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Plant species effects on soil nutrients and chemistry in arid ecological zones

Oecologia volume 182, pages 299–317 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

The presence of vegetation strongly influences ecosystem function by controlling the distribution and transformation of nutrients across the landscape. The magnitude of vegetation effects on soil chemistry is largely dependent on the plant species and the background soil chemical properties of the site, but has not been well quantified along vegetation transects in the Great Basin. We studied the effects of plant canopy cover on soil chemistry within five different ecological zones, subalpine, montane, pinyon–juniper, sage/Mojave transition, and desert shrub, in the Great Basin of Nevada all with similar underlying geology. Although plant species differed in their effects on soil chemistry, the desert shrubs Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Atriplex spp., Coleogyne ramosissima, and Larrea tridentata typically exerted the most influence on soil chemistry, especially amounts of K+ and total nitrogen, beneath their canopies. However, the extent to which vegetation affected soil nutrient status in any given location was not only highly dependent on the species present, and presumably the nutrient requirements and cycling patterns of the plant species, but also on the background soil characteristics (e.g., parent material, weathering rates, leaching) where plant species occurred. The results of this study indicate that the presence or absence of a plant species, especially desert shrubs, could significantly alter soil chemistry and subsequently ecosystem biogeochemistry and function.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement No. EPS-0814372) for funding this research, Zachary Johnson and Brian Bird for field assistance, and Robert Blank, Richard Jasoni, and Dale Johnson for their valuable evaluation of this manuscript. We would also like to thank the editor and reviewers for their helpful comments and critical examination of this manuscript.

Author contribution statement

BGJ conceived, designed, and conducted the experiment, analyzed data, and wrote the manuscript. PSJV and JAA aided in data interpretation and provided editorial advice.

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Affiliations

  1. Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV, 89512, USA

    Brittany G. Johnson & John A. Arnone III

  2. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Nevada, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, NV, 89557, USA

    Brittany G. Johnson & Paul S. J. Verburg

  3. Graduate Program of Hydrologic Sciences, University of Nevada, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, NV, 89557, USA

    Brittany G. Johnson & John A. Arnone III

Authors
  1. Brittany G. Johnson
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  2. Paul S. J. Verburg
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  3. John A. Arnone III
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brittany G. Johnson.

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Communicated by Mercedes Bustamante.

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Johnson, B.G., Verburg, P.S.J. & Arnone, J.A. Plant species effects on soil nutrients and chemistry in arid ecological zones. Oecologia 182, 299–317 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3655-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3655-9

Keywords

  • Plant canopy
  • Nevada Climate-ecohydrological Assessment Network (NevCAN)
  • Soil chemistry
  • Great Basin
  • Overstory effects on soil