Abstract
Nitrogen (N) pollution is a global threat to the biodiversity of many plant communities, but its impacts on grassland soil seed banks are unknown. Here we show that size and richness of an acid grassland seed bank is strongly reduced after 13 years of simulated N deposition. Soils receiving 140 kg N ha(-1) per year show a decline in total seed abundance, seed species richness, and the abundance of forbs, sedges and grasses. These results reveal larger effects of N pollution on seed banks than on aboveground vegetation as cover and flowering is not significantly altered for most species. Further, the seed bank shows no recovery 4 years after the cessation of N deposition. These results provide insights into the severe negative effects of N pollution on plant communities that threaten the stability of populations, community persistence and the potential for ecosystems to recover following anthropogenic disturbance or climate change.
Highlights
Nitrogen (N) pollution is a global threat to the biodiversity of many plant communities, but its impacts on grassland soil seed banks are unknown
A 3-year study of N addition in a desert community found no change in the density or species richness of the seed bank[11], while another 1-year study found that N addition increased seedling emergence[12]
We show the effects of atmospheric N deposition on the soil seed bank in acid grassland plots in the UK that have been exposed to simulated N deposition since 1995, and in plots allowed to recover since 2005
Summary
Nitrogen (N) pollution is a global threat to the biodiversity of many plant communities, but its impacts on grassland soil seed banks are unknown. The seed bank shows no recovery 4 years after the cessation of N deposition These results provide insights into the severe negative effects of N pollution on plant communities that threaten the stability of populations, community persistence and the potential for ecosystems to recover following anthropogenic disturbance or climate change. The seed bank showed no sign of recovery 44 years after cessation of N deposition, even though flowering recovered These results indicate that N pollution has larger effects on grassland seed banks than on vegetation, providing new insights into the mechanisms of biodiversity loss by this globally intensifying pollutant
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