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Barry KE, de Kroon H, Dietrich P, Stanley Harpole W, Roeder A, Schmid B, Clark AT, Mayfield MM, Wagg C, Roscher C. Linking local species coexistence to ecosystem functioning: a conceptual framework from ecological first principles in grassland ecosystems. ADV ECOL RES 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.aecr.2019.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Hodapp D, Borer ET, Harpole WS, Lind EM, Seabloom EW, Adler PB, Alberti J, Arnillas CA, Bakker JD, Biederman L, Cadotte M, Cleland EE, Collins S, Fay PA, Firn J, Hagenah N, Hautier Y, Iribarne O, Knops JMH, McCulley RL, MacDougall A, Moore JL, Morgan JW, Mortensen B, La Pierre KJ, Risch AC, Schütz M, Peri P, Stevens CJ, Wright J, Hillebrand H. Spatial heterogeneity in species composition constrains plant community responses to herbivory and fertilisation. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1364-1371. [PMID: 29952114 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Revised: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 05/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Environmental change can result in substantial shifts in community composition. The associated immigration and extinction events are likely constrained by the spatial distribution of species. Still, studies on environmental change typically quantify biotic responses at single spatial (time series within a single plot) or temporal (spatial beta diversity at single time points) scales, ignoring their potential interdependence. Here, we use data from a global network of grassland experiments to determine how turnover responses to two major forms of environmental change - fertilisation and herbivore loss - are affected by species pool size and spatial compositional heterogeneity. Fertilisation led to higher rates of local extinction, whereas turnover in herbivore exclusion plots was driven by species replacement. Overall, sites with more spatially heterogeneous composition showed significantly higher rates of annual turnover, independent of species pool size and treatment. Taking into account spatial biodiversity aspects will therefore improve our understanding of consequences of global and anthropogenic change on community dynamics.
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Anderson TM, Griffith DM, Grace JB, Lind EM, Adler PB, Biederman LA, Blumenthal DM, Daleo P, Firn J, Hagenah N, Harpole WS, MacDougall AS, McCulley RL, Prober SM, Risch AC, Sankaran M, Schütz M, Seabloom EW, Stevens CJ, Sullivan LL, Wragg PD, Borer ET. Herbivory and eutrophication mediate grassland plant nutrient responses across a global climatic gradient. Ecology 2018; 99:822-831. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 12/02/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Hautier Y, Isbell F, Borer ET, Seabloom EW, Harpole WS, Lind EM, MacDougall AS, Stevens CJ, Adler PB, Alberti J, Bakker JD, Brudvig LA, Buckley YM, Cadotte M, Caldeira MC, Chaneton EJ, Chu C, Daleo P, Dickman CR, Dwyer JM, Eskelinen A, Fay PA, Firn J, Hagenah N, Hillebrand H, Iribarne O, Kirkman KP, Knops JMH, La Pierre KJ, McCulley RL, Morgan JW, Pärtel M, Pascual J, Price JN, Prober SM, Risch AC, Sankaran M, Schuetz M, Standish RJ, Virtanen R, Wardle GM, Yahdjian L, Hector A. Local loss and spatial homogenization of plant diversity reduce ecosystem multifunctionality. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 2:50-56. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0395-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 10/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Lewandowska AM, Biermann A, Borer ET, Cebrián-Piqueras MA, Declerck SAJ, De Meester L, Van Donk E, Gamfeldt L, Gruner DS, Hagenah N, Harpole WS, Kirkman KP, Klausmeier CA, Kleyer M, Knops JMH, Lemmens P, Lind EM, Litchman E, Mantilla-Contreras J, Martens K, Meier S, Minden V, Moore JL, Venterink HO, Seabloom EW, Sommer U, Striebel M, Trenkamp A, Trinogga J, Urabe J, Vyverman W, Van de Waal DB, Widdicombe CE, Hillebrand H. The influence of balanced and imbalanced resource supply on biodiversity-functioning relationship across ecosystems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0283. [PMID: 27114584 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies show that increasing species richness leads to higher ecosystem productivity. This effect is often attributed to more efficient portioning of multiple resources in communities with higher numbers of competing species, indicating the role of resource supply and stoichiometry for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. Here, we merged theory on ecological stoichiometry with a framework of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning to understand how resource use transfers into primary production. We applied a structural equation model to define patterns of diversity-productivity relationships with respect to available resources. Meta-analysis was used to summarize the findings across ecosystem types ranging from aquatic ecosystems to grasslands and forests. As hypothesized, resource supply increased realized productivity and richness, but we found significant differences between ecosystems and study types. Increased richness was associated with increased productivity, although this effect was not seen in experiments. More even communities had lower productivity, indicating that biomass production is often maintained by a few dominant species, and reduced dominance generally reduced ecosystem productivity. This synthesis, which integrates observational and experimental studies in a variety of ecosystems and geographical regions, exposes common patterns and differences in biodiversity-functioning relationships, and increases the mechanistic understanding of changes in ecosystems productivity.
