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Evidence for progressive phosphorus limitation over long-term ecosystem development: Examination of a biogeochemical paradigm

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Abstract

Aims

To test predictions of ecosystem theory for changes in P cycling over primary succession, we determined soil phosphorus (P) in labile, primary mineral, organic, and occluded forms along a chronosequence of five wave cut terraces known as the “Ecological Staircase”. The Ecological Staircase terraces (T1-T5) transition naturally from fertile native coastal forests in California, USA, to diminutive pygmy vegetation over the span of > 500,000 years of pedogenesis.

Methods

Soil P fractions were quantified to a depth of 40 cm on T1-T5 using a modified Hedley P fractionation procedure.

Results

Overall results confirmed the Walker and Syers Model of Phosphorus Transformations During Pedogenesis: total P declined from youngest (194 mg/kg P) to oldest (127 mg/kg P) sites; primary-mineral P decreased sharply from T1 to older sites; and occluded P dominated P pools at the oldest pygmy sites (T3-T5). In addition, foliar P concentrations declined markedly in the pygmy forest, and N/P of vegetation (T1: 6.03, T5: 14.4) and N/Porganic of mineral soils (T1: 6.10, T5: 25.3) increased significantly over time.

Conclusions

Results point to P as the primary limiting nutrient in the pygmy forest, exemplifying the terminal steady-state of ecosystem retrogression that underlies the persistence of this unique ecosystem.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants to Professor Benjamin Z. Houlton from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Kearney Foundation of Soil Science. We would like to thank Dr. Randal Southard and Dr. Kate Scow from the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources at UC Davis, for reviewing and editing early versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Jorge E. Izquierdo, Benjamin Z. Houlton & Tiff L. van Huysen

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  1. Jorge E. Izquierdo
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  2. Benjamin Z. Houlton
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  3. Tiff L. van Huysen
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Correspondence to Jorge E. Izquierdo or Benjamin Z. Houlton.

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Responsible Editor: Benjamin L. Turner.

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Izquierdo, J.E., Houlton, B.Z. & van Huysen, T.L. Evidence for progressive phosphorus limitation over long-term ecosystem development: Examination of a biogeochemical paradigm. Plant Soil 367, 135–147 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1683-3

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