Nitrogen (N) deposition has been increasing for decades and has profoundly influenced the structure and function of grassland ecosystems in many regions of the world. However, the impact of N deposition on alpine grasslands is less well documented. We conducted a 3-year field experiment to determine the effects of N deposition on plant species richness, composition, and community productivity in an alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China. We found that 3 years of N deposition had a profound effect on these plant community parameters. Increasing N rates increased the dominance of graminoids and reduced the presence of non-graminoids. Species richness was inversely associated with aboveground biomass. The shift in plant species and functional group composition was largely responsible for the increase in productivity associated with N deposition. Climatic factors also interacted with N addition to influence productivity. Our findings suggest that short-term N deposition could increase the productivity of alpine meadows through shifts in composition toward a graminoid-dominated community. Longer-term studies are needed to determine if shifts in composition and increased productivity will be maintained. Future work must also evaluate whether decreasing plant diversity will impair the long-term stability and function of sensitive alpine grasslands.
CITATION STYLE
Shen, H., Dong, S., DiTommaso, A., Xiao, J., Lu, W., & Zhi, Y. (2022). Nitrogen Deposition Shifts Grassland Communities Through Directly Increasing Dominance of Graminoids: A 3-Year Case Study From the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.811970
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