Species-rich Grassland Can Persist under Nitrogen-Rich but Phosphorus-Limited Conditions

Deposition of nitrogen is assumed to cause loss of botanical diversity, probably through increased production and exclusion of less competitive species. However, if production is (co-)limited by phosphorus, acceleration of the phosphorus cycle may be responsible for the diversity loss and, where that is the case, nitrogen emission reduction may turn out to be an ineffective mitigation strategy. Here we study the feasibility of this mechanism through adding potassium and phosphorus to grassland where nitrogen limitation is absent.