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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Effects Of Elevated Co2, Increased Nitrogen Deposition, And Plant Diversity On Aboveground Litter And Root Decomposition, Xiaoan Zuo, Johannes Knops
Effects Of Elevated Co2, Increased Nitrogen Deposition, And Plant Diversity On Aboveground Litter And Root Decomposition, Xiaoan Zuo, Johannes Knops
School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications
Global change-induced litter decomposition strongly affects the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics in grassland ecosystems. However, few studies show the interactive effects of global change factors on litter and root decomposition. We conducted a four-year grassland field experiment to examine the quality and decomposition of litter and root in a three-factorial experiment with elevated CO2, increased N deposition, and plant species richness. We found that elevated CO2 decreased the litter N content and root lignin content. N addition increased the root N content and decreased the litter lignin content. Increasing plant richness decreased the N and …
Species Richness, Latitude, And Scale-Sensitivity, S. Kathleen Lyons, Michael R. Willig
Species Richness, Latitude, And Scale-Sensitivity, S. Kathleen Lyons, Michael R. Willig
School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications
The latitudinal gradient of species richness is well documented for a variety of taxa in both terrestrial and aquatic environs. Moreover, a number of recent attempts to assess the effects of scale on the relationship have concluded that the latitudinal pattern is scale-invariant. Nonetheless, the power of those approaches is predicated on precise knowledge of the forms of the latitudinal gradient, the area relationship, and their interaction. We used a model developed by J. Pastor, A. Downing, and H. E. Erickson for assessing the effects of scale on the productivity–diversity gradient to avoid such complications. More specifically, for 253 sets …
Biodiversity And Decomposition In Experimental Grassland Ecosystems, Johannes M. H. Knops, David A. Wedin, David Tilman
Biodiversity And Decomposition In Experimental Grassland Ecosystems, Johannes M. H. Knops, David A. Wedin, David Tilman
School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications
We examined the impact of biodiversity on litter decomposition in an experiment that manipulated plant species richness. Using biomass originating from the experimental species richness gradient and from a species used as a common substrate, we measured rates of decomposition in litterbags in two locations: in situ in the experiment plots and in an adjacent common garden. This allowed us to separate the effects of litter quality and decomposition location on decomposition. We found that plant species richness had a significant, but minor negative effect on the quality (nitrogen concentration) of the biomass. Neither litter type nor location had a …