Abstract
Aims
Soil processes in arid ecosystems are strongly controlled by resource scarcity. Grazing intensification can induce changes in ecosystem processes through multiple pathways, adding new constraints to those of local conditions. We focus on grazing-induced changes in litter traits and soil environment that may affect litter decomposition and N dynamics in temperate grass-shrub steppes.
Methods
We performed three litterbag decomposition experiments to evaluate: i) the effect of litter traits in a common garden (ex situ), ii) the effect of soil environment using a foreign common litter substrate (in situ), and iii) the interactive effects of litter traits and soil environment (grazed vs. exclosure communities, reciprocal transplants in situ). Field experiments were replicated in three blocks with paired plots under a long-term exclosure (> 25 years) and under year-round sheep grazing. Local litter included mixtures of species of grasses and shrubs, separately.
Results
Grazing exclusion did not alter litter decomposition rates, either through changes in litter traits or in soil environment. Nevertheless, N released during grass litter decomposition was 286% higher in exclosures than in grazing communities. The difference was associated to changes in litter C:N ratio. The effects were maintained when results were integrated to the entire litter community.
Conclusion
Our study suggests that litter decomposition rates in arid steppes are strongly controlled by local drivers. Ungulate grazing does not have an important influence on litter mass loss, but it can exert a strong control on N flux during decomposition, by changing grass litter traits.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are published in the MENDELEY repository. https://doi.org/10.17632/f88w6mv55r.1
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to EEA INTA Río Mayo that granted field access and work. F. Reyes, L. Boyero, C. Silvoso, P. Graff, G. Millapán, L. Ventura, and W. de Nicoló provided advice or helped with field and lab work. P. Graff and N. Mazía performed a friendly revision to the manuscript with valuable comments. The study was funded by Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica – Argentina (BID-PICT Redes 2007-0284) and a CONICET doctoral and postdoctoral fellowship to the first author. We greatly appreciate the comments and suggestions of the reviewers of the manuscript, which helped improving its quality.
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Codes from the main results are published in the MENDELEY repository (https://doi.org/10.17632/f88w6mv55r.1). Codes from soil data analysis and litter biomass are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Funding
This study was funded by Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica – Argentina (BID-PICT Redes 2007–0284) and a CONICET doctoral and postdoctoral fellowship to the first author.
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Maria-Victoria Piazza and Enrique Chaneton conceptualized the study. Maria-Victoria Piazza led material preparation, data collection and analysis. Gastón R. Oñatibia and Martín R. Aguiar contributed to study design and field activities. Martín R. Aguiar and Enrique Chaneton were responsible for funding acquisition. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Maria-Victoria Piazza and Enrique Chaneton, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Gastón R. Oñatibia and Martín R. Aguiar contributed, read and approved the final manuscript.
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Piazza, MV., Oñatibia, G.R., Aguiar, M.R. et al. Long-term impact of domestic ungulates versus the local controls of the litter decomposition process in arid steppes. Plant Soil 467, 483–497 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05088-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05088-4