Effects of nutrient additions on litter production and nutrient return in a nutrient-poor Cape fynbos ecosystem

Abstract

Litter production and N and P return were determined at bimonthly intervals for two years in 10×5 m plots, amended with a complete factorial fertilizer addition of N as NH4NO3(Na), P as Ca3(PO4)2(Pa) and a mixture of all essential nutrients excluding N and P (Ma) in a 4–7-year-old post-fire sand-plain lowland fynbos ecosystem, South Africa. Litter production increased with vegetation age, was highly seasonal and peaked from late spring to mid-summer (November to January). No significant differences in annual litter production and N return were found in response to the nutrient treatments, although both tended to increase during the second year in response to Na and Ma. Phosphorus return increased significantly with Pa, and to a lesser extend, N3, during the first year, whereas it increased in response to Na and Ma and decreased in the Pa amended plots during the second year. The nutrient treatments did not result in a change in the timing of the annual peak litter production period or in the plant growth form composition of the litter. The litter layer dry mass and N and P contents increased in response to Na and Ma, while Pa resulted in an increased P content. The evidence from this study indicates that the vegetative growth of the evergreen sclerophyllous shrubs and hemicryptophytes of sand-plain lowland fynbos is not only limited by N, as shown by other studies on shoot growth and vegetation cover, but also by one or more other nutrients excluding P.