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Linking Above- and Belowground Responses to 16 Years of Fertilization, Mowing, and Removal of the Dominant Species in a Temperate Grassland

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Abstract

Species-rich oligotrophic meadows are affected by a wide range of management interventions that influence their functioning and capacity to deliver ecosystem services, but long-term studies on the above- and belowground adaptations to different management tools are still scarce. We focused on the interactive effects of NPK fertilization, mowing, and removal of the initially dominant species (Molinia caerulea) on plant, soil, and microbial responses in wet oligotrophic grassland in a 16-year full-factorial manipulative experiment. Changes in vegetation composition, soil pH, and nutrient availability were accompanied by altered microbial phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition, whereas treatment effects on soil microbial biomass and carbon (C) mineralization were mainly related to changes in soil organic matter (SOM) content and nutrient availability. Fertilization decreased plant species richness aboveground and lowered SOM storage and microbial activity belowground. Mowing preserved high plant diversity and led to more efficient recycling of N within the grassland, whereas Molinia removal significantly affected only plant community composition. Mowing combined with fertilization maintained high species richness only in the short term. Belowground, mowing reduced N leaching from the fertilized system but did not prevent SOM depletion, soil acidification, and concomitant adverse effects on soil microbes. We conclude that annual mowing is the appropriate type of extensive management for oligotrophic species-rich meadows, but the concomitant nutrient depletion should not be compensated for by regular NPK fertilization due to its adverse effects on soil quality.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GAČR, Project No. 13-17118S). We thank Gerhard Kerstiens for his help with the language.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic

    Petr Kotas, Michal Choma, Hana Šantrůčková & Eva Kaštovská

  2. Laboratory of Metabolomics and Isotopic Analyses, Global Change Research Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Lipová 1789/9, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic

    Petr Kotas & Jan Tříska

  3. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic

    Jan Lepš

  4. Institute of Entomology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic

    Jan Lepš

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  1. Petr Kotas
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Correspondence to Petr Kotas.

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All authors conceived the study; PK, HS, and EK analyzed the data; PK performed the PLFA analysis; MC analyzed the physico-chemical soil properties and performed microbial biomass measurements; JL designed and managed the long-term experiment and monitored the plant community; PK wrote the paper with editorial assistance from all authors.

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Kotas, P., Choma, M., Šantrůčková, H. et al. Linking Above- and Belowground Responses to 16 Years of Fertilization, Mowing, and Removal of the Dominant Species in a Temperate Grassland. Ecosystems 20, 354–367 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0031-x

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