Plant-plant nitrogen transfer is prevalent in a semi-arid shrubland and affects the foliar N content of recipient plants

González-Díaz & Montesinos-Navarro

In dry ecosystems, plants cope with limited nutrients such as nitrogen (N), which is vital for growth. While nitrogen sharing between plants is known in agriculture, it is less understood in natural, semi-arid environments.

We studied nitrogen transfer between plants in a semi-arid shrubland in Spain and how this affects the nutrition of the neighbours. Using a stable isotope of nitrogen (¹⁵N), we labelled donor plants and tracked its movement to nearby plants over more than a year.

Nitrogen transfer was widespread: over 70% of neighbouring plants received nitrogen, most within a week of labelling. N transfer started in less than a week, and reached the maximum values approximately 60 days after labelling, getting back to pre-labelling values after 120 days. Repeated pulses increased both the transfer magnitude and the leaf nitrogen content of receiver plants. These results show that nitrogen exchange among plants is common in semi-arid shrublands and may help species coexist and thrive in nutrient-poor environments.

https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.70241