A5010739892- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems
- Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis
- Soil and Unsaturated Flow
- Plant and animal studies
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Plant responses to elevated CO2
- Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems
- Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Soil Geostatistics and Mapping
- Heavy metals in environment
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
- Bioenergy crop production and management
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
- Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance
- Soil Management and Crop Yield
- Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Pasture and Agricultural Systems
Agri Food and Biosciences Institute
2015-2023
Ecological Society of America
2020
University College Dublin
2019
University of Ulster
2010-2015
Lancaster University
2008-2011
University of Minnesota
2007-2009
University of Pretoria
2007-2008
University of Minnesota System
2008
University of Milan
2005
Summary The mechanisms controlling soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) accumulation are crucial for explaining why soils major terrestrial C sinks. Such have been mainly addressed by imposing short‐term, step‐changes in CO 2 , temperature N fertilization rates on either monocultures or low‐diversity plant assemblages. No studies the long‐term effects of functional diversity (i.e. composition) N‐limited grasslands where fixation is main source plants. Here we measure net to 1 m soil‐depth during...
Summary Recent studies have revealed many potential benefits of increasing plant diversity in natural ecosystems, as well agroecosystems and production forests. Plant potentially provides a partial to complete substitute for costly agricultural inputs, such fertilizers, pesticides, imported pollinators irrigation. Diversification strategies include enhancing crop genetic diversity, mixed plantings, rotating crops, agroforestry diversifying landscapes surrounding croplands. Here we briefly...
The relationship between plant diversity and productivity in grasslands could depend, partly, on how affects vertical distributions of root biomass soil; yet, no prior study has evaluated the links among diversity, depth distributions, a long‐term experiment. We used data from 12‐year experiment to ask species richness composition influenced both observed expected communities. Expected were based abundance each community two traits that measured monocultures: root‐to‐shoot ratios. proportion...
Abstract Spatiotemporal redistribution of incident rainfall in vegetated ecosystems results from the partitioning by plants into intercepted, stemflow, and throughfall fractions. However, variation patterns drivers across global biomes remains poorly understood, which limited ability climate models to improve predictions biome hydrological cycle under change scenario. Here, we synthesized analyzed interception, trees shrubs at scale using 2430 observations 236 independent publications. We...
In a 13-year grassland biodiversity experiment in Minnesota, USA, we addressed two main questions: What set of ecological mechanisms caused aboveground productivity to become approximately 340% greater highly diverse plant mixtures than the average monoculture? Why did effect diversity on so much stronger through time? Because our system is N limited, simultaneously measured critical variables associated with storage and cycling this element, such as soil pools, availability, mineralization...
1 Plant functional composition may indirectly affect fine root processes both qualitatively (e.g. by influencing chemistry) and quantitatively biomass thus soil carbon (C) inputs the environment). Despite potential implications for ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling, few studies have addressed linkages between plant composition, decay, detritus N dynamics mineralization rates. 2 Here, using data from a large grassland biodiversity experiment, we first show that affected mass loss, net rates...
Human-induced increases in nitrogen (N) deposition are common across many terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Greater N availability not only reduces biological diversity, but also affects the biogeochemical coupling of carbon (C) and cycles soil ecosystems. Soils largest active C pool effects on sequestration or release could have global importance. Here, we show that 27 years chronic additions to prairie grasslands increased mineral soils a potential mechanism responsible for this accrual...
We measured browsing-induced responses of Acacia trees to investigate "browsing lawns" as an analogy grazing lawns in a semiarid eutrophic African savanna. During the two-year field study, we plant tolerance, resistance, and phenological traits, while comparing variation leaf nitrogen specific area (SLA) across stands nigrescens, Miller, that had experienced markedly different histories attack from large herbivores. Trees heavily browsed developed (1) tolerance traits such high regrowth...
The application of calcium- and magnesium-rich materials to soil, known as liming, has long been a foundation many agro-ecosystems worldwide because its role in counteracting soil acidity. Although liming contributes increased rates respiration from thereby potentially reducing soils ability act CO2 sink, the long-term effects on organic carbon (Corg) sequestration are largely unknown. Here, using data spanning 129 years Park Grass Experiment at Rothamsted (UK), we show net Corg measured...
Abstract Human activities have greatly increased the availability of biologically active forms nutrients [e.g., nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg)] in many soil ecosystems worldwide. Multi‐nutrient fertilization strongly increases plant productivity but may also alter storage carbon (C) soil, which represents largest terrestrial pool organic C. Despite this issue is important from a global change perspective, key questions remain on how single addition N or...
Summary The productivity of species‐diverse plant assemblages strongly depends on the temporal dynamics nutrient uptake by competing neighbouring plants. Our understanding, however, how rates nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) might change through time between species under field conditions is still very limited. Here, we specifically measure trajectories N, P K staple food plants such as wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), barley Hordeum vulgare L.) maize Zea mays when growing...
Abstract Complementarity (CE) and selection effects (SE) have been either invoked to explain the positive diversity–productivity relationship in natural semi‐natural ecosystems. Few studies have, however, separated complementarity economically valuable intercropping systems, which receive significant nutrient inputs throughout growing season. We performed a 2‐year field experiment with five cropping systems (i.e. maize/peanut intercropping, maize/soybean maize, peanut soybean monocultures)...
Climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural soil is critical to improve health, enhance food and water security, contribute climate change mitigation adaptation, biodiversity preservation, human health wellbeing. The European Joint Programme for Soil (EJP SOIL) started in 2020 with the aim significantly knowledge create a integrated research system. EJP SOIL involves more than 350 scientists across 24 Countries has been addressing multiple aspects associated different...
Chronic nitrogen (N) fertilization can greatly affect soil carbon (C) sequestration by altering biochemical interactions between plant detritus and microbes. In lignin-rich forest soils, chronic N additions tend to increase C content partly decreasing the activity of lignin-degrading enzymes. cellulose-rich grassland soils it is not clear whether cellulose-degrading enzymes are also inhibited what consequences this might have on changes in content. Here we address has affected (1) light...
Ecological stoichiometry suggests that plant Nitrogen (N)-to-Phosphorus (P) ratios respond to changes in both soil N:P and N P availability. Thus we would expect be significantly related along natural gradients of development such as those associated with primary ecological successions. Here explicitly search for linkages between four successions distributed across Europe. We measured content soils compartments (leaf, stem root) 72 wild species two sand dune glacier where age ranges from few...