The Interaction of Drought and Mineral Nutrient Stress in Calcareous Grassland

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Abstract
At Litton Mills, on the Carboniferous limestone in Derbyshire [England], a field experiment was carried out in order to investigate the mechanisms preventing the incursion of Arrhenatherum elatius into an area of derelict calcareous grassland dominated by Festuca ovina. The investigation suggests that A. elatius is vulnerable to desiccation under conditions in which seedling growth and, in particular, root penetration is limited by a deficiency of P and N. The success of F. ovina at the site appears to be related to the ability of the species to tolerate moisture stress under conditions in which its growth is severely restricted by mineral nutrient stress. Interactions between mineral nutrient stress and desiccation may be involved in the control of variation between different kinds of calcareous grassland in Britain, in the effects of aspect upon plant distribution, and in the maintenance of the refugia of certain rare calcicolous species.