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The influence of individual plants on soil nutrient dynamics in the Central Grassland region of the United States

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dc.contributor.authorVinton, Mary Ann, author
dc.contributor.authorBurke, Ingrid C., advisor
dc.contributor.authorCoffin, Debra P., committee member
dc.contributor.authorGrier, Charles, C., committee member
dc.contributor.authorDetling, J. K. (James K.), committee member
dc.date.accessioned2007-01-03T06:31:01Z
dc.date.available2007-01-03T06:31:01Z
dc.date.issued1994
dc.description.abstractThe extent to which plant community structure influences ecosystem nutrient cycling is an important but poorly understood element of ecosystem ecology. I studied the effects of two aspects of vegetation structure, plant cover patterns and plant species composition, on nutrient cycling in soils of shortgrass-steppe, mid- and tallgrass prairie, and desert grassland in the Great Plains. My general objective was to identify the importance of plant cover patterns and species composition, especially in the context of other environmental variables, to soil nutrient dynamics in these grasslands. In the dry shortgrass-steppe and desert grasslands, plant cover patterns were very important in determining patterns of soil nutrient dynamics. Soils under plants had generally higher rates of carbon and nitrogen pool sizes and turnover rates than soils from adjacent bare ground areas between plants. Individual plant characteristics, such as lifespan and growth form, explained the degree of soil heterogeneity in some cases, with the most long-lived, productive species fostering the most plant-interspace soil heterogeneity. Also, abiotic environmental variables explained patterns in plant-induced soil heterogeneity. The desert grassland with the largest proportion of bare ground, and thus possibly the most soil erosion, had the largest plant-interspace soil heterogeneity. The wet grasslands, the mid- and tallgrass prairies, had more continuous plant cover; thus plant cover did not impose strong control over soil nutrient patterns in these ecosystems. Plant litter quantity and quality of tissue for decomposers differed between species and grassland ecosystems and, in some cases, affected soil nutrient cycling. Kochia scoparia, an introduced species in shortgrass steppe, had high quality tissue (low carbon:nitrogen and lignin:nitrogen) and had relatively high rates of nitrogen and carbon mineralization in its soils. Precipitation affected plant tissue quality, with a general decrease in average quality and increase in inter-species variation in quality from dry to wet grasslands. Vegetation structure, and its interaction with site-based abiotic variables such as precipitation, had important effects on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in these grassland ecosystems. Results indicate that information about plant community structure may be critical to large-scale estimates of ecosystem function.
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifier1994_Summer_Vinton_Mary.pdf
dc.identifierETDF1994400026ECOL
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10217/82136
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relationCatalog record number (MMS ID): 991023904089703361
dc.relationQH541.5.P7.V44 1994
dc.relation.ispartof1980-1999
dc.relation.referencesLauenroth, William K. and Daniel G. Milchunas, SGS-LTER Ecosystem Stress Area: Long-term dataset following nutrient enrichment stress on the Central Plains Experimental Range in Nunn, Colorado, USA, ARS Study Number 3. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/83317
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subject.lcshGrassland ecology -- United States
dc.subject.lcshPlant-soil relationships -- United States
dc.titleThe influence of individual plants on soil nutrient dynamics in the Central Grassland region of the United States
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineEcology
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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