Abstract
Restoration can recover degraded ecosystems and ecosystem services. However, effects of restoration on soil nutrient accrual are difficult to predict, partly because prior land use affects rates of soil nutrient recovery. In tallgrass prairie restorations, land-use legacy effects have not yet been quantified. We investigated topsoil carbon and nitrogen accrual within seven land-use histories: (1) row crop agriculture, (2) pasture, (3) pasture converted from row crops, (4) prairie restored from row crop, (5) prairie restored from old pasture, (6) bison prairie restored from pasture and row crops, and (7) remnant prairie. Soil samples were collected in 2008 and again in 2018 at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Will County, IL. Soil samples were analyzed for bulk density, root chemistry, macro- and micronutrients, and carbon. Restored prairies contained similar soil bulk densities and rates of topsoil carbon accrual compared to each other in 2018. However, restorations from row cropping accrued nitrogen more slowly than restorations from pastures. Additionally, pastures converted from crop fields exhibited fewer legacy effects than restorations converted from crop fields. This research illustrates land-use legacy effects on soil and nutrients during grassland restorations, with implications for potential restoration trajectories and their role in carbon sequestration and ecosystem functioning.
Highlights
Tallgrass prairie is one of the most vulnerable grassland ecosystems in North America due to its widespread land-use conversion to mainly agriculture [1,2,3]
Soil functioning in mature tallgrass prairies facilitates steady rates of nutrient accrual; for example, slow rates of root litter decomposition promote the accumulation of large stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC)
We show that land-use legacy does affect topsoil nutrient accrual during prairie restorations, but it remains unclear if legacy effects lead to differences in topsoil carbon accrual at Midewin
Summary
Tallgrass prairie is one of the most vulnerable grassland ecosystems in North America due to its widespread land-use conversion to mainly agriculture [1,2,3]. Soil functioning in mature tallgrass prairies facilitates steady rates of nutrient accrual; for example, slow rates of root litter decomposition promote the accumulation of large stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC). Some tallgrass prairies were converted to grazing lands (e.g., cow pasture), which involved a different type of disturbance to soil structure than row cropping but still impacted soil physical (e.g., compaction) and chemical properties (pH, nutrient loss). The impacts of land-use history on soil nutrient recovery in tallgrass prairie restorations have not been thoroughly studied
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