10.5061/DRYAD.P83H7
Cong, Wen-feng
Wageningen University & Research
van Ruijven, Jasper
Wageningen University & Research
Mommer, Liesje
Wageningen University & Research
De Deyn, Gerlinde
Wageningen University & Research
Berendse, Frank
Wageningen University & Research
Hoffland, Ellis
Wageningen University & Research
De Deyn, Gerlinde B.
Wageningen University & Research
Data from: Plant species richness promotes soil carbon and nitrogen stocks
in grasslands without legumes
Dryad
dataset
2014
Anthoxanthum odoratum
Leucanthemum vulgare
Plantago lanceolata
Rumex acetosa
Centaurea jacea
N mineralization
Holcus lanatus
plant productivity
Agrostis capillaris
Festuca rubra
root biomass
2014-06-12T14:38:43Z
2014-06-12T14:38:43Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12280
8214 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
1. The storage of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soil are important
ecosystem functions. Grassland biodiversity experiments have shown a
positive effect of plant diversity on soil C and N storage. However, these
experiments all included legumes, which constitute an important N input
through N2-fixation. Indeed, the results of these experiments suggest that
N2-fixation by legumes is a major driver of soil C and N storage. 2. We
studied whether plant diversity affects soil C and N storage in the
absence of legumes. In an 11-years grassland biodiversity experiment
without legumes, we measured soil C and N stocks. We further determined
above-ground biomass productivity, standing root biomass, soil organic
matter decomposition and N mineralization rates to understand the
mechanisms underlying the change in soil C and N stocks in relation to
plant diversity and their feedbacks to plant productivity. 3. We found
that soil C and N stocks increased by 18 and 16% in eight-species mixtures
compared to the average of monocultures of the same species, respectively.
Increased soil C and N stocks were mainly driven by increased C input and
N retention, resulting from enhanced plant productivity, which surpassed
enhanced C loss from decomposition. Importantly, higher soil C and N
stocks were associated with enhanced soil N mineralization rates, which
can explain the strengthening of the positive diversity-productivity
relationship observed in the last years of the experiment. 4. Synthesis:
We demonstrated that also in the absence of legumes plant species richness
promotes soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks via increased plant
productivity. In turn, enhanced soil C and N stocks showed a positive
feedback to plant productivity via enhanced N mineralization, which could
further accelerate soil C and N storage in the long term.
Plant and soil data from the last year of the biodiversity experimentData
from: Wen-feng Cong, Jasper van Ruijven, Liesje Mommer, Gerlinde De Deyn,
Frank Berendse and Ellis Hoffland. (2014) Plant species richness promotes
soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in grasslands without legumes. Data were
collected in the 11-year grassland biodiversity experiment in Wageningen,
the Netherlands, in 2010 and 2011. Abbreviated headlines are as follows:
“”BLK”= block; “PT”= plot; "SR" = plant species richness; “MI” =
monoculture identity (Ac = Agrostis capillaris; Ao = Anthoxanthum
odoratum; Cj = Centaurea jacea; Fr = Festuca rubra; Hl = Holcus lanatus;
Lv = Leucanthemum vulgare; Pl = Plantago lanceolata; Ra = Rumex acetosa);
"AAB" = average aboveground biomass from 2000 to 2010 (g m-2);
"RB" = standing root biomass (g fresh weight m-2) up to 50 cm
depth in June 2010; "CS" = soil carbon stocks (g C m-2) in April
2011; "NS" = soil nitrogen stocks (g N m-2) in April 2011.
"CD" = soil organic carbon decomposition (mg CO2-C kg-1 soil)
measured in soil collected in April 2011; "NM" = potential net N
mineralization rate (µg N kg-1 soil day-1) measured in soil collected in
April 2011.data file.csv
Wageningen
the Netherlands