Nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species
Abstract Herbivores may increase the productivity of forage plants; however, this depends on the return of nutrients from faeces to the forage plants. The aim of this study was to test if nitrogen (N) from faeces is available to forage plants and whether the return of nutrients differs between plant...
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ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.1077.4085 2023-05-15T15:11:28+02:00 Nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species Sofie Sjögersten • Dries P J Kuijper René Van Der Wal • Maarten J J E Loonen • Ad H L Huiskes Sarah J Woodin The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1077.4085 en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1077.4085 Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. https://pure.knaw.nl/portal/files/460548/Sjogersten_ea_4847.pdf text ftciteseerx 2020-05-03T00:16:13Z Abstract Herbivores may increase the productivity of forage plants; however, this depends on the return of nutrients from faeces to the forage plants. The aim of this study was to test if nitrogen (N) from faeces is available to forage plants and whether the return of nutrients differs between plant species using 15 N natural abundance in faeces and plant tissue. To investigate the effect of grazing on N transfer, we carried out a grazing experiment in wet and mesic tundra on high Arctic Spitsbergen using barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) as the model herbivore. N inputs (from faeces) increased with grazing pressure at both the wet and mesic sites, with the greatest N input from faeces at the wet site. The d 15 N ratio in plant tissue from grazed plots was enriched in mosses and the dwarf shrub species, reflecting the d 15 N signature of faeces-derived N, but no such pattern was observed in the dominant grasses. This study demonstrates that the d 15 N signature of faeces and forage species is a useful tool to explore how grazing impacts on N acquisition. Our findings suggest that plant species which acquire their N close to the soil surface (e.g. mosses) access more of the N from faeces than species with deeper root systems (e.g. grasses) suggesting a transfer of N from the preferred forage species to the mosses and dwarf shrubs, which are less preferred by the geese. In conclusion, the moss layer appears to disrupt the nitrogen return from herbivores to their forage species. Text Arctic Branta leucopsis Tundra Spitsbergen Unknown Arctic |
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Abstract Herbivores may increase the productivity of forage plants; however, this depends on the return of nutrients from faeces to the forage plants. The aim of this study was to test if nitrogen (N) from faeces is available to forage plants and whether the return of nutrients differs between plant species using 15 N natural abundance in faeces and plant tissue. To investigate the effect of grazing on N transfer, we carried out a grazing experiment in wet and mesic tundra on high Arctic Spitsbergen using barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) as the model herbivore. N inputs (from faeces) increased with grazing pressure at both the wet and mesic sites, with the greatest N input from faeces at the wet site. The d 15 N ratio in plant tissue from grazed plots was enriched in mosses and the dwarf shrub species, reflecting the d 15 N signature of faeces-derived N, but no such pattern was observed in the dominant grasses. This study demonstrates that the d 15 N signature of faeces and forage species is a useful tool to explore how grazing impacts on N acquisition. Our findings suggest that plant species which acquire their N close to the soil surface (e.g. mosses) access more of the N from faeces than species with deeper root systems (e.g. grasses) suggesting a transfer of N from the preferred forage species to the mosses and dwarf shrubs, which are less preferred by the geese. In conclusion, the moss layer appears to disrupt the nitrogen return from herbivores to their forage species. |
author2 |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
Sofie Sjögersten • Dries P J Kuijper René Van Der Wal • Maarten J J E Loonen • Ad H L Huiskes Sarah J Woodin |
spellingShingle |
Sofie Sjögersten • Dries P J Kuijper René Van Der Wal • Maarten J J E Loonen • Ad H L Huiskes Sarah J Woodin Nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species |
author_facet |
Sofie Sjögersten • Dries P J Kuijper René Van Der Wal • Maarten J J E Loonen • Ad H L Huiskes Sarah J Woodin |
author_sort |
Sofie Sjögersten |
title |
Nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species |
title_short |
Nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species |
title_full |
Nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species |
title_fullStr |
Nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species |
title_sort |
nitrogen transfer between herbivores and their forage species |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1077.4085 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Branta leucopsis Tundra Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Branta leucopsis Tundra Spitsbergen |
op_source |
https://pure.knaw.nl/portal/files/460548/Sjogersten_ea_4847.pdf |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1077.4085 |
op_rights |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
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1766342309535809536 |