---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '22506'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: "Alpine grasslands sustain local economy by providing fodder for livestock.
Intensive fertilization is common to enhance their yields, thus creating negative
externalities on water quality that are difficult to evaluate without reliable
estimates of nutrient fluxes. We apply a mechanistic ecosystem model, seamlessly
integrating land-surface energy balance, soil hydrology, vegetation dynamics,
and soil biogeochemistry, aiming at assessing the grassland response to fertilization.
We simulate the major water, carbon, nutrient, and energy fluxes of nine grassland
plots across the broad European Alpine region. We provide an interdisciplinary
model evaluation by confirming its performance against observed variables from
different datasets. Subsequently, we apply the model to test the influence of
fertilization practices on grassland yields and nitrate (NO3) losses through leaching
under both current and modified climate scenarios.\r\n\r\nDespite the generally
low NO3 concentration in groundwater recharge, the variability across sites is
remarkable, which is mostly (but not exclusively) dictated by elevation. In high-Alpine
sites, short growing seasons lead to less efficient nitrogen (N) uptake for biomass
production. This combined with lower evapotranspiration rates results in higher
amounts of drainage and NO3 leaching to groundwater. Scenarios with increased
temperature lead to a longer growing season characterized by higher biomass production
and, consequently, to a reduction of water leakage and N leaching. While the intersite
variability is maintained, climate change impacts are stronger on sites at higher
elevations.\r\n\r\nThe local soil hydrology has a crucial role in driving the
NO3 use efficiency. The commonly applied fixed threshold limit on fertilizer N
input is suboptimal. We suggest that major hydrological and soil property differences
across sites should be considered in the delineation of best practices or regulations
for management. Using distributed maps informed with key soil and climatic attributes
or systematically implementing integrated ecosystem models as shown here can contribute
to achieving more sustainable practices."
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Martina
full_name: Botter, Martina
last_name: Botter
- first_name: Matthias
full_name: Zeeman, Matthias
last_name: Zeeman
- first_name: Paolo
full_name: Burlando, Paolo
last_name: Burlando
- first_name: Simone
full_name: Fatichi, Simone
id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
last_name: Fatichi
citation:
ama: 'Botter M, Zeeman M, Burlando P, Fatichi S. Impacts of fertilization on grassland
productivity and water quality across the European Alps under current and warming
climate: insights from a mechanistic model. Biogeosciences. 2021;18(6):1917-1939.
doi:10.5194/bg-18-1917-2021'
apa: 'Botter, M., Zeeman, M., Burlando, P., & Fatichi, S. (2021). Impacts of
fertilization on grassland productivity and water quality across the European
Alps under current and warming climate: insights from a mechanistic model. Biogeosciences.
Copernicus Publications. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1917-2021'
chicago: 'Botter, Martina, Matthias Zeeman, Paolo Burlando, and Simone Fatichi.
“Impacts of Fertilization on Grassland Productivity and Water Quality across the
European Alps under Current and Warming Climate: Insights from a Mechanistic Model.”
Biogeosciences. Copernicus Publications, 2021. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1917-2021.'
ieee: 'M. Botter, M. Zeeman, P. Burlando, and S. Fatichi, “Impacts of fertilization
on grassland productivity and water quality across the European Alps under current
and warming climate: insights from a mechanistic model,” Biogeosciences,
vol. 18, no. 6. Copernicus Publications, pp. 1917–1939, 2021.'
ista: 'Botter M, Zeeman M, Burlando P, Fatichi S. 2021. Impacts of fertilization
on grassland productivity and water quality across the European Alps under current
and warming climate: insights from a mechanistic model. Biogeosciences. 18(6),
1917–1939.'
mla: 'Botter, Martina, et al. “Impacts of Fertilization on Grassland Productivity
and Water Quality across the European Alps under Current and Warming Climate:
Insights from a Mechanistic Model.” Biogeosciences, vol. 18, no. 6, Copernicus
Publications, 2021, pp. 1917–39, doi:10.5194/bg-18-1917-2021.'
short: M. Botter, M. Zeeman, P. Burlando, S. Fatichi, Biogeosciences 18 (2021) 1917–1939.
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:24Z
date_published: 2021-03-19T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-06T14:17:22Z
day: '19'
doi: 10.5194/bg-18-1917-2021
extern: '1'
intvolume: ' 18'
issue: '6'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1917-2021
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 1917-1939
publication: Biogeosciences
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1726-4189
issn:
- 1726-4170
publication_status: published
publisher: Copernicus Publications
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'Impacts of fertilization on grassland productivity and water quality across
the European Alps under current and warming climate: insights from a mechanistic
model'
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 18
year: '2021'
...