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Community-aggregated plant traits interact with soil nutrient heterogeneity to determine ecosystem functioning

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Abstract

Background and aims

Spatial distribution of soil nutrients (soil heterogeneity) and availability have strong effects on above- and belowground plant functional traits. Although there is ample evidence on the tight links between functional traits and ecosystem functioning, the role played by soil heterogeneity and availability as modulators of such relationship is poorly known.

Methods

We conducted a factorial experiment in microcosms containing grasses, legumes and non-legume forbs communities differing in composition to evaluate how soil heterogeneity and availability (50 and 100 mg N) affect the links between traits and ecosystem functioning. Community-aggregated specific leaf area (SLAagg) and specific root length (SRLagg) were measured as both relevant response traits to soil heterogeneity and availability, and significant effect traits affecting ecosystem functioning (i.e., belowground biomass, β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase activities, and in situ N availability rate).

Results

SRLagg was negatively and significantly associated to β-glucosidase, phosphatase and N availability rate in the high nutrient availability and heterogeneous distribution scenario. We found a significant negative relationship between SLAagg and availability rate of mineral-N under low nutrient availability conditions.

Conclusions

Soil heterogeneity modulated the effects of both traits and nutrient availability on ecosystem functioning. Specific root length was the key trait associated with soil nutrient cycling and belowground biomass in contrasted heterogeneous soil conditions. The inclusion of soil heterogeneity into the trait-based response-effect framework may help to scale from plant communities to the ecosystem level.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Patricia Valiente, Jorge Papadopoulos, Becky Mou, Carlos Díaz, Rafael Sendra and Santiago Soliveres for their help during the greenhouse and laboratory work. PGP was supported by a postdoctoral contract from Comunidad de Madrid (REMEDINAL-2) and by a Fulbright fellowship from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación. FTM is supported by the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant agreement n° 242658. RM was supported by the MICINN-Spain (grants AGL2010-10935-E and CGL2011-28778 and Ramón y Cajal contract). This research was supported by the EXPERTAL grant, funded by Fundación Biodiversidad-CINTRA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología y Geología, Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/Tulipán s/n, 28933, Móstoles, Spain

    Pablo García-Palacios, Fernando T. Maestre & Rubén Milla

  2. Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Pablo García-Palacios

  3. Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Pablo García-Palacios

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  1. Pablo García-Palacios
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  2. Fernando T. Maestre
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Correspondence to Pablo García-Palacios.

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Responsible Editor: Gerlinde De Deyn.

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García-Palacios, P., Maestre, F.T. & Milla, R. Community-aggregated plant traits interact with soil nutrient heterogeneity to determine ecosystem functioning. Plant Soil 364, 119–129 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1349-6

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