomass responses to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium plus micronutrient enrichment and compared below- and aboveground responses. We hypothesized that optimal allocation theory would predict context dependence in root biomass responses to nutrient enrichment, given variation among sites in the resources limiting to plant growth (specifically light versus nutrients). Consistent with the predictions of optimal allocation theory, the proportion of total biomass belowground declined with N or P addition, due to increased biomass aboveground (for N and P) and decreased biomass belowground (N, particularly in sites with low canopy light penetration). Absolute root biomass increased with N addition where light was abundant at the soil surface, but declined in sites where the grassland canopy intercepted a large proportion of incoming light. These results demonstrate that belowground responses to changes in resource supply can differ strongly from aboveground responses, which could significantly modify predictions of future rates of nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Our results also highlight how optimal allocation theory developed for individual plants may help predict belowground biomass responses to nutrient enrichment at the ecosystem scale across wide climatic and environmental gradients.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1466-1477
Number of pages12
JournalEcosystems
Volume22
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2019

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • Nutrient Network
  • belowground biomass
  • fertilization
  • nitrogen
  • optimal allocation
  • phosphorus
  • roots

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