title: Soil phosphorus constrains biodiversity across European grasslands.
abstract: Nutrient pollution presents a serious threat to biodiversity conservation. In terrestrial ecosystems, the deleterious effects of nitrogen pollution are increasingly understood and several mitigating environmental policies have been developed. Compared to nitrogen, the effects of increased phosphorus have received far less attention, although some studies have indicated that phosphorus pollution may be detrimental for biodiversity as well. On the basis of a dataset covering 501 grassland plots throughout Europe, we demonstrate that, independent of the level of atmospheric nitrogen deposition and soil acidity, plant species richness was consistently negatively related to soil phosphorus. We also identified thresholds in soil phosphorus above which biodiversity appears to remain at a constant low level. Our results indicate that nutrient management policies biased toward reducing nitrogen pollution will fail to preserve biodiversity. As soil phosphorus is known to be extremely persistent and we found no evidence for a critical threshold below which no environmental harm is expected, we suggest that agro-environmental schemes should include grasslands that are permanently free from phosphorus fertilization.
authors.affiliation: Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Department Biology, University of Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 31, Leuven, B-3001, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ceulemans
authors.forename: Carly J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Duchateau
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jacquemyn
authors.forename: David J G
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Gowing
authors.forename: Roel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Merckx
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: van Rooijen
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goethem
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bobbink
authors.forename: Edu
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dorland
authors.forename: Cassandre
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gaudnik
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alard
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Corcket
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Nancy B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Dise
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dupré
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diekmann
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Honnay
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D005060:Europe; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D005843:Geography; D065948:Grassland; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D010758:Phosphorus
keywords: atmospheric nitrogen deposition; environmental policy; grassland; nutrient enrichment; phosphorus