Short-term effect of nutrient availability and rainfall distribution on biomass production and leaf nutrient content of savanna tree species.

ABSTRACT: Changes in land use may lead to increased soil nutrient levels in many ecosystems (e.g. due to intensification of agricultural fertilizer use). Plant species differ widely in their response to differences in soil nutrients, and for savannas it is uncertain how this nutrient enrichment will affect plant community dynamics. We set up a large controlled short-term experiment in a semi-arid savanna to test how water supply (even water supply vs. natural rainfall) and nutrient availability (no fertilisation vs. fertilisation) affects seedlings' above-ground biomass production and leaf-nutrient concentrations (N, P and K) of broad-leafed and fine-leafed tree species. Contrary to expectations, neither changes in water supply nor changes in soil nutrient level affected biomass production of the st

SUBMITTER: Barbosa ER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3965441 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature