Dear colleagues,
Biology Thursday seminar continues on 17th November.
Due to the time difference between Argentina and Finland, this seminar will take place
exceptionally at 2 pm.
Join us on zoom with this link:
https://oulu.zoom.us/j/62917763539?pwd=WENZRy9Bb3NlSzlyeVlVamJ4RHR5Zz09
Sofía Campana
from Buenos Aires University will present her research on:
Plant biomass dynamics in grasslands devoted to livestock production in the context of increased nutrient loads
Changes in livestock loads and eutrophication associated with human activities are modifying the functioning and dynamics of plant communities. The aim of this study was
to understand the interactive effects of livestock grazing and chronic nutrient addition on the functioning (biomass accumulation and temporal stability) of grassland plant communities and the mechanisms involved in their responses. We carried out a factorial
experiment of livestock exclusion and nutrient addition (N, P, and K; n = 6 blocks) during five years in a temperate grassland devoted to cattle production (Flooding Pampa, Argentina). Grazing and nutrient addition synergistically controlled grassland above-ground
plant biomass as grazing reduced biomass by 52%, but when combined with fertilization, this reduction was 70%. Although fertilization increased aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and leaf nutrient concentration, it also intensified cattle’s plant
consumption, thus reducing plant biomass in the grazed grassland. ANPP stability was three times higher with livestock, regardless of fertilization, which was associated with lower plant species dominance and with higher asynchrony of grassland's species.
Our results provided empirical evidence of the mechanisms that modulated plant biomass dynamics in grasslands devoted to cattle production in the context of increased nutrient loads.
More info about Sofía:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sofia-Campana
Related research:
Plant quality and primary productivity modulate plant biomass responses to the joint effects of grazing and fertilization in a mesic grassland, Campana & Yahdjian, 2021
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/avsc.12588
Livestock exclusion reduces the temporal stability of grassland productivity
regardless of eutrophication, Campana et al., 2022
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721077858?via%3Dihub
The seminars program for this semester can be found here:
https://thursdayseminarbiology.wordpress.com/
See you on Thursday!
Noémie
Noémie Pichon
Post-doctoral researcher
University of Oulu, Finland