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Impacts of Simulated N Deposition on Plants and Mycorrhizae from Spanish Semiarid Mediterranean Shrublands

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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) deposition threatens European Mediterranean ecosystems but investigation and understanding of impacts are limited. We report plant responses from an ongoing field N fertilization experiment conducted in a kermes oak shrubland, where NH4NO3 has been added for 1.5 years at four rates (0, 10, 20, and 50 kg N ha−1 y−1). Two annual plants (Asterolinon linum-stellatum and Limonium echiodes) were negatively affected by N fertilization in terms of density and growth. However, responses were only evident when accounting for between-plot differences in soil NO3 −-N and NH4 +-N. Responses of A. linum-stellatum to simulated N deposition were also dependent on microhabitat, with the most negative effects found in the interspaces between rosemary shrubs. Negative effects were attributed either to increased soil NH4 +-N or to a nutritional (N to P) imbalance. Mycorrhizal infection rates were not altered by N addition in the case of L. echioides, whereas mycorrhizal colonization of A. linum-stellatum roots increased with N in those individuals growing under shrub protection. Living cover of rosemary shrubs was also reduced by simulated N deposition as a consequence of a reduced interannual twig growth. Contrary to annual plants, tissue N content and C:N ratios in rosemary were not affected by simulated N deposition. Overall, our data suggest a high sensitivity of plant communities from moderately polluted semiarid Mediterranean shrublands to N deposition, highlight the role of different forms of inorganic N on plant response to N deposition, and support the importance of conducting similar experiments in other Mediterranean areas spanning a wide range of climatic, soil, and background N deposition conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was finally supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (CGL-2009-11015) and the Comunidad de Madrid (REMEDINAL-2 (S-0505/AMB/0335; S-0505/AMB/00321). ROH was also funded by an FPU fellowship (AP2006-04638). We are very thankful to Daniel de la Puente for helping with the field experiment set up. Octavio Cedenilla and María Luisa Andrés were an invaluable help with the soil physico-chemical analyses. We want to specially thank Dr. José Javier Pueyo for his personal involvement within this project and Mike D. Bell for his revision of the English. Our editors (Dr. Monica G. Turner and Dr. Gary M. Lovett) and three anonymous reviewers are also greatly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MNCN-CSIC), C/Serrano 115 dpdo., 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Raúl Ochoa-Hueso & Esteban Manrique

  2. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n., 28933, Móstoles, Spain

    Raúl Ochoa-Hueso

  3. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/José Antonio Novais 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    M. Esther Pérez-Corona

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  1. Raúl Ochoa-Hueso
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  2. M. Esther Pérez-Corona
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  3. Esteban Manrique
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Correspondence to Raúl Ochoa-Hueso.

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Author Contributions

ROH: experimental design, field work, laboratory analyses, data analyses, manuscript writing. EPC: laboratory analyses, manuscript writing. EM: experimental design, field work, manuscript writing.

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Figure S1

Study site in the Nature Reserve “El Regajal-Mar de Ontígola”. (a) Quercus coccifera ticket with interspaces dominated by Rosmarinus officinalis and other Mediterranean shrubs. (b) Experimental block and plot. (c) Experimental plot subdivided into quadrats and subquadrats where the counts were made (TIFF 5470 kb)

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Ochoa-Hueso, R., Pérez-Corona, M.E. & Manrique, E. Impacts of Simulated N Deposition on Plants and Mycorrhizae from Spanish Semiarid Mediterranean Shrublands. Ecosystems 16, 838–851 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9655-2

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