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Flores-Moreno H, Reich PB, Lind EM, Sullivan LL, Seabloom EW, Yahdjian L, MacDougall AS, Reichmann LG, Alberti J, Báez S, Bakker JD, Cadotte MW, Caldeira MC, Chaneton EJ, D'Antonio CM, Fay PA, Firn J, Hagenah N, Harpole WS, Iribarne O, Kirkman KP, Knops JMH, La Pierre KJ, Laungani R, Leakey ADB, McCulley RL, Moore JL, Pascual J, Borer ET. Climate modifies response of non-native and native species richness to nutrient enrichment. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0273. [PMID: 27114575 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecosystem eutrophication often increases domination by non-natives and causes displacement of native taxa. However, variation in environmental conditions may affect the outcome of interactions between native and non-native taxa in environments where nutrient supply is elevated. We examined the interactive effects of eutrophication, climate variability and climate average conditions on the success of native and non-native plant species using experimental nutrient manipulations replicated at 32 grassland sites on four continents. We hypothesized that effects of nutrient addition would be greatest where climate was stable and benign, owing to reduced niche partitioning. We found that the abundance of non-native species increased with nutrient addition independent of climate; however, nutrient addition increased non-native species richness and decreased native species richness, with these effects dampened in warmer or wetter sites. Eutrophication also altered the time scale in which grassland invasion responded to climate, decreasing the importance of long-term climate and increasing that of annual climate. Thus, climatic conditions mediate the responses of native and non-native flora to nutrient enrichment. Our results suggest that the negative effect of nutrient addition on native abundance is decoupled from its effect on richness, and reduces the time scale of the links between climate and compositional change.
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Harpole WS, Sullivan LL, Lind EM, Firn J, Adler PB, Borer ET, Chase J, Fay PA, Hautier Y, Hillebrand H, MacDougall AS, Seabloom EW, Bakker JD, Cadotte MW, Chaneton EJ, Chu C, Hagenah N, Kirkman K, La Pierre KJ, Moore JL, Morgan JW, Prober SM, Risch AC, Schuetz M, Stevens CJ. Out of the shadows: multiple nutrient limitations drive relationships among biomass, light and plant diversity. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Hillebrand H, Blasius B, Borer ET, Chase JM, Downing JA, Eriksson BK, Filstrup CT, Harpole WS, Hodapp D, Larsen S, Lewandowska AM, Seabloom EW, Van de Waal DB, Ryabov AB. Biodiversity change is uncoupled from species richness trends: Consequences for conservation and monitoring. J Appl Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 299] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Schuman MC, van Dam NM, Beran F, Harpole WS. How does plant chemical diversity contribute to biodiversity at higher trophic levels? CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2016; 14:46-55. [PMID: 27436646 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2016.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Revised: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 01/19/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Plants, perhaps Earth's most accomplished chemists, produce thousands of specialized metabolites having no direct role in cell division or growth. These phytochemicals vary by taxon, with many taxa producing characteristic substance classes; and within taxa, with individual variation in structural variety and production patterns. Observations of corresponding variation in herbivore metabolism, behavior, and diet breadth motivated the development of chemical ecology research. We discuss the importance of plant biodiversity in general and phytochemical diversity in particular for biodiversity and ecological interactions at higher trophic levels. We then provide an overview of the descriptive, molecular and analytical tools which allow modern biologists to investigate phytochemical diversity and its effects on higher trophic levels, from physiological mechanisms to ecological communities.
