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Direct and indirect effects of long-term fertilization on the stability of the persistent seed bank

Plant and Soil volume 438, pages239–250(2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Background and aims

If and how eutrophication influences the persistent soil seed bank is poorly understood. Here, we hypothesized that eutrophication alters the composition of the persistent seed bank indirectly through changes in the soil characteristics and aboveground plant community and productivity. We also hypothesized that changes in the persistent seed bank will consequently impact the aboveground vegetative composition.

Methods

We tested these hypotheses using data from a 9-year nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization experiment in an alpine meadow ecosystem on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

Results

We found that long-term nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization indirectly impacted the composition of the persistent seed bank through changes in soil pH, aboveground vegetation composition and annual net primary productivity (ANPP). Changes in the composition of the persistent seed bank, however, were relatively minor in comparison to changes in aboveground vegetation composition. Finally, changes in the persistent seed bank did not feedback on aboveground vegetation composition.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate the importance of soil pH, ANPP and vegetation composition in regulating the persistent seed bank under eutrophication. Our results also highlight the relative stability of the persistent seed bank to long-term eutrophication and their important contribution to the sustainability of grassland ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

Our thanks and appreciation go to Dr. Zhongling Yang for their valuable suggestions on earlier versions of the manuscript. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31600335; 31702163; 31860668; 41430749), National key research and development program of China (2016YFC0501901-03), Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai Province of China (2015-ZJ-919Q), The Project of Qinghai Science & Technology Department (2016-ZJ-Y01; 2017-ZJ-Y20), The Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University (2017-ZZ-11; 2018-KF-01), and Széchenyi 2020 programme of the Hungarian Government and European Regional Development Fund (GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00056). We thank members from Professor Guozhen Du Lab for help with fieldwork and data collection.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, Qinghai, China
    • Chunhui Zhang
  2. Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology for Cold Regions Laboratory in Qinghai, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810008, Qinghai, China
    • Chunhui Zhang
    • , Zhen Ma
    • , Huakun Zhou
    • , Xinquan Zhao
    •  & Buqing Yao
  3. State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China
    • Chunhui Zhang
    • , Zhen Ma
    • , Miaojun Ma
    •  & Guozhen Du
  4. Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
    • Charles G. Willis
  5. Department of Biology Teaching and Learning, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
    • Charles G. Willis
  6. Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, 810008, Qinghai, China
    • Zhen Ma
    • , Huakun Zhou
    • , Xinquan Zhao
    •  & Buqing Yao
  7. Institute for Soil Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Herman O. út 15, Budapest, H–1022, Hungary
    • Péter Csontos
  8. Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA
    • Carol C. Baskin
    •  & Jerry M. Baskin
  9. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
    • Carol C. Baskin
  10. Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, Henan, China
    • Junyong Li
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  1. Chunhui Zhang
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Contributions

Z.M., C.Z., M.M. and G.D. designed the study. Z.M., M.M. and J.L. performed data collection, C.Z. conducted all statistical analyses with contributions from Z.M. and C.G.W., and C.Z., Z.M. and C.G.W. wrote the manuscript with critical inputs from all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhen Ma.

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Zhang, C., Willis, C.G., Ma, Z. et al. Direct and indirect effects of long-term fertilization on the stability of the persistent seed bank. Plant Soil 438, 239–250 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04024-x

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Keywords

  • Alpine meadow
  • Annual net primary productivity
  • Eutrophication
  • Qinghai-Tibet plateau
  • Soil pH
  • Soil seed bank
  • Vegetation composition