Compensatory growth of three herbaceous perennial species: the effects of clipping and nutrient availability

Authors:
  • SHSamantha Hicks
    Samantha Hicks
  • RTRoy Turkington
    Roy Turkington
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Abstract
The continuum of responses model (CRM) and the growth rate model (GRM) make conflicting predictions about the effects of soil nutrient availability on the resilience of plants to herbivory. A factorial experiment was conducted in the understory of the boreal forest to examine the effects of fertilization and simulated herbivory on the rate and amount of regrowth of three herbaceous perennial species (Achillea millefolium L., Festuca altaica Trin., and Mertensia paniculata (Aiton) G. Don.). As clipping intensity increases various measures of plant performance decrease. Fertilization reduces the ability of clipped plants to compensate for biomass loss regardless of species and growth measure. Under natural soil fertility levels in this study, M. paniculata is more likely to compensate for leaf loss than A. millefolium and F. altaica. Contrary to the findings of previous field studies, the compensatory responses of the three species studied were most consistent with the predictions of the GRM. Plants in our study sites grow in nutrient-poor soils, whereas the majority of compensatory studies have been carried out on herbaceous or woody plants in temperate regions. Resources are generally more abundant in temperate zones than in boreal forest zones, and the GRM may be a better predictor of compensatory ability of plants growing in naturally nutrient-deficient soils.Key words: herbivory, regrowth, fertility level, clipping intensity, compensation.

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