1. EFFECTS OF DOMINANT PLANT
REMOVAL ON SOIL NUTRIENT
Pratyasha Agrawal
Supervisor: Marc Cadotte & Carlos Alberto Arnillas
2. Research Question
How is the soil nutrient (nitrogen and
phosphorus) composition affected when there is
dominant plant removal?
3. Subordinate vs Dominant Species
Subordinate
• Lower Biomass
• Slower Growth Rate
• Low SLA
• Low Leaf N
• High Root NP
Dominant
• Higher Biomass
• Faster Growth Rate
• High SLA
• High Leaf N
• Low Root NP
Citation: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.12789/full
4. Why Is This Important? – Background Info
• Mechanisms:
• Nitrogen:
• Phosphorus:
N2
NO2
-
Atmosphere Fixation Usable Form
Solution P - Orthophosphate Active P – Solid Form Fixed P
H2PO4
-
P P
5. Why Is This Important? – Background Info
• External World Implications:
Species
Diversity
Soil Nutrient
Increase
Plant Community
Richness Increase
Citation: http://cedarcreek.umn.edu/biblio/fulltext/t2138.pdf
6. Hypothesis 1
SOIL ENRICHMENT - NUTRIENTS WILL BE ALLOCATED TO OTHER PLANTS.
N- P- N-
P- N- N-
N- P- N-
P- N- N-
Nutrients go to
dominant plant
Nutrients go to non-
dominant plant
Dominant Plant Removal
7. Hypothesis 2
• SOIL ENRICHMENT - PLANT WILL DECOMPOSE INTO SOIL AND
INCREASE NUTRIENT LEVEL
N- P- N-
P- N- N-
Dominant Plant Decomposition
N- P- P- N- N-
P- N- N- P- N-
Nutrients are in
dominant plant
Dominant plant decay
adds nutrients
8. Hypothesis 3
• SOIL ENRICHMENT - LEAKAGE OCCURRED
Leakage
P- N-
P- N-
Abundant Nutrient in Soil Leakage result in less nutrient
N- P- P- N- N-
P- N- N- P- N-
9. Sampling
• LOCATION: Koffler Scientific Reserve (Oct 11th + Additional Date)
• PLOT SIZE:
• Total: 155 Plots
• 3 Trials Per Plot
• Aim: Uniform Soil Sample - Errors
1.0m
1.0m
Size = 1.0m x 1.0m(Not all plot sizes will be used)
