To address the potential interactive effects of fire, aboveground biomass removal, and nutrient amendments on above- and belowground responses, a long-term field experiment was initiated in 1986 as part of the Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program.
We conducted a “home vs. away” plant-soil feedback greenhouse experiment using two C3 grass species (Bromus inermis and Pascopyrum smithii) grown in soil collected from Konza Prairie. We used a closed-circuit CO2 trapping method and isotopic analysis to differentiate between root-derived and SOM-derived CO2 production. We investigated how soil chemistry and soil bacterial communities differed in soils with a history of B. inermis vs soils with a history of P. smithii.
Climate change is expected to shift precipitation regimes in the North American Central Plains with likely impacts on ecosystem functioning. In tallgrass prairies, water and nitrogen (N) can co-limit ecosystem processes, so changes in precipitation may have complex effects on carbon (C) and N cycling. Rates of N supply such as N mineralization and nitrification respond differently to short- and long-term patterns in water availability, and previous climate patterns may exert legacy effects on current N cycling that could alter ecosystem sensitivity to current precipitation regimes.
