17
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Light and nitrogen competition limit Lolium perenne in experimental grasslands of increasing plant diversity.

      Plant Biology (Stuttgart, Germany)
      Chlorophyll, metabolism, Ecosystem, Light, Lolium, growth & development, radiation effects, Nitrogen

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPubMed
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Positive species richness effects on aboveground community productivity in experimental grasslands have been reported to correlate with variable responses of individual species. So far, it is largely unknown whether more complete use of resources at the community level correlates with resource limitation of particular species and may explain their decreasing performance with increasing plant diversity. Using the subordinate grass species Lolium perenne L. as a model, we monitored populations in 82 experimental grasslands of different plant diversity (Jena Experiment) from year 2 to 6 after establishment, and measured ecophysiological leaf traits related to light and nutrient acquisition and use. Population and plant individual sizes of L. perenne decreased with increasing species richness. A decrease in transmitted light with increasing species richness and legume proportion correlated with increasing specific leaf area (SLA). Despite this morphological adaptation to lower light availability, decreasing foliar δ(13) C signatures with increasing species richness and low variation in leaf gas exchange and chlorophyll concentrations suggested a low capacity of L. perenne for adjustment to canopy shade. Leaf nitrogen concentrations and foliar δ(15) N signatures indicated a better N supply in communities with legumes and a shift in the uptake of different N forms with increasing species richness. Leaf blade nitrate and carbohydrate concentrations as indicators of plants nutritional status supported that light limitation with increasing species richness and legume proportions, combined with a N limitation in communities with increasing proportions of non-legumes, correlated with the decreasing performance of L. perenne in communities of increasing plant diversity. © 2010 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Journal
          21143734
          10.1111/j.1438-8677.2010.00338.x

          Chemistry
          Chlorophyll,metabolism,Ecosystem,Light,Lolium,growth & development,radiation effects,Nitrogen
          Chemistry
          Chlorophyll, metabolism, Ecosystem, Light, Lolium, growth & development, radiation effects, Nitrogen

          Comments

          Comment on this article