Premium
Long‐term productivity of Mediterranean herbaceous vegetation after a single phosphorus application
Author(s) -
Henkin Zalmen,
Seligman Noam G.,
NoyMeir Imanuel
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2010.01205.x
Subject(s) - herbaceous plant , vegetation (pathology) , productivity , agronomy , ecosystem , environmental science , biomass (ecology) , grazing , mediterranean climate , ecology , biology , medicine , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Question: What is the mechanism that underlies long‐term maintenance of high herbaceous productivity after a single application of phosphorus (4.5 gP m −2 and 9 gP m −2 ) in a hilly Mediterranean environment in a phosphorus‐deficient ecosystem? Location: Inland, 15 km E of the Mediterranean coast, W Galilee, Israel (35°15′E, 33°01′N; 500 m asl). Methods: The experiment was established in 1988. Multi‐year data on above‐ground biomass, botanical composition, P content of vegetation and soil, and the grazing management context of the experiment were integrated to construct a feasible account of the P dynamics of the ecosystem. Results: The productivity of the herbaceous component already responded to P application in the first year. The effect on the shrubby component of the ecosystem was marginal. The available (bicarbonate extractable) P in the upper soil layer peaked in the year after application of P and then declined to the original level within 7 years. Despite the decline in available soil P, a high, fluctuating level of herbaceous biomass production was maintained for 20 years. Legume species (Fabaceae) became a prominent constituent of the herbaceous vegetation after the P pulse. Conclusions: The long‐term shift in productivity of the herbaceous component of the grazed ecosystem was triggered by a nutritional pulse that induced a feedback loop based on changes in botanical composition of the herbaceous vegetation, the animal–vegetation interaction, grazing and supplementary feeding regimen of the cattle.