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Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands

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Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands. / Sitters, J.; Wubs, E.R.J.; Bakker, E.S. et al.
In: Global Change Biology, Vol. 26, No. 4, 01.04.2020, p. 2060-2071.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Sitters, J, Wubs, ERJ, Bakker, ES, Crowther, TW, Adler, PB, Bagchi, S, Bakker, JD, Biederman, L, Borer, ET, Cleland, EE, Eisenhauer, N, Firn, J, Gherardi, L, Hagenah, N, Hautier, Y, Hobbie, SE, Knops, JMH, MacDougall, AS, McCulley, RL, Moore, JL, Mortensen, B, Peri, PL, Prober, SM, Riggs, C, Risch, AC, Schütz, M, Seabloom, EW, Siebert, J, Stevens, CJ & Veen, GF 2020, 'Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands', Global Change Biology, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 2060-2071. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15023

APA

Sitters, J., Wubs, E. R. J., Bakker, E. S., Crowther, T. W., Adler, P. B., Bagchi, S., Bakker, J. D., Biederman, L., Borer, E. T., Cleland, E. E., Eisenhauer, N., Firn, J., Gherardi, L., Hagenah, N., Hautier, Y., Hobbie, S. E., Knops, J. M. H., MacDougall, A. S., McCulley, R. L., ... Veen, G. F. (2020). Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands. Global Change Biology, 26(4), 2060-2071. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15023

Vancouver

Sitters J, Wubs ERJ, Bakker ES, Crowther TW, Adler PB, Bagchi S et al. Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands. Global Change Biology. 2020 Apr 1;26(4):2060-2071. Epub 2020 Feb 24. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15023

Author

Sitters, J. ; Wubs, E.R.J. ; Bakker, E.S. et al. / Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands. In: Global Change Biology. 2020 ; Vol. 26, No. 4. pp. 2060-2071.

Bibtex

@article{13031c6ed1ba401389053685fe3980c2,
title = "Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands",
abstract = "Grasslands are subject to considerable alteration due to human activities globally, including widespread changes in populations and composition of large mammalian herbivores and elevated supply of nutrients. Grassland soils remain important reservoirs of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Herbivores may affect both C and N pools and these changes likely interact with increases in soil nutrient availability. Given the scale of grassland soil fluxes, such changes can have striking consequences for atmospheric C concentrations and the climate. Here, we use the Nutrient Network experiment to examine the responses of soil C and N pools to mammalian herbivore exclusion across 22 grasslands, under ambient and elevated nutrient availabilities (fertilized with NPK + micronutrients). We show that the impact of herbivore exclusion on soil C and N pools depends on fertilization. Under ambient nutrient conditions, we observed no effect of herbivore exclusion, but under elevated nutrient supply, pools are smaller upon herbivore exclusion. The highest mean soil C and N pools were found in grazed and fertilized plots. The decrease in soil C and N upon herbivore exclusion in combination with fertilization correlated with a decrease in aboveground plant biomass and microbial activity, indicating a reduced storage of organic matter and microbial residues as soil C and N. The response of soil C and N pools to herbivore exclusion was contingent on temperature – herbivores likely cause losses of C and N in colder sites and increases in warmer sites. Additionally, grasslands that contain mammalian herbivores have the potential to sequester more N under increased temperature variability and nutrient enrichment than ungrazed grasslands. Our study highlights the importance of conserving mammalian herbivore populations in grasslands worldwide. We need to incorporate local-scale herbivory, and its interaction with nutrient enrichment and climate, within global-scale models to better predict land–atmosphere interactions under future climate change. {\textcopyright} 2020 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd",
keywords = "carbon sequestration, exclosure, fertilization, global change, grazing, herbivory, nutrient dynamics, nutrient enrichment, Nutrient Network (NutNet), soil microorganisms, grassland, herbivore, mammal, microorganism, nitrogen, nutrient availability, soil biota, soil carbon, Mammalia",
author = "J. Sitters and E.R.J. Wubs and E.S. Bakker and T.W. Crowther and P.B. Adler and S. Bagchi and J.D. Bakker and L. Biederman and E.T. Borer and E.E. Cleland and N. Eisenhauer and J. Firn and L. Gherardi and N. Hagenah and Y. Hautier and S.E. Hobbie and J.M.H. Knops and A.S. MacDougall and R.L. McCulley and J.L. Moore and B. Mortensen and P.L. Peri and S.M. Prober and C. Riggs and A.C. Risch and M. Sch{\"u}tz and E.W. Seabloom and J. Siebert and C.J. Stevens and G.F. Veen",
year = "2020",
month = apr,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1111/gcb.15023",
language = "English",
volume = "26",
pages = "2060--2071",
journal = "Global Change Biology",
issn = "1354-1013",
publisher = "Blackwell Publishing Ltd",
number = "4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands

AU - Sitters, J.

AU - Wubs, E.R.J.

