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Assessing multiple limiting factors of seasonal biomass production and N content in a grassland with a year-round production

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Abstract

There is little evidence on the extent that multiple factors simultaneously limit ecosystem function of grasslands with year-round production. Here we test if multiple factors simultaneously limit (i.e., more than one factor at a time) grassland functioning in different seasons and how they interacted with N availability. In a Flooding Pampa grassland, we ran a separate factorial experiment in spring, summer, and winter with several treatments: control, mowing, shading, P addition, watering (only in summer), and warming (only in winter), each of them crossed with two nitrogen treatments: control and N addition. Grassland functioning was assessed by aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), green and standing dead biomass, and N content at the species group level. Out of 24 potential cases (three seasons by eight response variables), 13 corresponded to just one limiting factor, 4 to multiple limiting factors, and the other 7 to no evidence of limitation. In conclusion, grassland functioning in each season was most often limited by just one factor, while multiple limiting factors were rarer. Nitrogen was the prevailing limiting factor. Our study expands our knowledge of limitations imposed by factors associated with disturbance and stress, such as mowing, shading, water availability, and warming in grasslands with year-round production.

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The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Bordeu family for allowing us to work on their ranch, Estancia Las Chilcas. We especially appreciate the help during field trips of many IFEVA members, particularly Walter De Nicoló and Juan Carlos Villardi. Pamela Graff and three anonymous reviewers helped to significantly improve the manuscript. The Servicio Meteorológico Nacional provided climatic data.

Funding

This study was funded by CONICET, ANPCyT and Universidad de Buenos Aires.

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  1. Facultad de Agronomía, IFEVA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariano Oyarzabal & Martín Oesterheld

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  1. Mariano Oyarzabal
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MOe originally formulated the idea. MOy and MOe conceived and designed the experiments. MOy performed the experiments and conducted fieldwork. MOy and MOe analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mariano Oyarzabal.

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Oyarzabal, M., Oesterheld, M. Assessing multiple limiting factors of seasonal biomass production and N content in a grassland with a year-round production. Oecologia 201, 841–852 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05340-x

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