Grasslands account for as much as one-third of the net primary production on land. Results from a network of experiments carried out on five continents suggest that two or more nutrients often constrain the productivity of these globally significant ecosystems.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
The rise of grasslands is linked to atmospheric CO2 decline in the late Palaeogene
Nature Communications Open Access 12 January 2022
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Fay, P. A. et al. Nature Plants 1, 15080 (2015).
Huenneke, L. F. et al. Ecology 71, 478–491 (1990).
Elser, J. J. et al. Ecol. Lett. 14, 1135–1142 (2007).
Fowler, D. et al. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 368, 20130164 (2013).
Bobbink, R. et al. Ecol. Appl. 20, 30–59 (2010).
Vitousek, P. M. & Field, C. B. Biogeochemistry 46, 179–202 (1999).
Menge, D. N. L., Pacala, S. W. & Hedin, L. O. Am. Nat. 173, 164–175 (2009).
Vitousek, P. M. & Howarth, R. W. Biogeochemistry 13, 87–115 (1991).
Houlton, B. Z., Wang, Y. P., Vitousek, P. M. & Field, C. B. Nature 454, 327–330 (2008).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vitousek, P. Grassland ecology: Complexity of nutrient constraints. Nature Plants 1, 15098 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.98
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.98
This article is cited by
-
Changes of mineral nutrition (K, Ca, and Mg) in soil and plants following historical nitrogen inputs in a temperate steppe: the implications for grass tetany
Plant and Soil (2023)
-
The rise of grasslands is linked to atmospheric CO2 decline in the late Palaeogene
Nature Communications (2022)
-
Availability of soil base cations and micronutrients along soil profile after 13-year nitrogen and water addition in a semi-arid grassland
Biogeochemistry (2021)