Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production: Have we overlooked micronutrients?

Dajana Radujković; Erik Verbruggen; Eric W. Seabloom; Michael Bahn; Lori A. Biederman; Elizabeth T. Borer; Elizabeth H. Boughton; Jane A. Catford; Matteo Campioli; Ian Donohue; Anne Ebeling; Anu Eskelinen; Philip A. Fay; Amandine Hansart; Johannes M.H. Knops; Andrew S. MacDougall; Timothy Ohlert; Harry Olde Venterink; Xavier Raynaud; Anita C. Risch; Christiane Roscher; Martin Schütz; Maria Lucia Silveira; Carly J. Stevens; Kevin Van Sundert; Risto Virtanen; Glenda M. Wardle; Peter D. Wragg; Sara Vicca

doi:10.1111/ele.13894

Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production: Have we overlooked micronutrients?

Dajana Radujković, Erik Verbruggen, Eric W. Seabloom, Michael Bahn, Lori A. Biederman, Elizabeth T. Borer, Elizabeth H. Boughton, Jane A. Catford, Matteo Campioli, Ian Donohue, Anne Ebeling, Anu Eskelinen, Philip A. Fay, Amandine Hansart, Johannes M.H. Knops, Andrew S. MacDougall, Timothy Ohlert, Harry Olde Venterink, Xavier Raynaud, Anita C. RischChristiane Roscher, Martin Schütz, Maria Lucia Silveira, Carly J. Stevens, Kevin Van Sundert, Risto Virtanen, Glenda M. Wardle, Peter D. Wragg, Sara Vicca

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fertilisation experiments have demonstrated that nutrient availability is a key determinant of biomass production and carbon sequestration in grasslands. However, the influence of nutrients in explaining spatial variation in grassland biomass production has rarely been assessed. Using a global dataset comprising 72 sites on six continents, we investigated which of 16 soil factors that shape nutrient availability associate most strongly with variation in grassland aboveground biomass. Climate and N deposition were also considered. Based on theory-driven structural equation modelling, we found that soil micronutrients (particularly Zn and Fe) were important predictors of biomass and, together with soil physicochemical properties and C:N, they explained more unique variation (32%) than climate and N deposition (24%). However, the association between micronutrients and biomass was absent in grasslands limited by NP. These results highlight soil properties as key predictors of global grassland biomass production and point to serial co-limitation by NP and micronutrients.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	2713-2725
Number of pages	13
Journal	Ecology letters
Volume	24
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13894
State	Published - Dec 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was generated using data from the Nutrient Network (http://www.nutnet.org) experiment, funded at the site-scale by individual researchers. Coordination and data management have been supported by funding to E. Borer and E. Seabloom from the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (NSF-DEB-1042132) and Long Term Ecological Research (NSF-DEB-1234162 and NSF-DEB-1831944 to Cedar Creek LTER) programs, and the Institute on the Environment (DG-0001-13). We also thank the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute for hosting project data and the Institute on the Environment for hosting Network meetings. This research was supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), the European Research Council grant ERC-SyG-610028 IMBALANCE-P and Methusalem funding of the Research Council UA. We thank E. Fransen for statistical advice as well as J. Lembrechts and M. Portillo-Estrada for their help with figure editing.

Funding Information:
This work was generated using data from the Nutrient Network ( http://www.nutnet.org ) experiment, funded at the site‐scale by individual researchers. Coordination and data management have been supported by funding to E. Borer and E. Seabloom from the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (NSF‐DEB‐1042132) and Long Term Ecological Research (NSF‐DEB‐1234162 and NSF‐DEB‐1831944 to Cedar Creek LTER) programs, and the Institute on the Environment (DG‐0001‐13). We also thank the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute for hosting project data and the Institute on the Environment for hosting Network meetings. This research was supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), the European Research Council grant ERC‐SyG‐610028 IMBALANCE‐P and Methusalem funding of the Research Council UA. We thank E. Fransen for statistical advice as well as J. Lembrechts and M. Portillo‐Estrada for their help with figure editing.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

N deposition
Nutrient Network (NutNet)
biomass production
climate
grasslands
iron
micronutrients
soil properties
zinc

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1111/ele.13894

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Radujković, D., Verbruggen, E., Seabloom, E. W., Bahn, M., Biederman, L. A., Borer, E. T., Boughton, E. H., Catford, J. A., Campioli, M., Donohue, I., Ebeling, A., Eskelinen, A., Fay, P. A., Hansart, A., Knops, J. M. H., MacDougall, A. S., Ohlert, T., Olde Venterink, H., Raynaud, X., ... Vicca, S. (2021). Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production: Have we overlooked micronutrients? Ecology letters, 24(12), 2713-2725. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13894

Radujković, D, Verbruggen, E, Seabloom, EW, Bahn, M, Biederman, LA, Borer, ET, Boughton, EH, Catford, JA, Campioli, M, Donohue, I, Ebeling, A, Eskelinen, A, Fay, PA, Hansart, A, Knops, JMH, MacDougall, AS, Ohlert, T, Olde Venterink, H, Raynaud, X, Risch, AC, Roscher, C, Schütz, M, Silveira, ML, Stevens, CJ, Van Sundert, K, Virtanen, R, Wardle, GM, Wragg, PD & Vicca, S 2021, 'Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production: Have we overlooked micronutrients?', Ecology letters, vol. 24, no. 12, pp. 2713-2725. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13894

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title = "Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production: Have we overlooked micronutrients?",

abstract = "Fertilisation experiments have demonstrated that nutrient availability is a key determinant of biomass production and carbon sequestration in grasslands. However, the influence of nutrients in explaining spatial variation in grassland biomass production has rarely been assessed. Using a global dataset comprising 72 sites on six continents, we investigated which of 16 soil factors that shape nutrient availability associate most strongly with variation in grassland aboveground biomass. Climate and N deposition were also considered. Based on theory-driven structural equation modelling, we found that soil micronutrients (particularly Zn and Fe) were important predictors of biomass and, together with soil physicochemical properties and C:N, they explained more unique variation (32%) than climate and N deposition (24%). However, the association between micronutrients and biomass was absent in grasslands limited by NP. These results highlight soil properties as key predictors of global grassland biomass production and point to serial co-limitation by NP and micronutrients.",

keywords = "N deposition, Nutrient Network (NutNet), biomass production, climate, grasslands, iron, micronutrients, soil properties, zinc",

author = "Dajana Radujkovi{\'c} and Erik Verbruggen and Seabloom, {Eric W.} and Michael Bahn and Biederman, {Lori A.} and Borer, {Elizabeth T.} and Boughton, {Elizabeth H.} and Catford, {Jane A.} and Matteo Campioli and Ian Donohue and Anne Ebeling and Anu Eskelinen and Fay, {Philip A.} and Amandine Hansart and Knops, {Johannes M.H.} and MacDougall, {Andrew S.} and Timothy Ohlert and {Olde Venterink}, Harry and Xavier Raynaud and Risch, {Anita C.} and Christiane Roscher and Martin Sch{\"u}tz and Silveira, {Maria Lucia} and Stevens, {Carly J.} and {Van Sundert}, Kevin and Risto Virtanen and Wardle, {Glenda M.} and Wragg, {Peter D.} and Sara Vicca",

note = "Funding Information: This work was generated using data from the Nutrient Network (http://www.nutnet.org) experiment, funded at the site-scale by individual researchers. Coordination and data management have been supported by funding to E. Borer and E. Seabloom from the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (NSF-DEB-1042132) and Long Term Ecological Research (NSF-DEB-1234162 and NSF-DEB-1831944 to Cedar Creek LTER) programs, and the Institute on the Environment (DG-0001-13). We also thank the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute for hosting project data and the Institute on the Environment for hosting Network meetings. This research was supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), the European Research Council grant ERC-SyG-610028 IMBALANCE-P and Methusalem funding of the Research Council UA. We thank E. Fransen for statistical advice as well as J. Lembrechts and M. Portillo-Estrada for their help with figure editing. Funding Information: This work was generated using data from the Nutrient Network ( http://www.nutnet.org ) experiment, funded at the site‐scale by individual researchers. Coordination and data management have been supported by funding to E. Borer and E. Seabloom from the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (NSF‐DEB‐1042132) and Long Term Ecological Research (NSF‐DEB‐1234162 and NSF‐DEB‐1831944 to Cedar Creek LTER) programs, and the Institute on the Environment (DG‐0001‐13). We also thank the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute for hosting project data and the Institute on the Environment for hosting Network meetings. This research was supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), the European Research Council grant ERC‐SyG‐610028 IMBALANCE‐P and Methusalem funding of the Research Council UA. We thank E. Fransen for statistical advice as well as J. Lembrechts and M. Portillo‐Estrada for their help with figure editing. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

year = "2021",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1111/ele.13894",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "24",

pages = "2713--2725",

journal = "Ecology letters",

issn = "1461-023X",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "12",

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T1 - Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production

T2 - Have we overlooked micronutrients?

AU - Radujković, Dajana

AU - Verbruggen, Erik

AU - Seabloom, Eric W.