AU - Bakker, E.S.

AU - Crowther, T.W.

AU - Adler, P.B.

AU - Bagchi, S.

AU - Bakker, J.D.

AU - Biederman, L.

AU - Borer, E.T.

AU - Cleland, E.E.

AU - Eisenhauer, N.

AU - Firn, J.

AU - Gherardi, L.

AU - Hagenah, N.

AU - Hautier, Y.

AU - Hobbie, S.E.

AU - Knops, J.M.H.

AU - MacDougall, A.S.

AU - McCulley, R.L.

AU - Moore, J.L.

AU - Mortensen, B.

AU - Peri, P.L.

AU - Prober, S.M.

AU - Riggs, C.

AU - Risch, A.C.

AU - Schütz, M.

AU - Seabloom, E.W.

AU - Siebert, J.

AU - Stevens, C.J.

AU - Veen, G.F.

PY - 2020/4/1

Y1 - 2020/4/1

N2 - Grasslands are subject to considerable alteration due to human activities globally, including widespread changes in populations and composition of large mammalian herbivores and elevated supply of nutrients. Grassland soils remain important reservoirs of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Herbivores may affect both C and N pools and these changes likely interact with increases in soil nutrient availability. Given the scale of grassland soil fluxes, such changes can have striking consequences for atmospheric C concentrations and the climate. Here, we use the Nutrient Network experiment to examine the responses of soil C and N pools to mammalian herbivore exclusion across 22 grasslands, under ambient and elevated nutrient availabilities (fertilized with NPK + micronutrients). We show that the impact of herbivore exclusion on soil C and N pools depends on fertilization. Under ambient nutrient conditions, we observed no effect of herbivore exclusion, but under elevated nutrient supply, pools are smaller upon herbivore exclusion. The highest mean soil C and N pools were found in grazed and fertilized plots. The decrease in soil C and N upon herbivore exclusion in combination with fertilization correlated with a decrease in aboveground plant biomass and microbial activity, indicating a reduced storage of organic matter and microbial residues as soil C and N. The response of soil C and N pools to herbivore exclusion was contingent on temperature – herbivores likely cause losses of C and N in colder sites and increases in warmer sites. Additionally, grasslands that contain mammalian herbivores have the potential to sequester more N under increased temperature variability and nutrient enrichment than ungrazed grasslands. Our study highlights the importance of conserving mammalian herbivore populations in grasslands worldwide. We need to incorporate local-scale herbivory, and its interaction with nutrient enrichment and climate, within global-scale models to better predict land–atmosphere interactions under future climate change. © 2020 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

AB - Grasslands are subject to considerable alteration due to human activities globally, including widespread changes in populations and composition of large mammalian herbivores and elevated supply of nutrients. Grassland soils remain important reservoirs of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Herbivores may affect both C and N pools and these changes likely interact with increases in soil nutrient availability. Given the scale of grassland soil fluxes, such changes can have striking consequences for atmospheric C concentrations and the climate. Here, we use the Nutrient Network experiment to examine the responses of soil C and N pools to mammalian herbivore exclusion across 22 grasslands, under ambient and elevated nutrient availabilities (fertilized with NPK + micronutrients). We show that the impact of herbivore exclusion on soil C and N pools depends on fertilization. Under ambient nutrient conditions, we observed no effect of herbivore exclusion, but under elevated nutrient supply, pools are smaller upon herbivore exclusion. The highest mean soil C and N pools were found in grazed and fertilized plots. The decrease in soil C and N upon herbivore exclusion in combination with fertilization correlated with a decrease in aboveground plant biomass and microbial activity, indicating a reduced storage of organic matter and microbial residues as soil C and N. The response of soil C and N pools to herbivore exclusion was contingent on temperature – herbivores likely cause losses of C and N in colder sites and increases in warmer sites. Additionally, grasslands that contain mammalian herbivores have the potential to sequester more N under increased temperature variability and nutrient enrichment than ungrazed grasslands. Our study highlights the importance of conserving mammalian herbivore populations in grasslands worldwide. We need to incorporate local-scale herbivory, and its interaction with nutrient enrichment and climate, within global-scale models to better predict land–atmosphere interactions under future climate change. © 2020 The Authors. Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

KW - carbon sequestration

KW - exclosure

KW - fertilization

KW - global change

KW - grazing

KW - herbivory

KW - nutrient dynamics

KW - nutrient enrichment

KW - Nutrient Network (NutNet)

KW - soil microorganisms

KW - grassland

KW - herbivore

KW - mammal

KW - microorganism

KW - nitrogen

KW - nutrient availability

KW - soil biota

KW - soil carbon

KW - Mammalia

U2 - 10.1111/gcb.15023

DO - 10.1111/gcb.15023

M3 - Journal article

VL - 26

SP - 2060

EP - 2071

JO - Global Change Biology

JF - Global Change Biology

SN - 1354-1013

IS - 4

ER -