Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands

• Autores: Sitters, Judith; Wubs, E.R. Jasper; Bakker, Elisabeth S.; Crowther, Thomas W.; Adler, Peter B.; Bagchi, Sumanta; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Biederman, Lori; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Cleland, Elsa E.; Eisenhauer, Nico; Firn, Jennifer L.; Gherardi, Laureano A.; Hagenah, Nicole; Hautier, Yann; Hobbie, Sarah E.; Knops, Johannes M.H.; MacDougall, Andrew S.; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Moore, Joslin L.; Mortensen, Brent; Peri, Pablo Luis; Prober, Suzanne M.; Riggs, Charlotte E.; Risch, Anita C.; Schütz, Martin; Seabloom, Eric William; Siebert, Julia; Stevens, Carly J.; Veen, G.F. (Ciska)
• Año de publicación: 2020
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Global Change Biology (First published February 2020)
• Materia: Praderas; Carbono; Secuestro de Carbono; Aplicación de Abonos; Pastoreo; Herbívoros; Nutrientes; Microorganismos del Suelo; Grasslands; Carbon; Carbon Sequestration; Fertilizer Application; Grazing; Herbivores; Nutrients; Soil Microorganisms
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

Grasslands are subject to considerable alteration due to human activities globally, including widespread changes in populations and composition of large mammalian herbivores and elevated supply of nutrients. Grassland soils remain important reservoirs of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Herbivores may affect both C and N pools and these changes likely interact with increases in soil nutrient availability. Given the scale of grassland soil fluxes, such changes can have striking consequences for atmospheric C concentrations and the climate. Here, we use the Nutrient Network experiment to examine the responses of soil C and N pools to mammalian herbivore exclusion across 22 grasslands, under ambient and elevated nutrient availabilities (fertilized with NPK + micronutrients). We show that the impact of herbivore exclusion on soil C and N pools depends on fertilization. Under ambient nutrient conditions, we observed no effect of herbivore exclusion, but under elevated nutrient supply, pools are smaller upon herbivore exclusion. The highest mean soil C and N pools were found in grazed and fertilized plots. The decrease in soil C and N upon herbivore exclusion in combination with fertilization correlated with a decrease in aboveground plant biomass and microbial activity, indicating a reduced storage of organic matter and microbial residues as soil C and N. The response of soil C and N pools to herbivore exclusion was contingent on temperature – herbivores likely cause losses of C and N in colder sites and increases in warmer sites. Additionally, grasslands that contain mammalian herbivores have the potential to sequester more N under increased temperature variability and nutrient enrichment than ungrazed grasslands. Our study highlights the importance of conserving mammalian herbivore populations in grasslands worldwide. We need to incorporate local‐scale herbivory, and its interaction with nutrient enrichment and climate, within global‐scale models to better predict land–atmosphere interactions under future climate change.
EEA Santa Cruz
Fil: Sitters, Judith. Netherlands Institute of Ecology. Department of Aquatic Ecology and Department of Terrestrial Ecology; Holanda. Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Department Biology. Ecology and Biodiversity; Bélgica
Fil: Wubs, E.R. Jasper. Netherlands Institute of Ecology. Department of Terrestrial Ecology; Holanda. Sustainable Agroecosystems Group. Institute of Agricultural Sciences. Department of Environmental Systems Science; Suiza
Fil: Bakker, Elisabeth S. Netherlands Institute of Ecology. Department of Aquatic Ecology; Holanda
Fil: Crowther, Thomas W. Netherlands Institute of Ecology. Department of Terrestrial Ecology; Holanda. Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science; Suiza
Fil: Adler, Peter B. Utah State University. Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center; Estados Unidos
Fil: Bagchi, Sumanta. Indian Institute of Science. Centre for Ecological Sciences; India
Fil: Bakker, Jonathan D. University of Washington. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences; Estados Unidos
Fil: Biederman, Lori. Iowa State University. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; Estados Unidos
Fil: Borer, Elizabeth T. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Estados Unidos
Fil: Cleland, Elsa E. University of California San Diego. Division of Biological Sciences; Estados Unidos
Fil: Eisenhauer, Nico. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Alemania. Leipzig University. Institute of Biology; Alemania
Fil: Firn, Jennifer L. Queensland University of Technology; Australia
Fil: Gherardi, Laureano A. Arizona State University. School of Life Sciences and Global Drylands Center; Estados Unidos
Fil: Hagenah, Nicole. University of Pretoria. Department of Zoology and Entomology. Mammal Research Institute; Sudáfrica
Fil: Hautier, Yann. Utrecht University. Department of Biology. Ecology and Biodiversity Group; Holanda
Fil: Hobbie, Sarah E. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Estados Unidos
Fil: Knops, Johannes M.H. Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University. Department of Health & Environmental Science; China
Fil: MacDougall, Andrew S. University of Guelph. Department of Integrative Biology; Canadá
Fil: McCulley, Rebecca L. University of Kentucky. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences; Estados Unidos
Fil: Moore, Joslin L. Monash University. School of Biological Sciences; Australia
Fil: Mortensen, Brent. Benedictine College. Department of Biology ; Estados Unidos
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Prober, Suzanne M. CSIRO Land and Water; Australia
Fil: Riggs, Charlotte E. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Estados Unidos
Fil: Risch, Anita C. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research; Suiza
Fil: Schütz, Martin. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research; Suiza
Fil: Seabloom, Eric William. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior; Estados Unidos
Fil: Siebert, Julia. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Alemania. Leipzig University. Institute of Biology; Alemania
Fil: Stevens, Carly J. Lancaster University. Lancaster Environment Centre; Reino Unido
Fil: Veen, G.F. (Ciska). Netherlands Institute of Ecology. Department of Terrestrial Ecology; Holanda.