Impacts of 120 years of fertilizer addition on a temperate grassland ecosystem

Abstract

The widespread application of fertilizers has greatly influenced many processes and properties of agroecosystems, and agricultural fertilization is expected to increase even further in the future. To date, most research on fertilizer impacts has used short-Term studies, which may be unrepresentative of long-Term responses, thus hindering our capacity to predict long-Term impacts. Here, we examined the effects of long-Term fertilizer addition on key ecosystem properties in a long-Term grassland experiment (Palace Leas Hay Meadow) in which farmyard manure (FYM) and inorganic fertilizer treatments have been applied consistently for 120 years in order to characterize the experimental site more fully and compare ecosystem responses with those observed at other long-Term and short-Term experiments. FYM inputs increased soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks, hay yield, nutrient availability and acted as a buffer against soil acidification (>pH 5). In contrast, N-containing inorganic fertilizers strongly acidified the soil (