Paper: “Grassland Compost Amendments Increase Plant Production without Changing Plant Communities,” Ecosphere 7, no. 3: e01270. 10.1002/ecs2.1270
Research Team: Rebecca Ryals, Valerie T. Eviner, Claudia Stein, Katharine N. Suding and Whendee L. Silver (Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California atBerkeley, and Department of Plant Sciences, University of California at Davis)
Findings: A one-time compost amendment produced large and persistent increases in aboveground biomass for both grassland ecosystems; however, it did not majorly affect species richness or abundance at either grassland site. Overall plant communities were resistant to compost addition. While fertilizer (with inorganic N) has been shown to drive plant invasions and reduce diversity, this study suggests that compost (with organic N) does not drive plant invasions or reduce plant diversity.
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