Response of aboveground biomass and diversity to nitrogen addition along a degradation gradient in the Inner Mongolian steppe, China.

ABSTRACT: Although nitrogen addition and recovery from degradation can both promote production of grassland biomass, these two factors have rarely been investigated in combination. In this study, we established a field experiment with six N-treatment (CK, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 g N m(-2) yr(-1)) on five fields with different degradation levels in the Inner Mongolian steppe of China from 2011-2013. Our observations showed that while the external nitrogen increased the aboveground biomass in all five grasslands, the magnitude of the effects differed with the severity of degradation. Fields with a higher level of degradation tended to have a higher saturation value (20 g N m(-2) yr(-1)) than those with a lower degradation level ( < 10 g N m(-2) yr(-1)). After three years of experimentation, species richnes

SUBMITTER: Xu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4508527 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature