Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Temple, Texas » Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #309169
Title: Grassland productivity limited by multiple nutrients

Author
item Fay, Philip
item PROBER, SUZANNE - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item HARPOLE, W - Iowa State University
item KNOPS, JOHANNES - University Of Nebraska
item BAKKER, JONATHAN - University Of Washington
item BORER, ELIZABETH - University Of Minnesota
item MACDOUGALL, ANDREW - University Of Guelph
item SEABLOOM, ERIC - University Of Minnesota
item WRAGG, PETER - University Of Minnesota
item ADLER, PETER - Utah State University
item Blumenthal, Dana
item BUCKLEY, YVONNE - University College Dublin
item CHU, CHENGJIN - Lanzhou University
item CLELAND, ELSA - University Of California
item COLLINS, SCOTT - University Of New Mexico
item DAVIES, KENDI - University Of Colorado
item DU, GUOZHEN - Lanzhou University
item FENG, XIAOHUI - University Of Illinois
item FIRN, JENNIFER - University Of Queensland
item GRUNER, DANIEL - University Of Maryland
item HAGENAH, NICOLE - University Of Kwazulu-Natal
item HAUTIER, YANN - University Of Oxford
item HECKMAN, ROBERT - University Of North Carolina
item Jin, Virginia
item KIRKMAN, KEVIN - University Of Kwazulu-Natal
item KLEIN, JULIA - University Of Colorado
item LADWIG, LAURA - University Of New Mexico
item LI, QI - Chinese Academy Of Sciences
item MCCULLEY, REBECCA - University Of Kentucky
item MELBOURNE, BRETT - University Of Colorado
item MITCHELL, CHARLES - University Of North Carolina
item MOORE, JOSLIN - Monash University
item MORGAN, JOHN - La Trobe University
item RISCH, ANITA - Swiss Federal Institute
item SCHUTZ, MARTIN - Swiss Federal Institute Of Technology Zurich
item STEVENS, CARLY - Lancaster University
item WEDIN, DAVID - University Of Nebraska
item YANG, LOUIE - University Of California

Submitted to: Nature Plants
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/11/2015
Publication Date: 7/6/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/62394
Citation: Fay, P.A., Prober, S.M., Harpole, W.S., Knops, J.M., Bakker, J.D., Borer, E.T., Macdougall, A.S., Seabloom, E., Wragg, P.D., Adler, P.B., Blumenthal, D.M., Buckley, Y.M., Chu, C., Cleland, E.E., Collins, S.L., Davies, K.F., Du, G., Feng, X., Firn, J., Gruner, D.S., Hagenah, N., Hautier, Y., Heckman, R.W., Jin, V.L., Kirkman, K.P., Klein, J., Ladwig, L.M., Li, Q., Mcculley, R.L., Melbourne, B.A., Mitchell, C.E., Moore, J.L., Morgan, J.W., Risch, A.C., Schutz, M., Stevens, C.J., Wedin, D.A., Yang, L.H. 2015. Grassland productivity limited by multiple nutrients. Nature Plants. 1:15080. doi:10.1038/NPLANTS.2015.80.

Interpretive Summary: The world’s native grasslands provide a crucial resource for livestock production, maintain clean water, prevent soil erosion, harbor many species of game- and non-game wildlife, and have high scenic and recreation value. However, native grasslands are threatened by many anthropogenic changes that degrade their ability to provide these and other ecosystem goods and services. A key threat comes from human induced changes in global nutrient cycles. Increased use of fertilizers in urban and agricultural environments has resulted in substantial increases in airborne concentrations of growth-limiting plant nutrients, particularly nitrogen (N) but increasingly phosphorus (P). Airborne nutrients eventually reach the ground and inadvertently fertilize these grasslands, with the potential to radically alter which species will persist there. This study examined how N, P, and a third major growth-limiting plant nutrient, potassium (K) may individually or collectively affect plant productivity at 43 sites on five continents, all of which followed a standardized experimental protocol for fertilizing grasslands with these nutrients and measuring the response in plant productivity defined by The Nutrient Network (NutNet), a global grassland research network. Results from up to five years of fertilization treatments showed that on average, plant productivity in grasslands was limited by both N and P, and in a few cases by K. These findings overturn long-held ideas that N is the dominant nutrient limiting plant productivity in grasslands, and also show that increased N and P in the environment because of human activities are likely directly impacting native ecosystems, and may reduce their ability to provide crucial ecosystem goods and services.

Technical Abstract: Limitation of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) by nitrogen (N) is widely accepted, but the roles of phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and their combinations remain unclear. Thus we may underestimate nutrient limitation of primary productivity. We conducted standardized sampling of ANPP and manipulations of N, P, and K at 42 grasslands on five continents. We demonstrate single or multiple nutrient limitation of ANPP by N, P, or K at 31 of 42 sites, and some form of K limitation at 24 of the 42 sites. Synergistic co-limitation of ANPP by N and P was indicated by 1.4-times greater ANPP increase with N and P together compared to N or P alone. Limitation of grassland ANPP by N, P, and K represents a paradigm-shift from the single-nutrient limitation viewpoint. Anthropogenic enrichment of ecosystems with N, P, and K are all potential drivers of future losses of biodiversity and ecosystem goods and services.