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Nitrogen deposition increases susceptibility to drought - experimental evidence with the perennial grass Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench

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Abstract

Aims

We investigated the response of the perennial grass Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench to combined effects of fertilization (N, P) and drought events. We hypothesized that N fertilization increases, and drought decreases productivity, but that N addition strengthens negative effects caused by drought.

Methods

Within a full-factorial 2-year greenhouse experiment we measured biomass productivity and allocation, tissue nutrient concentrations and nitrogen allocation patterns using 15N as a tracer.

Results

N fertilization caused a strong increase in productivity, but effects of drought were almost insignificant. However, we found strongly interrelated, non-additive effects of fertilization and drought, expressed by a strong increase of necrotic tissue. Dead aboveground biomass showed the highest values for N and 15N.

Conclusions

Accelerated productivity of aboveground tissue under N fertilization resulted in increased evaporative demands and thus higher drought susceptibility. In addition 15N allocation patterns showed that fertilization-drought treatments disenabled plants’ control of their N allocation. Molinia was unable to withdraw leaf N during the dieback of aboveground tissue. Due to the lack of an adaptive strategy to the combined effects of fertilization and drought, increasing summer drought may weaken the competitive performance of species with traits comparable to those of Molinia in N-fertilized environments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology, University of Lüneburg, Scharnhorststr. 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany

    Uta Friedrich, Goddert von Oheimb, Kristina Schleßelmann, Malte Sebastian Weber & Werner Härdtle

  2. Institute for World Forestry, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (vTI), Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, Leuschnerstraße 91, 21031, Hamburg, Germany

    Wolf-Ulrich Kriebitzsch

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  1. Uta Friedrich
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  2. Goddert von Oheimb
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  3. Wolf-Ulrich Kriebitzsch
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  4. Kristina Schleßelmann
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  5. Malte Sebastian Weber
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  6. Werner Härdtle
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Correspondence to Uta Friedrich.

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Responsible Editor: Harry Olde Venterink.

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Friedrich, U., von Oheimb, G., Kriebitzsch, WU. et al. Nitrogen deposition increases susceptibility to drought - experimental evidence with the perennial grass Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench. Plant Soil 353, 59–71 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-1008-3

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