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Biomass responses to elevated CO2, soil heterogeneity and diversity: an experimental assessment with grassland assemblages

  • Global Change and Conservation Ecology
  • Published:
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Abstract

While it is well-established that the spatial distribution of soil nutrients (soil heterogeneity) influences the competitive ability and survival of individual plants, as well as the productivity of plant communities, there is a paucity of data on how soil heterogeneity and global change drivers interact to affect plant performance and ecosystem functioning. To evaluate the effects of elevated CO2, soil heterogeneity and diversity (species richness and composition) on productivity, patterns of biomass allocation and root foraging precision, we conducted an experiment with grassland assemblages formed by monocultures, two- and three-species mixtures of Lolium perenne, Plantago lanceolata and Holcus lanatus. The experiment lasted for 90 days, and was conducted on microcosms built out of PVC pipe (length 38 cm, internal diameter 10 cm). When nutrients were heterogeneously supplied (in discrete patches), assemblages exhibited precise root foraging patterns, and had higher total, above- and belowground biomass. Greater aboveground biomass was observed under elevated CO2. Species composition affected the below:aboveground biomass ratio and interacted with nutrient heterogeneity to determine belowground and total biomass. Species richness had no significant effects, and did not interact with either CO2 or nutrient heterogeneity. Under elevated CO2 conditions, the two- and three-species mixtures showed a clear trend towards underyielding. Our results show that differences among composition levels were dependent on soil heterogeneity, highlighting its potential role in modulating diversity–productivity relationships.

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Acknowledgments

We thank María D. Puche, José L. Quero, Anne Rosenbarger and the Duke Phytotron staff for their help with logistics, and Michael Hutchings, Fernando Valladares, Justin Wright, Nina Buchmann, Christian Körner and three anonymous reviewers for comments on previous versions of the manuscript. FTM was supported by a Fulbright fellowship (FU2003–0398), and by a Ramón y Cajal contract from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. This research was supported in part by USDA Specific Co-operative Agreement #58-1270-3-070, NSF-DEB−02-12123, NSF-IBN-99-85877 to the Duke Phytotron, and NSF-SBR-9521914 (Subcontract # 538819-55801 from Carnegie Mellon University), and complies with US laws.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Duke University, Phytotron Building, Box 90340, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    Fernando T. Maestre & James F. Reynolds

  2. Nicholas School of the Environment, Division of Environmental Science and Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    James F. Reynolds

  3. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnológicas, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/ Tulipán s/n, 28933, Móstoles, Spain

    Fernando T. Maestre

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  1. Fernando T. Maestre
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  2. James F. Reynolds
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Correspondence to Fernando T. Maestre.

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Communicated by Nina Buchmann.

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Maestre, F.T., Reynolds, J.F. Biomass responses to elevated CO2, soil heterogeneity and diversity: an experimental assessment with grassland assemblages. Oecologia 151, 512–520 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-006-0577-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-006-0577-y

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