Skip to main content
Dryad

Saccharum spontaneum biomass and associated soil and foliar nutrient data

Data files

Apr 19, 2023 version files 12.92 KB

Abstract

Invasive C4 grasses that colonize tropical landscapes abandoned from use for intensive grazing and agriculture can inhibit natural regeneration of secondary forest. In Panama, dense stands of Saccharum spontaneum require active forest restoration to re-establish successional processes. In this region, restoration strategies typically involve clearing grass cover and applying fertilizer prior to planting tree seedlings. However, if fertilizers alleviate nutrient limitation in the grasses and enhance their competition with tree seedlings, it can add to costs for manual maintenance of the sites free of Saccharum. Here we evaluated how S. spontaneum responds to nitrogen and phosphorus addition in the field to determine whether S. spontaneum is nutrient limited in this system. S. spontaneum was both nitrogen and phosphorus as revealed through increased foliar nutrient concentrations. S. spontaneum biomass was significantly greater in both nitrogen and phosphorus addition plots after both the first growth period (early rainy season) and second growth period (late rainy season), with release from co-limitation of N and P, and the overall impact of N, greater during the second growth period. Nutrient limitation in S. spontaneum and seasonal shifts in resource allocation suggest caution when fertilizing areas under restoration that were previously dominated by exotic grasses.