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. Alpine grasslands sustain local economy by providing fodder for livestock. Intensive fertilization iscommon to enhance their yields, thus creating negative externalities on water quality that aredifficult to evaluate without reliable estimates of nutrient fluxes. We apply a mechanisticecosystem model, seamlessly integrating land-surface energy balance, soil hydrology, vegetationdynamics, and soil biogeochemistry, aiming at assessing the grassland response to fertilization. Wesimulate the major water, carbon, nutrient, and energy fluxes of nine grassland plots across thebroad European Alpine region. We provide an interdisciplinary model evaluation by confirming itsperformance against observed variables from different datasets. Subsequently, we apply the modelto test the influence of fertilization practices on grassland yields and nitrate( NO 3 - ) losses through leaching under both current and modified climate scenarios. Despite the generally low NO 3 - concentration in groundwater recharge, the variabilityacross sites is remarkable, which is mostly (but not exclusively) dictated by elevation. In high-Alpinesites, short growing seasons lead to less efficient nitrogen (N) uptake for biomass production.This combined with lower evapotranspiration rates results in higher amounts of drainage and NO 3 - leaching to groundwater. Scenarios with increased temperature lead to a longergrowing season characterized by higher biomass production and, consequently, to a reduction ofwater leakage and N leaching. While the intersite variability is maintained, climate changeimpacts are stronger on sites at higher elevations. The local soil hydrology has a crucial role in driving the NO 3 - use efficiency. Thecommonly applied fixed threshold limit on fertilizer N input is suboptimal. We suggest that majorhydrological and soil property differences across sites should be considered in the delineation ofbest practices or regulations for management. Using distributed maps informed with key soil andclimatic attributes or systematically implementing integrated ecosystem models as shown here cancontribute to achieving more sustainable practices.

biogeosciences

Impacts of fertilization on grassland productivity and water quality across the European Alps under current and warming climate: insights from a mechanistic model