Different plant traits affect two pathways of riparian nitrogen removal in a restored freshwater wetland
Abstract
Background & aims: Plants may have dissimilar effects on ecosystem processes because
they possess different attributes. Given increasing biodiversity losses, it is important
to understand which plant traits are key drivers of ecosystem functions. To address
this question, we studied the response of two ecosystem functions that remove nitrogen
(N) from wetland soils, the accumulation of N in plant biomass and denitrification
potential (DNP), to variation in plant trait composition. Methods: Our experiment
manipulated plant composition in a riparian wetland. We determined relative importance
of plant traits and environmental variables as predictors of each ecosystem function.
Results: We demonstrate that Water Use Efficiency (WUE) had a strong negative effect
on biomass N. Root porosity and belowground biomass were negatively correlated with
DNP. Trait ordination indicated that WUE was largely orthogonal to traits that maximized
DNP. Conclusions: These results indicate that plant species with different trait values
are required to maintain multiple ecosystem functions, and provide a more mechanistic,
trait-based link between the recent findings that higher biodiversity is necessary
for multi-functionality. While we selected plant traits based on ecological theory,
several of the plant traits were not good predictors of each ecosystem function suggesting
the ecological theory linking traits to function is incomplete and requires strengthening.
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15712Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1007/s11104-011-1113-3Publication Info
(2013). Different plant traits affect two pathways of riparian nitrogen removal in a restored
freshwater wetland. Plant and Soil, 365(1-2). pp. 41-57. 10.1007/s11104-011-1113-3. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15712.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Curtis J. Richardson
Research Professor of Resource Ecology in the Division of Environmental Science and
Policy
Curtis J. Richardson is Professor of Resource Ecology and founding Director of the
Duke University Wetland Center in the Nicholas School of the Environment. Dr. Richardson
earned his degrees from the State University of New York and the University of Tennessee.
His research interests in applied ecology focus on long-term ecosystem response to
large-scale perturbations such as climate change, toxic materials, trace metals, flooding,
or nutrient additions. He has specific interests in phosphor
Justin Prouty Wright
Professor of Biology
My research focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of patterns of biological
diversity across the planet. I am particularly interested in two broad questions:
1)How does the modification of the environment by organisms affect community structure
and ecosystem function? and 2) what aspects of biodiversity matter most in the regulation
of ecosystem function? While much of my research has focused on wetland plant communities,
I am willing to study any organism and work in any ecosys
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