Potentially peat-forming biomass of fen sedges increases with increasing nutrient levels

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11310%2F21%3A10430116" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11310/21:10430116 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=OEVyC5DyYE" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=OEVyC5DyYE</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13803" target="_blank" >10.1111/1365-2435.13803</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Potentially peat-forming biomass of fen sedges increases with increasing nutrient levels

Original language description

Peat formation is a key carbon sequestration process in the terrestrial biosphere. In temperate fens, peat is mainly formed by below-ground biomass of vascular plants. Nutrient availability in temperate fens is naturally variable, and nowadays increasing due to atmospheric deposition, runoff from agriculture and mineralization of peat caused by drainage. To maintain or restore peat formation, it is important to understand how increased nutrient availability influences the main controls of peat formation, that is, below-ground biomass production and decomposition. We investigated above- and below-ground biomass production and decomposition of five fen sedges (Carex spp.) grown under 12 different nutrient levels (realized with nitrogen amounts increasing exponentially across levels, with addition of phosphorous and potassium to ensure nitrogen limitation in each nutrient level) in a mesocosm experiment, designed to resemble a gradient of very low to very high nutrient availabilities in temperate fens. In addition, we measured nutrient stoichiometry in the biomass and related this to possible growth limitations and to root decomposition. Our results indicate that higher biomass production at higher nutrient levels was not offset by an increase in decomposition. Increase of above- and below-ground biomass with higher nutrient levels was species-specific. Decomposition of standardized plant material in mesocosms was not dependent on the species growing in the mesocosms and showed only slight, if any, variation with differing nutrient levels. Decomposition of roots grown under different nutrient levels was mainly correlated with species identity and root lignin:cellulose ratio. Our study suggests that the Carex spp. potentially peat-forming root biomass, here defined as the root biomass which is not decomposed during one growing season, increases with increasing nutrient levels: higher root biomass production is not counteracted by increasing decomposition during the growing season. Based on this pattern of positive mass balance in five common sedge species with differing growth characteristics, we propose that sedge communities establishing after rewetting have the potential for renewed peat formation regardless of the prevailing trophic level.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10508 - Physical geography

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2021

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Functional Ecology

ISSN

0269-8463

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

35

Issue of the periodical within the volume

7

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

17

Pages from-to

1579-1595

UT code for WoS article

000649180700001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85105029089