Strengths of fertilizer and litter effects on seedling recruitment and growth of grassland species differ depending on functional groups and seed size.

ABSTRACT: Agricultural grasslands play an important role in conserving the biodiversity of the European cultural landscape. Both, litter cover and soil nutrient availability, change with grassland management, but it is not well-studied how seedling recruitment and growth of multiple grassland species are influenced by their single or combined effects. Therefore, we studied the effects of nitrogen fertilization (100 kg N per year and ha) and litter cover (250 g_dw per m²) on seedling recruitment and growth of 75 temperate grassland species (16 graminoid species, 51 forb species, 8 legume species) in a full factorial microcosm experiment. Overall, fertilizer reduced seedling emergence, while litter cover increased it even when combined with fertilization. Fertilization increased s

SUBMITTER: Martin S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11220832 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature