BayCEER Workshop 2016

Using a model plant community to decouple soil effects from climate gradients: A Phytometer approach

O 2.3 in Cross-scale relations in ecology and environmental research

13.10.2016, 15:00-15:15, H36, NW III

Introduction

  Studies on vegetation ecology and environmental gradients are often muddied by factors such as species turnover along the gradients and inability to control edaphic conditions. Developing a standardized and controlled 'living unit' for observation alongside such studies can ameliorate complications arising from these two cofactors.  We propose a phytometer approach which can be added onto existing experiments with low effort and be used as a measuring stick for understanding the relative contributions of soil and the studied environmental gradient.

Material and Methods

 We grew three common grassland species in mixtures with two soil types alongside two current experiments. Species were planted in a spatially consistent scheme in either a standard vermiculite/fertilize mix or in the local soil. After 7 weeks of growth we clipped, dried, and weighed aboveground biomass. We analyzed the interactive effects of the experimental gradients (elevation and drought) and soil types on community biomass to determine relative effect sizes. Further, we looked at species level responses to understand potential compensatory community dynamics.

Results

 Preliminary results suggest a strong role of soil in driving observed phytometer responses. Further analyses should reveal whether these differences in soil interact with the manipulated gradients, giving further insight into the relative influences of soil, climate, and species composition on observed ecological phenomena.

Conclusions

 We hope to demonstrate that using our phytometer approach in conjunction with an existing experiment allows for stronger inferences on the relative effect sizes of environmental gradients studied in vegetation ecology. By providing a baseline community and soil type that is standardized globally, researchers can parse out the relative influences of species composition and soil from their subject of interest, potentially pointing to interactive effects and future avenues of research.

Keywords: Phytometer; Community ecology; Soil; Climate gradients;

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