Ecological legacies in a tropical savanna: woody layer responses to long-term changes in soil chemistry.

Nutrient availability and soil pH are key drivers of ecosystem functioning, and changes in these factors can generate lasting effects that are not well understood. In Brazilian tropical savannas, plant communities are adapted to nutrient-poor and acidic soils, therefore changes in soil chemistry can affect vegetation structure. Here, we report the legacy effects on woody plant species composition and taxonomic and functional diversity of enhancing nutrient availability and increasing soil pH in a long-term fertilization experiment, following five years of nutrient addition cessation.