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Sullivan LL, Danielson BJ, Harpole WS. Mammalian Herbivores Alter the Population Growth and Spatial Establishment of an Early-Establishing Grassland Species. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0147715. [PMID: 26849564 PMCID: PMC4743957 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 01/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant-herbivore interactions influence the establishment context of plant species, as herbivores alter the community context in which individual species establish, and the spatial relationship between individuals and their source population as plants invade. This relationship can be described using an establishment kernel, which takes into account movement through seed dispersal, and subsequent establishment of adults. Mammalian herbivores are hypothesized to influence plant population growth and establishment through a combination of consumption of seeds and seedlings, and movement of seeds. While the movement abilities of plants are well known, we have very few empirical mechanistic tests of how biotic factors like mammalian herbivores influence this spread potential. As herbivores of all sizes are abundant on the landscape, we asked the question, how do mammalian herbivores influence the population growth, spatial establishment, and the community establishment context of an early-recruiting native prairie legume, Chamaecrista fasciculata? We planted C. fasciculata in source populations within a four-acre tallgrass prairie restoration in plots with and without herbivores, and monitored its establishment with respect to distance from the source populations. We found that herbivores decreased population growth, and decreased the mean and range establishment distance. Additionally, C. fasciculata established more often without herbivores, and when surrounded by weedy, annual species. Our results provide insight into how the interactions between plants and herbivores can alter the spatial dynamics of developing plant communities, which is vital for colonization and range spread with fragmentation and climate change. Mammalian herbivores have the potential to both slow rates of establishment, but also determine the types of plant communities that surround invading species. Therefore, it is essential to consider the herbivore community when attempting to restore functioning plant communities.
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Tredennick AT, Adler PB, Grace JB, Harpole WS, Borer ET, Seabloom EW, Anderson TM, Bakker JD, Biederman LA, Brown CS, Buckley YM, Chu C, Collins SL, Crawley MJ, Fay PA, Firn J, Gruner DS, Hagenah N, Hautier Y, Hector A, Hillebrand H, Kirkman K, Knops JMH, Laungani R, Lind EM, MacDougall AS, McCulley RL, Mitchell CE, Moore JL, Morgan JW, Orrock JL, Peri PL, Prober SM, Risch AC, Schütz M, Speziale KL, Standish RJ, Sullivan LL, Wardle GM, Williams RJ, Yang LH. Comment on “Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness”. Science 2016; 351:457. [PMID: 26823418 DOI: 10.1126/science.aad6236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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37
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Grace JB, Anderson TM, Seabloom EW, Borer ET, Adler PB, Harpole WS, Hautier Y, Hillebrand H, Lind EM, Pärtel M, Bakker JD, Buckley YM, Crawley MJ, Damschen EI, Davies KF, Fay PA, Firn J, Gruner DS, Hector A, Knops JMH, MacDougall AS, Melbourne BA, Morgan JW, Orrock JL, Prober SM, Smith MD. Integrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness. Nature 2016; 529:390-3. [PMID: 26760203 DOI: 10.1038/nature16524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 303] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2015] [Accepted: 12/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
How ecosystem productivity and species richness are interrelated is one of the most debated subjects in the history of ecology. Decades of intensive study have yet to discern the actual mechanisms behind observed global patterns. Here, by integrating the predictions from multiple theories into a single model and using data from 1,126 grassland plots spanning five continents, we detect the clear signals of numerous underlying mechanisms linking productivity and richness. We find that an integrative model has substantially higher explanatory power than traditional bivariate analyses. In addition, the specific results unveil several surprising findings that conflict with classical models. These include the isolation of a strong and consistent enhancement of productivity by richness, an effect in striking contrast with superficial data patterns. Also revealed is a consistent importance of competition across the full range of productivity values, in direct conflict with some (but not all) proposed models. The promotion of local richness by macroecological gradients in climatic favourability, generally seen as a competing hypothesis, is also found to be important in our analysis. The results demonstrate that an integrative modelling approach leads to a major advance in our ability to discern the underlying processes operating in ecological systems.
