Warming has limited effects on plant growth through nutrient release: evidence from sub-Antarctic Marion Island.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Cold ecosystem plant productivity is nutrient-limited, largely due to temperature-limited soil decomposition rates. Climate warming is predicted to indirectly stimulate productivity by stimulating microbial activity and thus nutrient release. However, these trends are not consistent across cold systems, and the predictions require empirical testing. Here, we investigated whether soil warming on sub-Antarctic Marion Island (49.9°S, 37.8°E) indirectly stimulates grass productivity through increased nutrient release.

Methods

Four grasses (native Polypogon magellanicus and Poa cookii and alien Poa annua and Agrostis stolonifera) were subjected to soil warming (ambient +3 °C) in a potted experiment for 5 months. A second experiment with a fertilizer (NPK) trea

SUBMITTER: Pallett NCM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12464945 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature