Elevated CO2 interacts with nutrient inputs to restructure plant communities in phosphorus-limited grasslands

Abstract

Globally pervasive increases in atmospheric CO₂ and nitrogen (N) deposition could have substantial effects on plant communities, either directly or mediated by their interactions with soil nutrient limitation. While the direct consequences of N enrichment on plant communities are well documented, potential interactions with rising CO₂ and globally widespread phosphorus (P) limitation remain poorly understood. We investigated the consequences of simultaneous elevated CO₂ (eCO₂ ) and N and P additions on grassland biodiversity, community and functional composition in P-limited grasslands. We exposed soil-turf monoliths from limestone and acidic grasslands that have received >25 years of N additions (3.5 and 14 g m^-2 year^-1 ) and 11 (limestone) or 25 (acidic) years of P additions (3.5 g m^-2 year^-1 ) to eCO₂ (600 ppm) for 3 years. Across both grasslands, eCO₂ , N and P additions significantly changed community composition. Limestone communities were more responsive to eCO₂ and saw significant functional shifts resulting from eCO₂ -nutrient interactions. Here, legume cover tripled in response to combined eCO₂ and P additions, and combined eCO₂ and N treatments shifted functional dominance from grasses to sedges. We suggest that eCO₂ may disproportionately benefit P acquisition by sedges by subsidising the carbon cost of locally intense root exudation at the expense of co-occurring grasses. In contrast, the functional composition of the acidic grassland was insensitive to eCO₂ and its interactions with nutrient additions. Greater diversity of P-acquisition strategies in the limestone grassland, combined with a more functionally even and diverse community, may contribute to the stronger responses compared to the acidic grassland. Our work suggests we may see large changes in the composition and biodiversity of P-limited grasslands in response to eCO₂ and its interactions with nutrient loading, particularly where these contain a high diversity of P-acquisition strategies or developmentally young soils with sufficient bioavailable mineral P.

Keywords: elevated CO2; grasslands; nitrogen deposition; phosphorus limitation; plant communities.