Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Direct and interaction-mediated effects of environmental changes on peatland bryophytes

  • Community ecology - Original Paper
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ecosystem processes of northern peatlands are largely governed by the vitality and species composition in the bryophyte layer, and may be affected by global warming and eutrophication. In a factorial experiment in northeast China, we tested the effects of raised levels of nitrogen (0, 1 and 2 g m−2 year−1), phosphorus (0, 0.1 and 0.2 g m−2 year−1) and temperature (ambient and +3°C) on Polytrichum strictum, Sphagnum magellanicum and S. palustre, to see if the effects could be altered by inter-specific interactions. In all species, growth declined with nitrogen addition and increased with phosphorus addition, but only P. strictum responded to raised temperature with increased production of side-shoots (branching). In Sphagnum, growth and branching changed in the same direction, but in Polytrichum, the two responses were uncoupled: with nitrogen addition there was a decrease in growth (smaller than in Sphagnum) but an increase in branching; with phosphorus addition growth increased but branching was unaffected. There were no two-way interactions among the P, N and T treatments. With increasing temperature, our results indicate that S. palustre should decrease relative to P. strictum (Polytrichum increased its branching and had a negative neighbor effect on S. palustre). With a slight increase in phosphorus availability, the increase in length growth and production of side-shoots in P. strictum and S. magellanicum may give them a competitive superiority over S. palustre. The negative response in Sphagnum to nitrogen could favor the expansion of vascular plants, but P. strictum may endure thanks to its increased branching.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aarssen LW, Keogh T (2002) Conundrums of competitive ability in plants: what to measure? Oikos 96:531–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aerts R, Wallén B, Malmer N (1992) Growth-limiting nutrients in Sphagnum-dominated bogs subject to low and high atmospheric nitrogen supply. J Ecol 80:131–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berendse F, van Breemen N, Rydin H, Buttler A, Heijmans M, Hoosbeek MR, Lee JA, Mitchell E, Saarinen T, Vasander H, Wallén B (2001) Raised atmospheric CO2 levels and increased N deposition cause shifts in plant species composition and production in Sphagnum bogs. Global Change Biol 7:591–598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bragazza L (1997) Sphagnum niche diversification in two oligotrophic mires in the Southern Alps of Italy. Bryologist 100:507–515

    Google Scholar 

  • Bragazza L, Tahvanainen T, Kutnar L, Rydin H, Limpens J, Hájek M, Grosvernier P, Hájek T, Hájkova P, Hansen I, Iacumin P, Gerdol R (2004) Nutritional constraints in ombrotrophic Sphagnum plants under increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition in Europe. New Phytol 163:609–616

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breeuwer A, Heijmans MMPD, Robroek BJM, Berendse F (2008) The effects of temperature on growth and competition between Sphagnum species. Oecologia 156:155–167

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brooker RW, Maestre FT, Callaway RM, Lortie CL, Cavieres LA, Kunstler G, Liancourt P, Tielbörger K, Travis JMJ, Anthelme F, Armas C, Coll L, Corcket E, Delzon S, Forey E, Kikvidze Z, Olofsson J, Pugnaire F, Quiroz CL, Saccone P, Schiffers K, Seifan M, Touzard B, Michalet R (2008) Facilitation in plant communities: the past, the present and the future. J Ecol 96:18–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruno JF, Stachowicz JJ, Bertness MD (2003) Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory. Trends Ecol Evol 18:119–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bu Z, Yang Y, Dai D, Wang X (2005) Age structure and growth pattern of Polytrichum juniperinum populations in a mire of Changbai Mountains. Chin J Appl Ecol 16:44–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Bubier JL, Moore TR, Bledzki LA (2007) Effects of nutrient addition on vegetation and carbon cycling in an ombrotrophic bog. Global Change Biol 13:1–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan TV, Collins NJ, Callaghan CH (1978) Photosynthesis, growth and reproduction of Hylocomium splendens and Polytrichum commune in Swedish Lapland. Oikos 31:73–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carfrae JA, Sheppard LJ, Raven JA, Leith ID, Crossley A (2007) Potassium and phosphorus additions modify the response of Sphagnum capillifolium growing on a Scottish ombrotrophic bog to enhanced nitrogen deposition. Appl Geochem 22:1111–1121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chai X (1990) Peatland science. Geological Publishing House, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen X, Bu Z, Wang S, Li H, Zhao H (2009) Niches of seven bryophyte species in Hani Peatland of Changbai Mountains. Chin J Appl Ecol 20:574–578

