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The impact of elevated CO 2 , increased nitrogen availability and biodiversity on plant tissue quality and decomposition
Author(s) -
KNOPS JOHANNES M. H.,
NAEEM SHAHID,
REICH P. B.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01405.x
Subject(s) - decomposition , nutrient , nitrogen , species richness , plant litter , lignin , agronomy , litter , productivity , biodiversity , chemistry , nutrient cycle , deposition (geology) , botany , biology , ecology , organic chemistry , paleontology , macroeconomics , sediment , economics
Elevated CO 2 , increased nitrogen (N) deposition and increasing species richness can increase net primary productivity (NPP). However, unless there are comparable changes in decomposition, increases in productivity will most likely be unsustainable. Without comparable increases in decomposition nutrients would accumulate in dead organic matter leading to nutrient limitations that could eventually prohibit additional increases in productivity. To address this issue, we measured aboveground plant and litter quality and belowground root quality, as well as decomposition of aboveground litter for one and 2‐year periods using in situ litterbags in response to a three‐way factorial manipulation of CO 2 (ambient vs. 560 ppm), N deposition (ambient vs. the addition of 4 g N m −2 yr −1 ) and plant species richness (one, four, nine and 16 species) in experimental grassland plots. Litter chemistry responded to the CO 2 , N and plant diversity treatments, but decomposition was much less responsive. Elevated CO 2 induced decreases in % N and % lignin in plant tissues. N addition led to increases in % N and decreases in % lignin. Increasing plant diversity led to decreases in % N and % lignin and an increase in % cellulose. In contrast to the litter chemistry changes, elevated CO 2 had a much lower impact on decomposition and resulted in only a 2.5% decrease in carbon (C) loss. Detectable responses were not observed either to N addition or to species richness. These results suggest that global change factors such as biodiversity loss, elevated CO 2 and N deposition lead to significant changes in tissue quality; however, the response of decomposition is modest. Thus, the observed increases in productivity at higher diversity levels and with elevated CO 2 and N fertilization are not matched by an increase in decomposition rates. This lack of coupled responses between production and decomposition is likely to result in an accumulation of nutrients in the litter pool which will dampen the response of NPP to these factors over time.