Interactive Effects Between Reindeer and Habitat Fertility Drive Soil Nutrient Availabilities in Arctic Tundra. Sitters, J., te Beest, M., Cherif, M., Giesler, R., & Olofsson, J. Ecosystems, 20(7):1266–1277, November, 2017.
Interactive Effects Between Reindeer and Habitat Fertility Drive Soil Nutrient Availabilities in Arctic Tundra [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Herbivores impact nutrient availability and cycling, and the net effect of herbivory on soil nutrients is generally assumed to be positive in nutrient-rich environments and negative in nutrient-poor ones. This is, however, far from a uniform pattern, and there is a recognized need to investigate any interactive effects of herbivory and habitat fertility (i.e., plant C/N ratios) on soil nutrient availabilities. We determined long-term effects of reindeer on soil extractable nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and their net mineralization rates along a fertility gradient of plant carbon (C) to N and P ratios in arctic tundra. Our results showed that reindeer had a positive effect on soil N in the more nutrient-poor sites and a negative effect on soil P in the more nutrient-rich sites, which contrasts from the general consensus. The increase in N availability was linked to a decrease in plant and litter C/N ratios, suggesting that a shift in vegetation composition toward more graminoids favors higher N cycling. Soil P availability was not as closely linked to the vegetation and is likely regulated more by herbivore-induced changes in soil physical and chemical properties. The changes in soil extractable N and P resulted in higher soil N/P ratios, suggesting that reindeer could drive the vegetation toward P-limitation. This research highlights the importance of including both the elements N and P and conducting studies along environmental gradients in order to better understand the interactive effects of herbivory and habitat fertility on nutrient cycling and primary production.
@article{sitters_interactive_2017,
	title = {Interactive {Effects} {Between} {Reindeer} and {Habitat} {Fertility} {Drive} {Soil} {Nutrient} {Availabilities} in {Arctic} {Tundra}},
	volume = {20},
	issn = {1435-0629},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-017-0108-1},
	doi = {10.1007/s10021-017-0108-1},
	abstract = {Herbivores impact nutrient availability and cycling, and the net effect of herbivory on soil nutrients is generally assumed to be positive in nutrient-rich environments and negative in nutrient-poor ones. This is, however, far from a uniform pattern, and there is a recognized need to investigate any interactive effects of herbivory and habitat fertility (i.e., plant C/N ratios) on soil nutrient availabilities. We determined long-term effects of reindeer on soil extractable nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and their net mineralization rates along a fertility gradient of plant carbon (C) to N and P ratios in arctic tundra. Our results showed that reindeer had a positive effect on soil N in the more nutrient-poor sites and a negative effect on soil P in the more nutrient-rich sites, which contrasts from the general consensus. The increase in N availability was linked to a decrease in plant and litter C/N ratios, suggesting that a shift in vegetation composition toward more graminoids favors higher N cycling. Soil P availability was not as closely linked to the vegetation and is likely regulated more by herbivore-induced changes in soil physical and chemical properties. The changes in soil extractable N and P resulted in higher soil N/P ratios, suggesting that reindeer could drive the vegetation toward P-limitation. This research highlights the importance of including both the elements N and P and conducting studies along environmental gradients in order to better understand the interactive effects of herbivory and habitat fertility on nutrient cycling and primary production.},
	language = {en},
	number = {7},
	urldate = {2024-03-27},
	journal = {Ecosystems},
	author = {Sitters, Judith and te Beest, Mariska and Cherif, Mehdi and Giesler, Reiner and Olofsson, Johan},
	month = nov,
	year = {2017},
	keywords = {\#nosource, carbon, decomposition, grazing, herbivory, litter, microbial mineralization, nitrogen, nutrient cycling, phosphorus, plant stoichiometry},
	pages = {1266--1277},
}

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