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorrepaal E, Aerts R, Cornelissen JHC, Callaghan TV, van Logtestijn RSP (2003) Summer warming and increased winter snow cover affect Sphagnum fuscum growth, structure and production in a sub-arctic bog. Global Change Biol 10:93–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorrepaal E, Toet S, van Logtestijn R, Swart E, van de Weg M, Callaghan T, Aerts R (2009) Carbon respiration from subsurface peat accelerated by climate warming in the subarctic. Nature 460:616–619

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duan L, Hao J, Xie S, Zhou Z (2002) Estimating critical loads of sulfur and nitrogen for Chinese soils by steady state method. Environ Sci 23:7–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman C, Ostle N, Kang HJ (2002) An enzymic ‘latch’ on a global carbon store. Nature 409:149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerdol R, Petraglia A, Bragazza L, Iacumin P, Brancaleoni L (2007) Nitrogen deposition interacts with climate in affecting production and decomposition rates in Sphagnum mosses. Global Change Biol 13:1810–1821

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerdol R, Bragazza L, Brancaleoni L (2008) Heatwave 2003: high summer temperature, rather than experimental fertilization, affects vegetation and CO2 exchange in an alpine bog. New Phytol 179:142–154

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Granath G, Strengbom J, Breeuwer A, Heijmans MMPD, Berendse F, Rydin H (2009) Photosynthetic performance in Sphagnum transplanted along a latitudinal nitrogen deposition gradient. Oecologia 159:705–715

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Groeneveld EVG, Massé A, Rochefort L (2007) Polytrichum strictum as a nurse-plant in peatland restoration. Restor Ecol 15:709–719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grubb PJ (1977) The maintenance of species richness in plant communities: the importance of the regeneration niche. Biol Rev 52:107–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunnarsson U (2005) Global patterns of Sphagnum productivity. J Bryol 27:267–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunnarsson U, Rydin H (2000) Nitrogen fertilisation reduces Sphagnum production in Swedish bogs. New Phytol 147:527–537

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gunnarsson U, Granberg G, Nilsson M (2004) Growth, production and interspecific competition in Sphagnum: effects of temperature, nitrogen and sulphur treatments on a boreal mire. New Phytol 163:349–359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Güsewell S (2004) N:P ratios in terrestrial plants: variation and functional significance. New Phytol 164:243–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haig ETW (1989) Individual interactions in Sphagnum populations. PhD dissertation, University of London

  • Lang H, Zhao K, Chen K (1999) Wetland vegetation in China. Science Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang SI, Cornelissen JHC, Hölzer A, ter Braak CJF, Ahrens M, Callaghan TV, Aerts R (2009) Determinants of cryptogam composition and diversity in Sphagnum-dominated peatlands: the importance of temporal, spatial and functional scales. J Ecol 97:299–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Limpens J, Tomassen HBM, Berendse F (2003) Expansion of Sphagnum fallax in bogs: striking the balance between N and P availability. J Bryol 25:83–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Limpens J, Berendse F, Klees H (2004) How phosphorus availability affects the impact of nitrogen deposition on Sphagnum and vascular plants in bogs. Ecosystems 7:793–804

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell EAD, Buttler A, Grosvernier P, Rydin H, Siegenthaler A, Gobat J-M (2002) Contrasted effects of increased N and CO2 supply on two keystone species in peatland restoration and implications for global change. J Ecol 90:529–533

