Species decline under nitrogen fertilization increases community-level competence of fungal diseases.

ABSTRACT: The artificial fertilization of soils can alter the structure of natural plant communities and exacerbate pathogen emergence and transmission. Although the direct effects of fertilization on disease resistance in plants have received some research attention, its indirect effects of altered community structure on the severity of fungal disease infection remain largely uninvestigated. We designed manipulation experiments in natural assemblages of Tibetan alpine meadow vegetation along a nitrogen-fertilization gradient over 5 years to compare the relative importance of direct and indirect effects of fertilization on foliar fungal infections at the community level. We found that species with lower proneness to pathogens were more likely to be extirpated following fertilization, such that commu

SUBMITTER: Liu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5310047 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature