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Effects of Elevated [CO2] and N Fertilization on Interspecific Interactions in Temperate Grassland Model Ecosystems

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Managed Ecosystems and CO2

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 187))

19.5 Conclusions

Elevated [CO2] and N fertilization influenced markedly yield, species proportion and interspecific interactions in temperate grassland. These changes may significantly affect amount and quality of forage and ecosystem functioning.

  • Interspecific differences in the response to e[CO2] were stronger in the mixed sward (−2 % for L. perenne and +65 % for T. repens) than in the pure swards (+13 % for L. perenne and +19 % for T. repens), demonstrating that e[CO2] does affect not only the yield, but also the interspecific interactions and the species composition of mixed plant communities. Thus, studying the ecosystem response to e[CO2] needs experiments with mixed plant communities.

  • RY and RNY <0.5 for T. repens provides evidence that T. repens was adversely affected from competition with the grass, while the grass competed more successfully for resources (RY >0.5) or even clearly gained from synergistic effects (RY >1.0).

  • The extreme resource complementarity (RNYT of up to 1.9) at low N and the loss of resource complementarity (RYT and RNYT close to 1.0) at high N demonstrate that mineral N availability was the most important limiting factor for plant growth and interspecific interactions in the low N treatment of the Swiss FACE experiment. Thus, this FACE experiment with grasses and legumes provides a good tool to study effects of e[CO2] on the N cycle of grassland ecosystems under strongly limiting and non-limiting N availability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agroscope FAL Reckenholz, Reckenholzstrasse 191, 8046, Zurich, Switzerland

    A. Lüscher

  2. Institute of Plant Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), 8092, Zürich, Switzerlan

    U. Aeschlimann

Authors
  1. A. Lüscher
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  2. U. Aeschlimann
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Sciences, ETH, Universitätstrasse 2, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Josef Nösberger

  2. Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, 379 Edward R. Madigan Laboratory 1201 W. Gregory, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Stephen P. Long

  3. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Bldg. 1062, Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831-6422, USA

    Richard J. Norby

  4. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg, 14476, Golm, Germany

    Mark Stitt

  5. Queens College, City University of New York, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA

    George R. Hendrey

  6. Institute of Plant Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Herbert Blum

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Lüscher, A., Aeschlimann, U. (2006). Effects of Elevated [CO2] and N Fertilization on Interspecific Interactions in Temperate Grassland Model Ecosystems. In: Nösberger, J., Long, S.P., Norby, R.J., Stitt, M., Hendrey, G.R., Blum, H. (eds) Managed Ecosystems and CO2 . Ecological Studies, vol 187. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31237-4_19

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