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Leff JW, Jones SE, Prober SM, Barberán A, Borer ET, Firn JL, Harpole WS, Hobbie SE, Hofmockel KS, Knops JMH, McCulley RL, La Pierre K, Risch AC, Seabloom EW, Schütz M, Steenbock C, Stevens CJ, Fierer N. Consistent responses of soil microbial communities to elevated nutrient inputs in grasslands across the globe. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:10967-72. [PMID: 26283343 PMCID: PMC4568213 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1508382112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 484] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil microorganisms are critical to ecosystem functioning and the maintenance of soil fertility. However, despite global increases in the inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to ecosystems due to human activities, we lack a predictive understanding of how microbial communities respond to elevated nutrient inputs across environmental gradients. Here we used high-throughput sequencing of marker genes to elucidate the responses of soil fungal, archaeal, and bacterial communities using an N and P addition experiment replicated at 25 globally distributed grassland sites. We also sequenced metagenomes from a subset of the sites to determine how the functional attributes of bacterial communities change in response to elevated nutrients. Despite strong compositional differences across sites, microbial communities shifted in a consistent manner with N or P additions, and the magnitude of these shifts was related to the magnitude of plant community responses to nutrient inputs. Mycorrhizal fungi and methanogenic archaea decreased in relative abundance with nutrient additions, as did the relative abundances of oligotrophic bacterial taxa. The metagenomic data provided additional evidence for this shift in bacterial life history strategies because nutrient additions decreased the average genome sizes of the bacterial community members and elicited changes in the relative abundances of representative functional genes. Our results suggest that elevated N and P inputs lead to predictable shifts in the taxonomic and functional traits of soil microbial communities, including increases in the relative abundances of faster-growing, copiotrophic bacterial taxa, with these shifts likely to impact belowground ecosystems worldwide.
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Seabloom EW, Borer ET, Buckley YM, Cleland EE, Davies KF, Firn J, Harpole WS, Hautier Y, Lind EM, MacDougall AS, Orrock JL, Prober SM, Adler PB, Anderson TM, Bakker JD, Biederman LA, Blumenthal DM, Brown CS, Brudvig LA, Cadotte M, Chu C, Cottingham KL, Crawley MJ, Damschen EI, Dantonio CM, DeCrappeo NM, Du G, Fay PA, Frater P, Gruner DS, Hagenah N, Hector A, Hillebrand H, Hofmockel KS, Humphries HC, Jin VL, Kay A, Kirkman KP, Klein JA, Knops JMH, La Pierre KJ, Ladwig L, Lambrinos JG, Li Q, Li W, Marushia R, McCulley RL, Melbourne BA, Mitchell CE, Moore JL, Morgan J, Mortensen B, O'Halloran LR, Pyke DA, Risch AC, Sankaran M, Schuetz M, Simonsen A, Smith MD, Stevens CJ, Sullivan L, Wolkovich E, Wragg PD, Wright J, Yang L. Plant species' origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores in global grasslands. Nat Commun 2015; 6:7710. [PMID: 26173623 PMCID: PMC4518311 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 06/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Exotic species dominate many communities; however the functional significance of species' biogeographic origin remains highly contentious. This debate is fuelled in part by the lack of globally replicated, systematic data assessing the relationship between species provenance, function and response to perturbations. We examined the abundance of native and exotic plant species at 64 grasslands in 13 countries, and at a subset of the sites we experimentally tested native and exotic species responses to two fundamental drivers of invasion, mineral nutrient supplies and vertebrate herbivory. Exotic species are six times more likely to dominate communities than native species. Furthermore, while experimental nutrient addition increases the cover and richness of exotic species, nutrients decrease native diversity and cover. Native and exotic species also differ in their response to vertebrate consumer exclusion. These results suggest that species origin has functional significance, and that eutrophication will lead to increased exotic dominance in grasslands. It remains unclear whether exotic and native species are functionally different. Using a global grassland experiment, Seabloom et al. show that native and exotic species respond differently to two globally pervasive environmental changes, addition of mineral nutrients and alteration of herbivore density.
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Farrell KA, Harpole WS, Stein C, Suding KN, Borer ET. Grassland Arthropods Are Controlled by Direct and Indirect Interactions with Cattle but Are Largely Unaffected by Plant Provenance. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0129823. [PMID: 26158494 PMCID: PMC4497643 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2015] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Cattle grazing and invasion by non-native plant species are globally-ubiquitous changes occurring to plant communities that are likely to reverberate through whole food webs. We used a manipulative field experiment to quantify how arthropod community structure differed in native and non-native California grassland communities in the presence and absence of grazing. The arthropod community was strongly affected by cattle grazing: the biovolume of herbivorous arthropods was 79% higher in grazed than ungrazed plots, whereas the biovolume of predatory arthropods was 13% higher in ungrazed plots. In plots where non-native grasses were grazed, arthropod biovolume increased, possibly in response to increased plant productivity or increased nutritional quality of rapidly-growing annual plants. Grazing may thus affect plant biomass both through the direct removal of biomass, and through arthropod-mediated impacts. We also expected the arthropod community to differ between native and non-native plant communities; surprisingly, arthropod richness and diversity did not vary consistently between these grass community types, although arthropod abundance was slightly higher in plots with native and ungrazed grasses. These results suggest that whereas cattle grazing affects the arthropod community via direct and indirect pathways, arthropod community changes commonly associated with non-native plant invasions may not be due to the identity or dominance of the invasive species in those systems, but to accompanying changes in plant traits or functional group composition, not seen in this experiment because of the similarity of the plant communities.
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Fay PA, Prober SM, Harpole WS, Knops JMH, Bakker JD, Borer ET, Lind EM, MacDougall AS, Seabloom EW, Wragg PD, Adler PB, Blumenthal DM, Buckley YM, Chu C, Cleland EE, Collins SL, Davies KF, Du G, Feng X, Firn J, Gruner DS, Hagenah N, Hautier Y, Heckman RW, Jin VL, Kirkman KP, Klein J, Ladwig LM, Li Q, McCulley RL, Melbourne BA, Mitchell CE, Moore JL, Morgan JW, Risch AC, Schütz M, Stevens CJ, Wedin DA, Yang LH. Grassland productivity limited by multiple nutrients. NATURE PLANTS 2015; 1:15080. [PMID: 27250253 DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2015.80] [Citation(s) in RCA: 212] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2015] [Accepted: 05/11/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Terrestrial ecosystem productivity is widely accepted to be nutrient limited(1). Although nitrogen (N) is deemed a key determinant of aboveground net primary production (ANPP)(2,3), the prevalence of co-limitation by N and phosphorus (P) is increasingly recognized(4-8). However, the extent to which terrestrial productivity is co-limited by nutrients other than N and P has remained unclear. Here, we report results from a standardized factorial nutrient addition experiment, in which we added N, P and potassium (K) combined with a selection of micronutrients (K+μ), alone or in concert, to 42 grassland sites spanning five continents, and monitored ANPP. Nutrient availability limited productivity at 31 of the 42 grassland sites. And pairwise combinations of N, P, and K+μ co-limited ANPP at 29 of the sites. Nitrogen limitation peaked in cool, high latitude sites. Our findings highlight the importance of less studied nutrients, such as K and micronutrients, for grassland productivity, and point to significant variations in the type and degree of nutrient limitation. We suggest that multiple-nutrient constraints must be considered when assessing the ecosystem-scale consequences of nutrient enrichment.
