Effects of nitrogen availability on the competitive interactions between an invasive and a native grass from Brazilian cerrado

Autor(es)

Eller, Cleiton B. ^[1] ; Oliveira, Rafael S. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Dept Plant Biol, Inst Biol, CP6109, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: PLANT AND SOIL; v. 410, n. 1-2, p. 63-72, JAN 2017.
• Citações Web of Science: 4

Resumo

Nitrogen (N) deposition is currently widespread in many ecosystems and often promotes shifts in plant composition towards invasive species. In this study we evaluated how soil N availability affects the competitive interactions between a native Cerrado grass (Aristida riparia) and an invasive African grass (Melinis minutiflora). We evaluated the effects of increased soil N and the presence of another species on the relative growth rate (RGR), relative competition intensity (RCI), shoot N concentration and delta N-15, intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) and N productivity (A) of the two grasses in a glasshouse experiment. We found that the presence of M. minutiflora reduces the RGR of A. riparia by 52 % under high N availability, and by 29 % under low N availability. The shoot N and delta N-15 patterns of A. riparia when grown together with M. minutiflora indicate that the exotic species interferes with the native species' N acquisition. However, the lower RGR and iWUE of A. riparia observed only when grown together with M. minutiflora under high N availability suggests that other mechanisms might also limit A. riparia growth. We predict that the global trend of N deposition in ecosystems might facilitate the spread of M. minituflora in Cerrado areas. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 10/17204-0 - Mudanças climáticas em montanhas brasileiras: respostas funcionais de plantas nativas de campos rupestres e campos de altitude a secas extremas
• Beneficiário: Rafael Silva Oliveira
• Linha de fomento: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 11/52072-0 - Interações entre solo-vegetação-atmosfera em uma paisagem tropical em transformação
• Beneficiário: Rafael Silva Oliveira
• Linha de fomento: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Parceria para Inovação Tecnológica - PITE
• Processo FAPESP: 13/19555-2 - Dinâmica de uso de água e balanço de carbono de espécies lenhosas de matas nebulares
• Beneficiário: Cleiton Breder Eller
• Linha de fomento: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado