6533b861fe1ef96bd12c4cce
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Nutrient Additions Affecting Matter Turnover in Forest and Pasture Ecosystems
Carlos ValarezoHans WullaertKarin PotthastJürgen HomeierWolfgang WilckeMark MaraunStefan ScheuDorothee SandmannUte Hamersubject
2. Zero hungergeographyBiomass (ecology)Nutrient cyclegeography.geographical_feature_category010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciencesEcology04 agricultural and veterinary sciencesRainforest15. Life on land01 natural sciencesPastureEcosystem servicesNutrientAgronomy040103 agronomy & agricultureLitter0401 agriculture forestry and fisheriesEnvironmental scienceEcosystem0105 earth and related environmental sciencesdescription
Nutrient inputs into ecosystems of the tropical mountain rainforest region are projected to further increase in the next decades. To investigate whether important ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and matter turnover in native forests and pasture ecosystems show different patterns of response, two nutrient addition experiments have been established: NUMEX in the forest and FERPAST at the pasture. Both ecosystems already responded 1.5 years after the start of nutrient application (N, P, NP, Ca). Interestingly, most nutrients remained in the respective systems. While the pasture grass was co-limited by N and P, most tree species responded to P addition. Soil microbial biomass in the forest litter layer increased after NP fertilization pointing to nutrient co-limitation. In pasture soils, microorganisms were neither limited by N nor P. The results support the hypothesis that multiple and temporally variable nutrient limitations can coexist in tropical ecosystems.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-01-01 |