%0 Book Section
%T Pigment ratios of the mediterranean bryophyte pleurochaete squarrosa respond to simulated nitrogen deposition
publisher Springer Netherlands
%D 2014
%@ https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129034
%X Nitrogen (N) deposition alters ecosystem structure and functioning. To study potential impacts on Mediterranean ecosystems, we designed a field fertilization experiment where NH4NO3 was added at four rates (0, 10, 20 and 50 kg N ha−1 year−1). The terricolous moss Pleurochaete squarrosa was sampled and pigments extracted in spring-autumn 2008 and spring 2009. Simulated N deposition increased lutein and VAZ pigments to chlorophyll ratios in autumn 2008; β-carotene to chlorophyll ratio was reduced in spring 2009; (neoxantin + lutein) to β-carotene increased with N supply and this was explained as higher investment in light-harvesting complexes than in reaction centres. Response of carotene to chlorophylls and of (neoxantin + lutein)/β-carotene to N enrichment were only evident when soil NH4 and Mn, respectively, were used as covariates. Thus, covariance analyses are highly recommended to detect N fertilization effects on terricolous species when field experiments are set up in highly heterogeneous environments.
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