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Heterogeneous responses to ozone and nitrogen alter the species composition of Mediterranean annual pastures

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Abstract

Air pollution represents a threat to biodiversity throughout the world and particularly in the Mediterranean area, where high tropospheric ozone (O3) concentrations and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition are frequently recorded. Mediterranean annual pastures are among the most important ecosystems in southern Europe due to their high biodiversity and extension. Aiming to study the responses of these communities to the main atmospheric pollutants in the Mediterranean region, an experimental study was performed in an open-top chamber (OTC) facility. A mixture of six species representative of annual pastures was grown under field conditions inside the OTC. Plants were exposed for 39 days to four O3 treatments and three doses of N. The species responded heterogeneously to both factors. Legumes did not react to N but were very sensitive to O3: Trifolium species responded negatively, while Ornithopus responded positively, taking advantage of the greater sensitivity of clovers to O3. The grasses and the herb were more tolerant of O3 and grasses were the most responsive to N. Significant interactions between factors indicated a loss of effectiveness of N in O3-polluted atmospheres and an ability of O3 to counterbalance the damage induced by N input, but both effects were dependent on O3 and N levels. The inclusion of plant competition in the experimental design was necessary to reveal results that would otherwise be missed, such as the positive growth responses under elevated O3 levels. Surprisingly, competition within the legume family played the most important role in the overall response of the annual community to O3. Both tropospheric O3 and N deposition should be considered important drivers of the structure and biodiversity of Mediterranean annual pastures.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by NEREA (AGL2012-37815-C05), AGRISOST (S2009AGR-1630, Spain), AGRISOST-CM (P2013/ABI-2717), and ECLAIRE (FP7-ENV-2011) projects. This study was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Resolución 15398, BOE n° 230). The OTC field site at La Higueruela Research Farm was made possible by an agreement between CIEMAT and Museo de Ciencias Naturales/CSIC. Appreciative acknowledgement is extended to Carlos Lacasta Dutoit, José María Gómez Camacho, and the La Higueruela/CSIC research farm staff for their valuable suggestions regarding the experimental design and their technical support with the field work. We are grateful to Dr. Alba Gutiérrez (UCM, Madrid) for helping with the multivariate analysis approach.

Author contribution statement

HCS, JS, and VBB conceived and designed the experiments. HCS, JS, VBB, SE, IGF, HGG, and RA performed the experiments. HCS, VBB, and MIR analyzed the data. HCS and VBB wrote the manuscript; all the authors provided editorial advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecotoxicology of Air Pollutants CIEMAT (Ed.70), Avda. Complutense 40, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    H. Calvete-Sogo, I. González-Fernández, J. Sanz, S. Elvira, R. Alonso, H. García-Gómez & V. Bermejo-Bermejo

  2. ETSI Agrónomos, Technical University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    M. A. Ibáñez-Ruiz

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  1. H. Calvete-Sogo
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  2. I. González-Fernández
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  4. S. Elvira
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  5. R. Alonso
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  6. H. García-Gómez
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  7. M. A. Ibáñez-Ruiz
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Correspondence to H. Calvete-Sogo.

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Communicated by Allan T. G. Green.

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Calvete-Sogo, H., González-Fernández, I., Sanz, J. et al. Heterogeneous responses to ozone and nitrogen alter the species composition of Mediterranean annual pastures. Oecologia 181, 1055–1067 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3628-z

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