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Abstract Increased nutrient inputs due to anthropogenic activity are expected to increase primary productivity across terrestrial ecosystems, but changes in allocation aboveground versus belowground with nutrient addition have different implications for soil carbon (C) storage. Thus, given that roots are major contributors to soil C storage, understanding belowground net primary productivity (BNPP) and biomass responses to changes in nutrient availability is essential to predicting carbon–climate feedbacks in the context of interacting global environmental changes. To address this knowledge gap, we tested whether a decade of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilization consistently influenced aboveground and belowground biomass and productivity at nine grassland sites spanning a wide range of climatic and edaphic conditions in the continental United States. Fertilization effects were strong aboveground, with both N and P addition stimulating aboveground biomass at nearly all sites (by 30% and 36%, respectively, on average). P addition consistently increased root production (by 15% on average), whereas other belowground responses to fertilization were more variable, ranging from positive to negative across sites. Site‐specific responses to P were not predicted by the measured covariates. Atmospheric N deposition mediated the effect of N fertilization on root biomass and turnover. Specifically, atmospheric N deposition was positively correlated with root turnover rates, and this relationship was amplified with N addition. Nitrogen addition increased root biomass at sites with low N deposition but decreased it at sites with high N deposition. Overall, these results suggest that the effects of nutrient supply on belowground plant properties are context dependent, particularly with regard to background N supply rates, demonstrating that site conditions must be considered when predicting how grassland ecosystems will respond to increased nutrient loading from anthropogenic activity.
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This content will become publicly available on May 1, 2026
Plant use of water across soil depths regulates species dominance under nitrogen addition
The primary mechanism driving plant species loss after nitrogen (N) addition has been often hypothesized to be asymmetric competition for light, resulting from increased aboveground biomass. However, it is largely unknown whether plants’ access to soil water at different depths would affect their responses, fate, and community composition under nitrogen addition. In a semiarid grassland exposed to 8-years of N addition, we measured plant aboveground biomass and diversity under four nitrogen addition rates (0, 4, 10, and 16 g m 2 year 1), and evaluated plant use of water across the soil profile using oxygen isotope. Aboveground biomass increased significantly, but diversity and shallow soil-water content decreased, with increasing rate of nitrogen addition. The water isotopic signature for both plant and soil water at the high N rate indicated that Leymus secalinus (a perennial grass) absorbed 7% more water from the subsurface soil layer (20e100 cm) compared to Elymus dahuricus (a perennial grass) and Artemisia annua (an annual forb). L. secalinus thus had a significantly larger biomass and was more abundant than the other two species at the high N rate but did not differ significantly from the other two species under ambient and the low N rate. Species that could use water from deeper soil layers became dominant when water in the shallow layers was insufficient to meet the demands of increased aboveground plant biomass. Our study highlights the importance of water across soil depths as key driver of plant growth and dominance in grasslands under N addition.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2423861
- PAR ID:
- 10628323
- Publisher / Repository:
- Elsevier
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Plant Diversity
- Volume:
- 47
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2468-2659
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 479 to 488
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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