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Using realistic nitrogen deposition levels to test the impact of deposition relative to other interacting factors on the germination and establishment of grasses in the California oak savanna

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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) deposition is a spatially and temporally heterogeneous process. Thus, the response to N deposition by plant communities can also be expected to vary in space and time. The total amount of deposition received by a plant community may vary regionally due to proximity to emission sources and locally due to vegetation structure. Temporal variation such as a seasonal peak in N deposition may coincide with specific life stages of the plant and drive community response to N deposition. Using the California oak savanna as a model ecosystem, a greenhouse experiment simulating realistic levels of N deposition received across the region was conducted to test the relative effects of N fertilization, soil type, light, and community mixture on the germination and seedling establishment of grasses. Seedling mixtures were composed of 3 common grass species—Stipa pulchra, Hordeum murinum, and Elymus caput-medusae—grown in monoculture and in 2- and 3-species combinations. Nitrogen fertilization alone had no effect on germination or seedling establishment, with one exception that high N increased seedling establishment of E. caput-medusae when that species was grown in monoculture. This limited effect of N deposition in a complex and realistic experimental setting indicated that deposition levels in oak savannas are not affecting most plants during early growth. Rather, early growth stages are species-specific and respond most strongly to neighbor identity.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Steven Silva at the UC Davis greenhouse facility, staff at research sites, and Cadenasso lab interns for their help and expertise in setting up and carrying out the experiment. We also thank Cadenasso lab members for helpful feedback and ideas about the manuscript. This project was funded through the Department of Plant Sciences and through a Jastro-Shields Scholarship from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis. The manuscript has been improved by the insightful comments of Sarah Emery, Jeremy James and one anonymous reviewer.

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  1. Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, 95616, USA

    Elise M. Tulloss & Mary L. Cadenasso

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  1. Elise M. Tulloss
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Correspondence to Elise M. Tulloss.

Additional information

Communicated by Sarah M. Emery.

Electronic supplementary material

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11258_2015_558_MOESM1_ESM.docx

ESM 1 Table comparing savanna sites and soils used in the experiment. Samples were collected both from understory and open grassland locations and averaged. Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 15 kb)

11258_2015_558_MOESM2_ESM.tif

ESM 2 Map and photos of three sites in California used to collect soil and seed for greenhouse experiment. From top-left: Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) in Mendocino County (38º58′57″N, 123º5′21″W), Sierra Foothills Research and Extension Center (SFREC) in Yuba County (39º15′9″N, 121º18′56″W), and San Joaquin Experimental Range (SJER) in Madera County (37º5′45″N, 119º43′45″W). Seed was collected from HREC only. Supplementary material 2 (TIFF 5245 kb)

11258_2015_558_MOESM3_ESM.docx

ESM 3 Table showing complete list of levels of the different factors used in the experiment. Supplementary material 3 (DOCX 13 kb)

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Tulloss, E.M., Cadenasso, M.L. Using realistic nitrogen deposition levels to test the impact of deposition relative to other interacting factors on the germination and establishment of grasses in the California oak savanna. Plant Ecol 217, 43–55 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-015-0558-5

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