Soil pH and phosphorus drive species composition and richness in semi-natural heathlands and grasslands unaffected by twentieth-century agricultural intensification. (4th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Riesch, Friederike; Stroh, Hans Georg; Tonn, Bettina; Isselstein, Johannes
• Is Part Of: Plant ecology & diversity. Volume 11:Number 2(2018)
• Page Start: 239
• Page End: 253
• Publication Date: 2018-03-04
• Subjects: Acidification -- Ellenberg indicator values -- military training area -- Natura 2000 -- open habitat conservation -- plant community composition -- plant functional strategies; Plant ecology -- Periodicals; Plant diversity -- Periodicals; Plant ecology -- Scotland -- Periodicals; Plant diversity -- Scotland -- Periodicals; 581.705
• DOI: 10.1080/17550874.2018.1471627
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1755-0874

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Background : Increased soil phosphorus (P) caused by agricultural intensification has been associated with decreased plant species richness (SR) in central Europe. How plant communities and soil P gradients are related in unimproved open habitats remains unclear. Aims : The aim of this article was to characterise the relationship between soil chemical parameters and plant species composition and richness in unimproved open habitats. Methods : The influence of soil chemical parameters (pH, P, K, Mg) on species composition was assessed, using data from 40 heathland and 54 grassland plots, by non-metric multidimensional scaling and permutational multivariate analysis of variance. The relationship between soil chemical parameters and SR was tested by linear mixed effects models. Results : A direct relationship between heathland community composition and pH was observed, explaining 10% of variation in species composition, while P, Mg and pH together explained 17% of variation in grassland composition. In heathlands, SR increased with increasing pH, whereas in grasslands, SR decreased with increasing soil P. Conclusions : Soil chemical parameters were substantially related to plant community composition and richness. In an area spared from a century of agricultural intensification, reduced pH appeared to constrain SR in heathlands, while even slight P increases (<10 mg kg −1 ) depressed plant SR in semi-natural grasslands.