Changes of plant community composition instead of soil nutrient status drive the legacy effects of historical nitrogen d
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Changes of plant community composition instead of soil nutrient status drive the legacy effects of historical nitrogen deposition on plant community N:P stoichiometry Yan-Yu Hu & Hai-Wei Wei & Zhi-Wei Zhang & Shuang-Li Hou & Jun-Jie Yang & Jun-Feng Wang & Xiao-Tao Lü Received: 4 March 2020 / Accepted: 6 July 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Aims Uncovering the importance of soil and plant characteristics in driving the legacy effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on plant community nutrient stoichiometry would improve our understanding of plant-soil interaction during restoration of historically N-enriched ecosystems. Methods Based on a field experiment with the cessation of six-year N addition in a temperate steppe of northern China, we measured concentrations and stoichiometry of N and phosphorus (P) in soils and different plant functional groups, under both mown and unmown conditions. Results Historical N addition did not affect soil total and available N and P concentrations and stoichiometry, but significantly altered plant community composition. Plant nutrient concentrations and N:P ratios
significantly differed among four plant functional groups. The concentrations and stoichiometric ratios of N and P between soils and plants were generally not correlated. The positive legacy effects of N addition on community N:P stoichiometry were caused by the biomass enhancement of tall bunchgrass, the functional group with the highest N:P ratios. Conclusions Changes in plant community composition instead of soil nutrient status were the main driver for the positive legacy effects of N enrichment on plant community stoichiometry. Given that the recovery of community composition after the cessation of N deposition is generally slow, our findings indicate that the legacy effects of N deposition on soil nutrient cycling would persist in long-term due to the importance of plant-mediated pathway.
Responsible Editor: Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04631-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Y.
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