AU - Bahn, Michael

AU - Biederman, Lori A.

AU - Borer, Elizabeth T.

AU - Boughton, Elizabeth H.

AU - Catford, Jane A.

AU - Campioli, Matteo

AU - Donohue, Ian

AU - Ebeling, Anne

AU - Eskelinen, Anu

AU - Fay, Philip A.

AU - Hansart, Amandine

AU - Knops, Johannes M.H.

AU - MacDougall, Andrew S.

AU - Ohlert, Timothy

AU - Olde Venterink, Harry

AU - Raynaud, Xavier

AU - Risch, Anita C.

AU - Roscher, Christiane

AU - Schütz, Martin

AU - Silveira, Maria Lucia

AU - Stevens, Carly J.

AU - Van Sundert, Kevin

AU - Virtanen, Risto

AU - Wardle, Glenda M.

AU - Wragg, Peter D.

AU - Vicca, Sara

N1 - Funding Information: This work was generated using data from the Nutrient Network (http://www.nutnet.org) experiment, funded at the site-scale by individual researchers. Coordination and data management have been supported by funding to E. Borer and E. Seabloom from the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (NSF-DEB-1042132) and Long Term Ecological Research (NSF-DEB-1234162 and NSF-DEB-1831944 to Cedar Creek LTER) programs, and the Institute on the Environment (DG-0001-13). We also thank the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute for hosting project data and the Institute on the Environment for hosting Network meetings. This research was supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), the European Research Council grant ERC-SyG-610028 IMBALANCE-P and Methusalem funding of the Research Council UA. We thank E. Fransen for statistical advice as well as J. Lembrechts and M. Portillo-Estrada for their help with figure editing. Funding Information: This work was generated using data from the Nutrient Network ( http://www.nutnet.org ) experiment, funded at the site‐scale by individual researchers. Coordination and data management have been supported by funding to E. Borer and E. Seabloom from the National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (NSF‐DEB‐1042132) and Long Term Ecological Research (NSF‐DEB‐1234162 and NSF‐DEB‐1831944 to Cedar Creek LTER) programs, and the Institute on the Environment (DG‐0001‐13). We also thank the Minnesota Supercomputer Institute for hosting project data and the Institute on the Environment for hosting Network meetings. This research was supported by the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), the European Research Council grant ERC‐SyG‐610028 IMBALANCE‐P and Methusalem funding of the Research Council UA. We thank E. Fransen for statistical advice as well as J. Lembrechts and M. Portillo‐Estrada for their help with figure editing. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2021/12

Y1 - 2021/12

N2 - Fertilisation experiments have demonstrated that nutrient availability is a key determinant of biomass production and carbon sequestration in grasslands. However, the influence of nutrients in explaining spatial variation in grassland biomass production has rarely been assessed. Using a global dataset comprising 72 sites on six continents, we investigated which of 16 soil factors that shape nutrient availability associate most strongly with variation in grassland aboveground biomass. Climate and N deposition were also considered. Based on theory-driven structural equation modelling, we found that soil micronutrients (particularly Zn and Fe) were important predictors of biomass and, together with soil physicochemical properties and C:N, they explained more unique variation (32%) than climate and N deposition (24%). However, the association between micronutrients and biomass was absent in grasslands limited by NP. These results highlight soil properties as key predictors of global grassland biomass production and point to serial co-limitation by NP and micronutrients.

AB - Fertilisation experiments have demonstrated that nutrient availability is a key determinant of biomass production and carbon sequestration in grasslands. However, the influence of nutrients in explaining spatial variation in grassland biomass production has rarely been assessed. Using a global dataset comprising 72 sites on six continents, we investigated which of 16 soil factors that shape nutrient availability associate most strongly with variation in grassland aboveground biomass. Climate and N deposition were also considered. Based on theory-driven structural equation modelling, we found that soil micronutrients (particularly Zn and Fe) were important predictors of biomass and, together with soil physicochemical properties and C:N, they explained more unique variation (32%) than climate and N deposition (24%). However, the association between micronutrients and biomass was absent in grasslands limited by NP. These results highlight soil properties as key predictors of global grassland biomass production and point to serial co-limitation by NP and micronutrients.

KW - N deposition

KW - Nutrient Network (NutNet)

KW - biomass production

KW - climate

KW - grasslands

KW - iron

KW - micronutrients

KW - soil properties

KW - zinc

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DO - 10.1111/ele.13894

M3 - Article

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VL - 24

SP - 2713

EP - 2725

JO - Ecology letters

JF - Ecology letters

IS - 12

ER -

Soil properties as key predictors of global grassland production: Have we overlooked micronutrients?

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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