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Stevens CJ, Lind EM, Hautier Y, Harpole WS, Borer ET, Hobbie S, Seabloom EW, Ladwig L, Bakker JD, Chu C, Collins S, Davies KF, Firn J, Hillebrand H, Pierre KJL, MacDougall A, Melbourne B, McCulley RL, Morgan J, Orrock JL, Prober SM, Risch AC, Schuetz M, Wragg PD. Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition predicts local grassland primary production worldwide. Ecology 2015. [DOI: 10.1890/14-1902.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Prober SM, Leff JW, Bates ST, Borer ET, Firn J, Harpole WS, Lind EM, Seabloom EW, Adler PB, Bakker JD, Cleland EE, DeCrappeo NM, DeLorenze E, Hagenah N, Hautier Y, Hofmockel KS, Kirkman KP, Knops JMH, La Pierre KJ, MacDougall AS, McCulley RL, Mitchell CE, Risch AC, Schuetz M, Stevens CJ, Williams RJ, Fierer N. Plant diversity predicts beta but not alpha diversity of soil microbes across grasslands worldwide. Ecol Lett 2014; 18:85-95. [PMID: 25430889 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 323] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2014] [Accepted: 09/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Aboveground-belowground interactions exert critical controls on the composition and function of terrestrial ecosystems, yet the fundamental relationships between plant diversity and soil microbial diversity remain elusive. Theory predicts predominantly positive associations but tests within single sites have shown variable relationships, and associations between plant and microbial diversity across broad spatial scales remain largely unexplored. We compared the diversity of plant, bacterial, archaeal and fungal communities in one hundred and forty-five 1 m(2) plots across 25 temperate grassland sites from four continents. Across sites, the plant alpha diversity patterns were poorly related to those observed for any soil microbial group. However, plant beta diversity (compositional dissimilarity between sites) was significantly correlated with the beta diversity of bacterial and fungal communities, even after controlling for environmental factors. Thus, across a global range of temperate grasslands, plant diversity can predict patterns in the composition of soil microbial communities, but not patterns in alpha diversity.
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Bracken MES, Hillebrand H, Borer ET, Seabloom EW, Cebrian J, Cleland EE, Elser JJ, Gruner DS, Harpole WS, Ngai JT, Smith JE. Signatures of nutrient limitation and co-limitation: responses of autotroph internal nutrient concentrations to nitrogen and phosphorus additions. OIKOS 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.01215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Stein C, Hallett LM, Harpole WS, Suding KN. Evaluating ecosystem services provided by non-native species: an experimental test in California grasslands. PLoS One 2014; 9:e75396. [PMID: 25222028 PMCID: PMC4164352 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2013] [Accepted: 12/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The concept of ecosystem services – the benefits that nature provides to human's society – has gained increasing attention over the past decade. Increasing global abiotic and biotic change, including species invasions, is threatening the secure delivery of these ecosystem services. Efficient evaluation methods of ecosystem services are urgently needed to improve our ability to determine management strategies and restoration goals in face of these new emerging ecosystems. Considering a range of multiple ecosystem functions may be a useful way to determine such strategies. We tested this framework experimentally in California grasslands, where large shifts in species composition have occurred since the late 1700's. We compared a suite of ecosystem functions within one historic native and two non-native species assemblages under different grazing intensities to address how different species assemblages vary in provisioning, regulatory and supporting ecosystem services. Forage production was reduced in one non-native assemblage (medusahead). Cultural ecosystem services, such as native species diversity, were inherently lower in both non-native assemblages, whereas most other services were maintained across grazing intensities. All systems provided similar ecosystem services under the highest grazing intensity treatment, which simulated unsustainable grazing intensity. We suggest that applying a more comprehensive ecosystem framework that considers multiple ecosystem services to evaluate new emerging ecosystems is a valuable tool to determine management goals and how to intervene in a changing ecosystem.
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Grace JB, Adler PB, Stanley Harpole W, Borer ET, Seabloom EW. Causal networks clarify productivity–richness interrelations, bivariate plots do not. Funct Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Filstrup CT, Hillebrand H, Heathcote AJ, Harpole WS, Downing JA. Cyanobacteria dominance influences resource use efficiency and community turnover in phytoplankton and zooplankton communities. Ecol Lett 2014; 17:464-74. [PMID: 24467318 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Freshwater biodiversity loss potentially disrupts ecosystem services related to water quality and may negatively impact ecosystem functioning and temporal community turnover. We analysed a data set containing phytoplankton and zooplankton community data from 131 lakes through 9 years in an agricultural region to test predictions that plankton communities with low biodiversity are less efficient in their use of limiting resources and display greater community turnover (measured as community dissimilarity). Phytoplankton resource use efficiency (RUE = biomass per unit resource) was negatively related to phytoplankton evenness (measured as Pielou's evenness), whereas zooplankton RUE was positively related to phytoplankton evenness. Phytoplankton and zooplankton RUE were high and low, respectively, when Cyanobacteria, especially Microcystis sp., dominated. Phytoplankton communities displayed slower community turnover rates when dominated by few genera. Our findings, which counter findings of many terrestrial studies, suggest that Cyanobacteria dominance may play important roles in ecosystem functioning and community turnover in nutrient-enriched lakes.
