Abstract
Experimental nutrient (N, P, and N+P) additions to shallow (ca. 1 m)Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Aschers. stands growing in patches and in a continuous meadow in a Mediterranean Bay (Alfacs Bay, NE Spain) in 1988 demonstrated mid-summer growth to be strongly P-limited, as suggested by the high N:P ratios (>35) in unmanipulated plants. P additions resulted in increased leaf P content, reduced N:P ratios, and enhanced shoot growth and turnover in both populations. These effects promoted in turn a stand response, leading to increased biomass and, therefore, increased areal productivity in the plots receiving P. The stand response was largely attributable to a doubling of shoot density, indicating enhanced rhizome growth and branching.
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe
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Perez, M., Romero, J., Duarte, C.M. et al. Phosphorus limitation ofCymodocea nodosa growth. Mar. Biol. 109, 129–133 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01320239
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01320239