Long-term nitrogen manipulation experiment with plant community monitoring

Knowledge graph centered on Long-term nitrogen manipulation experiment with plant community monitoring with 74 nodes and 180 connections. Top connected: Hummingbird, Bombus, Ipomopsis, Ligusticum porteri, Delphinium.

Method synopsis

A controlled field experiment testing the effects of nitrogen addition and reduction on plant community composition over 8 years. Annual percent cover monitoring tracked responses of invasive and native species.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 12 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Chronic, low-level nitrogen deposition enhances abundances of ant-protected herbivores inhabiting an imperiled foundation species (2021), Acta Oecologica. The protocol was originally introduced by The response of four subalpine forbs to supplemental nitrogen within different soil moisture environments (2009). Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Establish experimental plots
   36 circular plots with 5 m diameter were established, each containing big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and a single Formica obscuripes ant nest. Plots were randomly assigned to treatments.
   Quantities: 36 plots total, 5 m diameter each, 1 ant nest per plotDuration: Initial establishment in 2010Conditions: Sagebrush-rabbitbrush steppe ecosystem near Altmont, Colorado
   Equipment: measuring tools for plot establishment
2. Apply nitrogen treatments
   Half of the plots (18) were randomly selected to receive nitrogen treatments of 0.5 g m⁻² slow-release ammonium nitrate pellets applied manually each summer from 2010 to 2018.
   Quantities: 0.5 g m⁻² ammonium nitrate pellets, applied to 18 plotsDuration: Annual application each summer from 2010-2018Conditions: Summer application timing
   Equipment: slow-release ammonium nitrate pellets

Typical Equipment

• nitrogen amendment materials
• percent cover estimation methods
• growth measurement tools
• photosynthesis measurement equipment

Output Measurements

• percent cover by species
• plant growth
• photosynthetic rate

Papers Using This Protocol (13)

Species Studied With This Protocol