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Responses of C 3 and C 4 grasses to application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer at two dates in the spring
Author(s) -
Rubio G.,
Gutierrez Boem F. H.,
Lavado R. S.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.2009.00728.x
Subject(s) - fertilizer , stipa , phosphorus , agronomy , biomass (ecology) , nitrogen , setaria , grassland , poaceae , biology , nutrient , botany , chemistry , ecology , organic chemistry
In grasslands composed of C 3 and C 4 plants, a different pattern of response by the two photosynthetic types to fertilizer may change the floristic composition of the community. In this study, we evaluated the effects of an application of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer at two dates in the spring on the aerial growth of C 3 and C 4 grasses. Danthonia montevidensis and Stipa neesiana ( C 3 ), and Setaria geniculata and Sporobolus indicus (C 4 ), were selected from a native grassland of the Flooding Pampa, Argentina. Two consecutive experiments (early and late spring) were conducted in pots filled with the local soil. The C 3 grasses showed no response in aerial biomass, and only minor responses in aerial concentrations of N and P, numbers of leaves and tillers, and nutrient use efficiency to an application of P or N fertilizer. In contrast, their C 4 counterparts showed a consistent positive response. C 4 species performance was considerably influenced by date of fertilizer application in the spring. There was on average a 1·8 and a 2·5 increase in aerial biomass in early and late spring, respectively, to fertilizer application. The later date in spring was associated with higher ambient temperatures and it appeared that temperature rather than fertilizer application was the main limiting factor for C 3 species. It was concluded that the positive response in C 4 species to an application of P and N fertilizer indicates that the differences between C 3 and C 4 species were related to a higher demand to sustain greater growth rates in C 4 species.