Legacy effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on vegetation and carbon stocks of upland heaths

José van Paassen; Andrea J. Britton; Ruth J. Mitchell; Lorna E. Street; David Johnson; Andrew Coupar; Sarah J. Woodin

doi:10.1111/nph.16671

Legacy effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on vegetation and carbon stocks of upland heaths

José van Paassen^*, Andrea J. Britton, Ruth J. Mitchell, Lorna E. Street, David Johnson, Andrew Coupar, Sarah J. Woodin

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Soil carbon (C) pools and plant community composition are regulated by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability. Atmospheric N deposition impacts ecosystem C storage, but the direction of response varies between systems. Phosphorus limitation may constrain C storage response to N, hence P application to increase plant productivity and thus C sequestration has been suggested. We revisited a 23-yr-old field experiment where N and P had been applied to upland heath, a widespread habitat supporting large soil C stocks. At 10 yr after the last nutrient application we quantified long-term changes in vegetation composition and in soil and vegetation C and P stocks. Nitrogen addition, particularly when combined with P, strongly influenced vegetation composition, favouring grasses over Calluna vulgaris, and led to a reduction in vegetation C stocks. However, soil C stocks did not respond to nutrient treatments. We found 40% of the added P had accumulated in the soil. This study showed persistent effects of N and N + P on vegetation composition, whereas effects of P alone were small and showed recovery. We found no indication that P application could mitigate the effects of N on vegetation or increase C sequestration in this system.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	226-237
Number of pages	12
Journal	New Phytologist
Volume	228
Issue number	1
Early online date	24 Jun 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16671
Publication status	Published - Oct 2020

Keywords

long-term
nitrogen deposition
nutrient cycling
upland heath
soil
vegetation
long term
DEPOSITION INCREASES
NUTRIENT LIMITATION
VASCULAR PLANTS
RESPONSES
COMMUNITY STRUCTURE
MICROBIAL BIOMASS
SPHAGNUM
LITTER
LONG-TERM NITROGEN
ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN

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© 2020 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2020 New Phytologist Trust This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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title = "Legacy effects of nitrogen and phosphorus additions on vegetation and carbon stocks of upland heaths",

abstract = "Soil carbon (C) pools and plant community composition are regulated by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability. Atmospheric N deposition impacts ecosystem C storage, but the direction of response varies between systems. Phosphorus limitation may constrain C storage response to N, hence P application to increase plant productivity and thus C sequestration has been suggested. We revisited a 23-yr-old field experiment where N and P had been applied to upland heath, a widespread habitat supporting large soil C stocks. At 10 yr after the last nutrient application we quantified long-term changes in vegetation composition and in soil and vegetation C and P stocks. Nitrogen addition, particularly when combined with P, strongly influenced vegetation composition, favouring grasses over Calluna vulgaris, and led to a reduction in vegetation C stocks. However, soil C stocks did not respond to nutrient treatments. We found 40% of the added P had accumulated in the soil. This study showed persistent effects of N and N + P on vegetation composition, whereas effects of P alone were small and showed recovery. We found no indication that P application could mitigate the effects of N on vegetation or increase C sequestration in this system.",

keywords = "long-term, nitrogen deposition, nutrient cycling, upland heath, soil, vegetation, long term, DEPOSITION INCREASES, NUTRIENT LIMITATION, VASCULAR PLANTS, RESPONSES, COMMUNITY STRUCTURE, MICROBIAL BIOMASS, SPHAGNUM, LITTER, LONG-TERM NITROGEN, ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN",

author = "{van Paassen}, Jos{\'e} and Britton, {Andrea J.} and Mitchell, {Ruth J.} and Street, {Lorna E.} and David Johnson and Andrew Coupar and Woodin, {Sarah J.}",

note = "Open Access via the Wiley Jisc Agreement. Funding Information Scottish Natural Heritage Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) N8 AgriFood",

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AU - Britton, Andrea J.

AU - Mitchell, Ruth J.

AU - Street, Lorna E.

AU - Johnson, David

AU - Coupar, Andrew

AU - Woodin, Sarah J.

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