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Plant nitrogen and phosphorus limitation in 98 North American grassland soils

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Abstract

The availability of nutrients is a critical determinant of ecological dynamics in grasslands, but the relationships between soil resource availability and nutrient limitation across ecosystems are not clear. To better understand how soil nutrient availability determines nutrient limitation in vegetation, we grew the same species of grass (Schizachyrium scoparium) in 98 North American grassland soils and fertilized them factorially with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). On average adding N, P, and the two nutrients together increased biomass relative to unfertilized plants by 81%, 22%, and 131%, respectively. Plants grown on low-P soils were not primarily limited by P. Instead, these plants were colimited by N and P, while plants grown on high-P soils were primarily limited by N and only secondarily limited by P. Limitation was not predicted by total soil N. The preponderance of colimitation between N and P on low-P soils suggests that low P availability alters the N cycle to constrain supplies to plants such that N and P are made available in proportion to their demand by plants.

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Abbreviations

MAP:

Mean annual precipitation

MAT:

Mean annual temperature

RCI:

Relative colimitation index

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ben Turner for advice on measuring P availability, Andrew Elmore for providing climate data and Ben Houlton for comments on limitation. Many individuals volunteered their time in providing soils for the experiment, especially The Nature Conservancy. JMC was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA

    Joseph Mitchell Craine

  2. Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Randall D. Jackson

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  1. Joseph Mitchell Craine
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  2. Randall D. Jackson
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Correspondence to Joseph Mitchell Craine.

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Responsible Editor: Michael Denis Cramer.

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Craine, J.M., Jackson, R.D. Plant nitrogen and phosphorus limitation in 98 North American grassland soils. Plant Soil 334, 73–84 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0237-1

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