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Seabloom EW, Borer ET, Buckley Y, Cleland EE, Davies K, Firn J, Harpole WS, Hautier Y, Lind E, MacDougall A, Orrock JL, Prober SM, Adler P, Alberti J, Anderson TM, Bakker JD, Biederman LA, Blumenthal D, Brown CS, Brudvig LA, Caldeira M, Chu C, Crawley MJ, Daleo P, Damschen EI, D'Antonio CM, DeCrappeo NM, Dickman CR, Du G, Fay PA, Frater P, Gruner DS, Hagenah N, Hector A, Helm A, Hillebrand H, Hofmockel KS, Humphries HC, Iribarne O, Jin VL, Kay A, Kirkman KP, Klein JA, Knops JMH, La Pierre KJ, Ladwig LM, Lambrinos JG, Leakey ADB, Li Q, Li W, McCulley R, Melbourne B, Mitchell CE, Moore JL, Morgan J, Mortensen B, O'Halloran LR, Pärtel M, Pascual J, Pyke DA, Risch AC, Salguero-Gómez R, Sankaran M, Schuetz M, Simonsen A, Smith M, Stevens C, Sullivan L, Wardle GM, Wolkovich EM, Wragg PD, Wright J, Yang L. Predicting invasion in grassland ecosystems: is exotic dominance the real embarrassment of richness? GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2013; 19:3677-3687. [PMID: 24038796 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2013] [Revised: 07/16/2013] [Accepted: 08/14/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Invasions have increased the size of regional species pools, but are typically assumed to reduce native diversity. However, global-scale tests of this assumption have been elusive because of the focus on exotic species richness, rather than relative abundance. This is problematic because low invader richness can indicate invasion resistance by the native community or, alternatively, dominance by a single exotic species. Here, we used a globally replicated study to quantify relationships between exotic richness and abundance in grass-dominated ecosystems in 13 countries on six continents, ranging from salt marshes to alpine tundra. We tested effects of human land use, native community diversity, herbivore pressure, and nutrient limitation on exotic plant dominance. Despite its widespread use, exotic richness was a poor proxy for exotic dominance at low exotic richness, because sites that contained few exotic species ranged from relatively pristine (low exotic richness and cover) to almost completely exotic-dominated ones (low exotic richness but high exotic cover). Both exotic cover and richness were predicted by native plant diversity (native grass richness) and land use (distance to cultivation). Although climate was important for predicting both exotic cover and richness, climatic factors predicting cover (precipitation variability) differed from those predicting richness (maximum temperature and mean temperature in the wettest quarter). Herbivory and nutrient limitation did not predict exotic richness or cover. Exotic dominance was greatest in areas with low native grass richness at the site- or regional-scale. Although this could reflect native grass displacement, a lack of biotic resistance is a more likely explanation, given that grasses comprise the most aggressive invaders. These findings underscore the need to move beyond richness as a surrogate for the extent of invasion, because this metric confounds monodominance with invasion resistance. Monitoring species' relative abundance will more rapidly advance our understanding of invasions.
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Borer ET, Harpole WS, Adler PB, Lind EM, Orrock JL, Seabloom EW, Smith MD. Finding generality in ecology: a model for globally distributed experiments. Methods Ecol Evol 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 283] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Borer ET, Bracken MES, Seabloom EW, Smith JE, Cebrian J, Cleland EE, Elser JJ, Fagan WF, Gruner DS, Harpole WS, Hillebrand H, Kerkhoff AJ, Ngai JT. Global biogeography of autotroph chemistry: is insolation a driving force? OIKOS 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00465.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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