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- Title
Water table depth affects productivity, water use, and the response to nitrogen addition in a savanna system.
- Authors
Ford, Chelcy R.; Mitchell, Robert J.; Teskey, Robert O.
- Abstract
We investigated annual aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and transpiration (E) of the dominant plant life forms, longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) trees and wiregrass (Aristida stricta Michx.), in a fire-maintained savanna. Experimental plots spanned a natural hydrologic gradient (xeric and mesic site types) mediated by soil moisture (θ) and water table depth (WTD), and received additions of either 0 or 100 kg N·ha–1·year–1. Low rates of ANPP (1.3–2.2 Mg·ha–1) and annual E (108–380 mm) were observed in these communities. WTD and N addition explained 95% of the variation in community ANPP, whereas site type and WTD explained 83% of variation in community E. Between tree and grass life forms, longleaf pine ANPP was more coupled to WTD than wiregrass. For any given leaf area supported, ANPP of longleaf pine increased linearly with increasing water use and decreasing WTD. The longleaf pine ANPP response to N addition was greater in sites with high water use compared with those with low water use, indicating that this savanna system is colimited by nutrient and water availability and that water table depth plays a role in regulating savanna productivity.
- Subjects
WATER table; SAVANNA ecology; NITROGEN; WATER use; PLANT transpiration; LONGLEAF pine
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2008, Vol 38, Issue 8, p2118
- ISSN
0045-5067
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1139/X08-061