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mulligan R, Gignac D (2002) Bryophyte community structure in a boreal poor fen II: interspecific competition among five mosses. Can J Bot 80:330–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulissen MPCP, Besalú LE, de Bruijn H, van der Ven PJM, Bobbink R (2005) Contrasting effects of ammonium enrichment on fen bryophytes. J Bryol 27:109–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiao S (1993) A preliminary study on Hani peat mire in the west part of the Changbai Mountain. Sci Geogr Sin 13:279–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Rincon E, Grime JP (1989) An analysis of seasonal patterns of bryophyte growth in a natural habitat. J Ecol 77:447–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robroek BJM, Limpens J, Breeuwer A, Crushell PH, Schouten MGC (2007) Interspecific competition between Sphagnum mosses at different water tables. Funct Ecol 21:805–812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robroek BJM, Schouten MGC, Limpens J, Berendse F, Poorter H (2009) Interactive effects of water table and precipitation on net CO2 assimilation of three co-occurring Sphagnum mosses differing in distribution above the water table. Global Change Biol 15:680–691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rydin H (1985) Effect of water level on desiccation of Sphagnum in relation to surrounding Sphagna. Oikos 45:374–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rydin H (2009) Population and community ecology of bryophytes. In: Shaw AJ, Goffinet B (eds) Bryophyte biology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 393–444

    Google Scholar 

  • Rydin H, Jeglum JK (2006) The biology of peatlands. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute (2004) SAS OnlineDoc 9.1.3. SAS Institute, Cary, NC

    Google Scholar 

  • Soro A, Sundberg S, Rydin H (1999) Species diversity, niche width and species associations in harvested and undisturbed bogs. J Veg Sci 10:549–560

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun Q, Bu Z, Wang S, Meng X (2005) Preliminary study on density dependence of Sphagnum imbricatum population in Hani oligotrophic mire. Wetl Sci 3:116–120

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Heijden E, Jauhiainen J, Silvola J, Vasander H, Kuiper PJC (2000) Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and increased nitrogen deposition on growth and chemical composition of ombrotrophic Sphagnum balticum and oligo-mesotrophic Sphagnum papillosum. J Bryol 22:175–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasander H, Kettunen A (2006) Carbon in boreal peatlands. In: Wieder K, Vitt DH (eds) Boreal peatland ecosystems. Springer, Berlin, pp 165–194

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Verhoeven JTA, Liefveld WM (1997) The ecological significance of organochemical compounds in Sphagnum. Acta Bot Neerl 46:117–130

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vitt DH (1990) Growth and production dynamics of boreal mosses over climatic, chemical and topographic gradients. Bot J Linn Soc 104:35–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitt DH, Wieder K, Halsey LA, Turetsky M (2003) Response of Sphagnum fuscum to nitrogen deposition: a case study of ombrogenous peatlands in Alberta, Canada. Bryologist 106:235–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weltzin JF, Harth C, Bridgham SD, Pastor J, Vonderharr M (2001) Production and microtopography of bog bryophytes: response to warming and water-table manipulations. Oecologia 128:557–565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyatt R, Derda S (1997) Population biology of the Polytrichaceae. Adv Bryol 6:265–296

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (contract No. 30700055 and No. 40971036), The National Grand Fundamental Research 973 Program of China (No. 2009CB426305), the Training Fund of NENU’S Scientific Innovation Project (contract No. NENU-STB07002) and the Swedish Research Council Formas. We thank Xiangjun Meng and Gaolin Zhao for open top chamber preparation, Yuxin Jiao and Gaolin Zhao for bryophyte samples preparation, Lihong Jiang, Yuan Tang, Chunquan Wang, Jinbin Xu, Yi Han and Luwu Xie for fertilization, and Zhiwei Xu, Meijuan Zhou and others for the laboratory work. Lennart Norell, Wei Gao and Lei Shi helped us with the statistical analysis. Urban Gunnarsson, Joachim Strengbom and Sebastian Sundberg kindly commented on the manuscript. The experiment complies with all laws of the People’s Republic of China, where it was performed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Institute for Peat and Mire Research, Northeast Normal University, Renmin 5268, Changchun, 130024, China

    Zhao-Jun Bu & Xu Chen

  2. Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Grassland Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Renmin 5268, Changchun, 130024, China

    Zhao-Jun Bu

  3. Department of Plant Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden

    Håkan Rydin

  4. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Xu Chen

Authors
  1. Zhao-Jun Bu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Håkan Rydin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xu Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Håkan Rydin.

Additional information

Communicated by Bernhard Schmid.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bu, ZJ., Rydin, H. & Chen, X. Direct and interaction-mediated effects of environmental changes on peatland bryophytes. Oecologia 166, 555–563 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1880-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1880-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation