{"type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [{"id": "10.1002/ldr.2784", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-13T16:14:14Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2017-08-24", "title": "Alleviating Nitrogen Limitation in Mediterranean Maquis Vegetation Leads to Ecological Degradation", "description": "Abstract

Soils are being degraded at an alarming rate and thereby also crucial ecosystem goods and services. Nitrogen (N) enrichment is a major driver of this degradation. While the negative impacts of N enrichment on vegetation are well known globally, those on various ecological interactions, and on ecosystem functioning, remain largely unknown. Because Mediterranean ecosystems are N limited, they are good model systems for evaluating how N enrichment impacts not only vegetation but also ecological partnerships and ecosystem functioning. Using a 7\uffe2\uff80\uff90year N\uffe2\uff80\uff90manipulation (dose and form) field experiment running in a Mediterranean Basin maquis located in a region with naturally low ambient N deposition (<4\uffc2\uffa0kg\uffc2\uffa0N\uffc2\uffa0ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0y\uffe2\uff88\uff921), we assessed the impacts of the N additions on (i) the dominant plant species (photosynthetic N\uffe2\uff80\uff90use efficiency); (ii) plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil ecological partnerships with ectomycorrhiza and N\uffe2\uff80\uff90fixing bacteria; and (iii) ecosystem degradation (plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil cover, biological mineral weathering and soil N fixation). N additions significantly disrupted plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil cover, plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil biotic interactions, and ecosystem functioning compared with ambient N deposition conditions. However, the higher the ammonium dose (alone or with nitrate), the more drastic these disruptions were. We report a critical threshold at 20\uffe2\uff80\uff9340\uffc2\uffa0kg ammonium ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0y\uffe2\uff88\uff921 whereby severe ecosystem degradation can be expected. These observations are critical to help explain the mechanisms behind ecosystem degradation, to describe the collective loss of organisms and multifunction in the landscape, and to predict potential fragmentation of Mediterranean maquis under conditions of unrelieved N enrichment. Copyright \uffc2\uffa9 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "plant\u2013soil ecological partnerships", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Mediterranean", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "nitrogen", "ammonium", "soil degradation", "13. Climate action", "ecosystem functioning", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Plant-soil ecological partnerships", "Ecosystem functioning", "ecosystem degradation", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Ecosystem degradation", "ecosystems", "Ammonium"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ldr.2784"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2784"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Land%20Degradation%20%26amp%3B%20Development", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/ldr.2784", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/ldr.2784", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/ldr.2784"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-09-12T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "1959.7/uws:44389", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-04-13T16:26:38Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2017-08-24", "title": "Alleviating Nitrogen Limitation in Mediterranean Maquis Vegetation Leads to Ecological Degradation", "description": "Abstract

Soils are being degraded at an alarming rate and thereby also crucial ecosystem goods and services. Nitrogen (N) enrichment is a major driver of this degradation. While the negative impacts of N enrichment on vegetation are well known globally, those on various ecological interactions, and on ecosystem functioning, remain largely unknown. Because Mediterranean ecosystems are N limited, they are good model systems for evaluating how N enrichment impacts not only vegetation but also ecological partnerships and ecosystem functioning. Using a 7\uffe2\uff80\uff90year N\uffe2\uff80\uff90manipulation (dose and form) field experiment running in a Mediterranean Basin maquis located in a region with naturally low ambient N deposition (<4\uffc2\uffa0kg\uffc2\uffa0N\uffc2\uffa0ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0y\uffe2\uff88\uff921), we assessed the impacts of the N additions on (i) the dominant plant species (photosynthetic N\uffe2\uff80\uff90use efficiency); (ii) plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil ecological partnerships with ectomycorrhiza and N\uffe2\uff80\uff90fixing bacteria; and (iii) ecosystem degradation (plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil cover, biological mineral weathering and soil N fixation). N additions significantly disrupted plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil cover, plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93soil biotic interactions, and ecosystem functioning compared with ambient N deposition conditions. However, the higher the ammonium dose (alone or with nitrate), the more drastic these disruptions were. We report a critical threshold at 20\uffe2\uff80\uff9340\uffc2\uffa0kg ammonium ha\uffe2\uff88\uff921\uffc2\uffa0y\uffe2\uff88\uff921 whereby severe ecosystem degradation can be expected. These observations are critical to help explain the mechanisms behind ecosystem degradation, to describe the collective loss of organisms and multifunction in the landscape, and to predict potential fragmentation of Mediterranean maquis under conditions of unrelieved N enrichment. Copyright \uffc2\uffa9 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.