Does plant diversity influence phosphorus cycling in experimental grasslands?

Plant diversity was shown to influence the N cycle, but plant diversity effects on other nutrients remain unclear. We tested whether plant species richness or the presence/absence of particular functional plant groups influences P partitioning among differently extractable pools in soil, P concentrations in soil solution, and exploitation of P resources (i.e. the proportion of total bioavailable P in plants and soil that was stored in aboveground biomass) by the plant community in a 5-year biodiversity experiment in grassland.The experimental grassland site established in 2002 had 82 plots with different combinations of numbers of species (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 60) and functional groups (grasses, small non-leguminous herbs, tall non-leguminous herbs, legumes). In 2007, we determined P partitioning (Hedley) in soil of all experimental plots. We sampled plant community biomass and continuously extracted soil solution with suction plates from March 2003 to February 2007 and determined PO4-P concentrations in all samples.The presence of legumes increased aboveground P storage in plants and decreased labile Pi concentrations in soil because of their higher demands for P associated with N2 fixation. During cold periods, readily plant-available PO4-P concentrations in soil solution increased in legume-containing mixtures likely caused by leaching from P-rich residues. We found a consistently positive effect of plant species richness on P exploitation by the plant community which was independent of the presence of particular plant functional groups. With proceeding time after establishment, plant species richness increasingly contributed to the explanation of the variance in P exploitation. Therefore, plant strategies to efficiently acquire P seem to become increasingly important in these grasslands. We conclude that diverse plant communities are better prepared than less diverse mixtures to respond to P limitation induced by continuously high atmospheric N deposition.

► Legumes increased P storage in aboveground biomass of grassland mixtures.
► Legumes decreased inorganic P concentrations in soil.
► During cold periods, legumes increased Pi concentrations in soil solution.
► Plant species richness had a positive effect on P exploitation by plant mixtures.
► The effect of plant species richness on P exploitation gained importance with time.