Can plants stimulate soil microbes and their own nutrient supply? Evidence from a grazing tolerant grass
-
-
Authors: E. W. Hamilton, and D. A. Frank
Date: 2001
Journal: Ecology
Volume: 82
Number: 9
Pages: 2397-2402
Summary of Methods: Hamilton and Frank performed a 13C pulse-chase experiment on a common grazing tolerant grass, Poa pratensis, of Yellowstone National Park, to follow carbon flow into the soil rhizosphere and microbial biomass and the associated effects on soil N availability and plant N dynamics. Results showed that clipping of laboratory-grown plants led to increased root exudation of carbon and incorporation of exudate by rhizosphere microbes. This increase in microbe activity, in turn, led to more available nitrogen and an associated increase in nitrogen uptake, shoot nitrogen, and photosynthesis. The authors suggest that these laboratory-observed linkages provide a general positive feedback mechanism by which herbivory promotes plant regrowth as well as energy and nutrient flows in grazed landscapes.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: grassland, grazing, herbivory, microbe, nitrogen, poa pratensis, yellowstone national park
Annotation: Plants were unclipped or clipped to 6 cm at repeat 24 hour and 7 day intervals. Poa pratensis was obtained from a grazed grassland in Yellowstone National Park in 1997 and was propagated vegetatively in a greenhouse at Syracuse University. Season of use is not specified.
-
Get article
Cite article with DOI
-