Species richness in a successional grassland: Effects of nitrogen enrichment and plant litter

We conducted a field experiment in a successional grassland to investigate the short-term effects of nitrogen enrichment and plant litter on plant spe cies richness and on the establishment of a native grass (Andropogon gerard i) that was experimentally introduced to the study site as seed. Additions of nitrogen fertilizer to experimental plots over two growing seasons incre ased plant production as indicated by increases in both living plant biomas s and litter biomass. Increased productivity reduced species richness by ef fectively preventing the seedling establishment of the subordinate forb spe cies and reduced the recruitment of Andropogon gerardi by inhibiting both g ermination and survival. Litter removals carried out at each of two levels of nitrogen enrichment (no nitrogen, nitrogen added) showed that litter sig nificantly reduced species richness by the same amount in fertilized and un fertilized plots, suggesting that living biomass and litter were purely add itive, rather than interactive in their effects. In contrast, the results o f litter additions suggested that the declines in richness associated with fertilization could largely be due to the suppressive effects of increased litter biomass alone. As a whole, the results indicate that litter and livi ng biomass are largely substitutable in their inhibitory effects on species richness in highly productive successional grasslands due to their indepen dent and equivalent capacities to attenuate light to very low levels. This study highlights the combined roles of competition and plant litter in infl uencing the diversity of grasslands through effects on seedling establishme nt.