Nitrogen enrichment drives accelerative effect of soil heterogeneity on the flowering phenology of a dominant grass

Plant phenology is affected by both abiotic conditions (ie. temperature, nitrogen enrichment, drought) and biotic conditions (ie. species diversity). The degree of spatial heterogeneity in soil resources is known to influence community assembly and dynamics, but the relationship between resource heterogeneity and phenology, or the potentially interactive effects of soil resources on phenology, are less understood. We leveraged a tallgrass prairie restoration experiment that has manipulated soil nitrogen availability and soil depth over 20 years to test the effects of environmental heterogeneity, nutrient enrichment, and potentially interactive effects of global change drivers (nutrient enrichment and a drought manipulation) on the phenology of a highly dominant prairie grass (Andropogon gerardii). We recorded the timing of major developmental stages of A. gerardii in plots containing four soil heterogeneity treatments (control, soil depth heterogeneity, nutrient/depth heterogeneity, and..., , , # Nitrogen enrichment drives accelerative effect of soil heterogeneity on the flowering phenology of a dominant grass

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rn8pk0pn7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rn8pk0pn7)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

**DATA:** Data are provided in one file (Krause et al 2024.xlsx) corresponding to the long-term experiment designated as the “Prairie Restoration Heterogeneity Plots” located at the Konza Prairie Long Term Ecological Research site in Manhattan, KS USA. Data collected in 2021 on phenology of *Andropogon gerardii*, nitrogen availability, soil moisture, and light availability are located in four tabs (pages) within the Excel file. Missing data are represented by values of “NA” (not available) and “null” (not applicable).

Data correspond to an experiment in which 6-m x 8-m plots (n = 16 plots) were assigned to four soil heterogeneity treatments according to a randomized complete block design (n = 4 blocks). Within each ...