1
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Storkey J, Maclaren C, Bullock JM, Norton LR, Redhead JW, Pywell RF. Quantifying farm sustainability through the lens of ecological theory. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:1700-1716. [PMID: 38695217 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/03/2024]
Abstract
The achievements of the Green Revolution in meeting the nutritional needs of a growing global population have been won at the expense of unintended consequences for the environment. Some of these negative impacts are now threatening the sustainability of food production through the loss of pollinators and natural enemies of crop pests, the evolution of pesticide resistance, declining soil health and vulnerability to climate change. In the search for farming systems that are sustainable both agronomically and environmentally, alternative approaches have been proposed variously called 'agroecological', 'conservation agriculture', 'regenerative' and 'sustainable intensification'. While the widespread recognition of the need for more sustainable farming is to be welcomed, this has created etymological confusion that has the potential to become a barrier to transformation. There is a need, therefore, for objective criteria to evaluate alternative farming systems and to quantify farm sustainability against multiple outcomes. To help meet this challenge, we reviewed the ecological theories that explain variance in regulating and supporting ecosystem services delivered by biological communities in farmland to identify guiding principles for management change. For each theory, we identified associated system metrics that could be used as proxies for agroecosystem function. We identified five principles derived from ecological theory: (i) provide key habitats for ecosystem service providers; (ii) increase crop and non-crop habitat diversity; (iii) increase edge density: (iv) increase nutrient-use efficiency; and (v) avoid extremes of disturbance. By making published knowledge the foundation of the choice of associated metrics, our aim was to establish a broad consensus for their use in sustainability assessment frameworks. Further analysis of their association with farm-scale data on biological communities and/or ecosystem service delivery would provide additional validation for their selection and support for the underpinning theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Storkey
- Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Chloe Maclaren
- Protecting Crops and the Environment, Rothamsted Research, West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, UK
- Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Almas Alle 8, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden
| | - James M Bullock
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Lisa R Norton
- UKCEH, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, LA1 4AP, UK
| | - John W Redhead
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Richard F Pywell
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK
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2
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Litchman E, Villéger S, Zinger L, Auguet JC, Thuiller W, Munoz F, Kraft NJB, Philippot L, Violle C. Refocusing the microbial rare biosphere concept through a functional lens. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:923-936. [PMID: 38987022 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 06/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
The influential concept of the rare biosphere in microbial ecology has underscored the importance of taxa occurring at low abundances yet potentially playing key roles in communities and ecosystems. Here, we refocus the concept of rare biosphere through a functional trait-based lens and provide a framework to characterize microbial functional rarity, a combination of numerical scarcity across space or time and trait distinctiveness. We demonstrate how this novel interpretation of the rare biosphere, rooted in microbial functions, can enhance our mechanistic understanding of microbial community structure. It also sheds light on functionally distinct microbes, directing conservation efforts towards taxa harboring rare yet ecologically crucial functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Litchman
- Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, USA; Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, USA.
| | | | - Lucie Zinger
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (IBENS), École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Université Paris, Paris, France; Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE), UMR 5300, CNRS, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Toulouse INP, Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | | | - Wilfried Thuiller
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, F-38000 Grenoble, France
| | - François Munoz
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LIPhy, F-38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Nathan J B Kraft
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Laurent Philippot
- Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, INRAE, Institut Agro Dijon, Agroecology, Dijon, France
| | - Cyrille Violle
- CEFE, Université Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France
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3
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Namuhan, Wang J, Yang G, Song Y, Yu Y, Wang J, Wang X, Shi Y, Shen Y, Han X, Wuyunna, Zhang H. Mechanisms of biodiversity loss under nitrogen enrichment: unveiling a shift from light competition to cation toxicity. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:1966-1979. [PMID: 38970455 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024]
Abstract
The primary mechanisms contributing to nitrogen (N) addition induced grassland biodiversity loss, namely light competition and soil cation toxicity, are often examined separately in various studies. However, their relative significance in governing biodiversity loss along N addition gradient remains unclear. We conducted a 4-yr field experiment with five N addition rates (0, 2, 10, 20, and 50 g N m-2 yr-1) and performed a meta-analysis using global data from 239 observations in N-fertilized grassland ecosystems. Results from our field experiment and meta-analysis indicate that both light competition and soil cation (e.g. Mn2+ and Al3+) toxicity contribute to plant diversity loss under N enrichment. The relative importance of these mechanisms varied with N enrichment intensity. Light competition played a more significant role in influencing species richness under low N addition (≤ 10 g m-2 yr-1), while cation toxicity became increasingly dominant in reducing biodiversity under high N addition (>10 g m-2 yr-1). Therefore, a transition from light competition to cation toxicity occurs with increasing N availability. These findings imply that the biodiversity loss along the N gradient is regulated by distinct mechanisms, necessitating the adoption of differential management strategies to mitigate diversity loss under varying intensities of N enrichment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Namuhan
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China
| | - Jing Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
| | - Guojiao Yang
- College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Hainan, 570228, China
| | - Yantao Song
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China
| | - Yunguang Yu
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China
| | - Jidong Wang
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China
| | - Xiaoguang Wang
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China
| | - Yiping Shi
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China
| | - Yue Shen
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China
| | - Xingguo Han
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Wuyunna
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Dalian Minzu University, Dalian, 116600, China
- College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, 110866, China
| | - Haiyang Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
- School of Life Sciences, Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Hebei University, Baoding, 071002, China
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4
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Li H, Chen J, Peñuelas J, Sardans J, Collins SL, Yu K, Song C, Ye JS. Water limitation drives species loss in grassland communities after nitrogen addition and warming. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240642. [PMID: 39288804 PMCID: PMC11407863 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2024] [Revised: 07/17/2024] [Accepted: 08/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Nutrient addition, particularly nitrogen, often increases plant aboveground biomass but causes species loss. Asymmetric competition for light is frequently assumed to explain the biomass-driven species loss. However, it remains unclear whether other factors such as water can also play a role. Increased aboveground leaf area following nitrogen addition and warming may increase transpiration and cause water limitation, leading to a decline in diversity. To test this, we conducted field measurements in a grassland community exposed to nitrogen and water addition, and warming. We found that warming and/or nitrogen addition significantly increased aboveground biomass but reduced species richness. Water addition prevented species loss in either nitrogen-enriched or warmed treatments, while it partially mitigated species loss in the treatment exposed to increases in both temperature and nitrogen. These findings thus strongly suggest that water limitation can be an important driver of species loss as biomass increases after nitrogen addition and warming when soil moisture is limiting. This result is further supported by a meta-analysis of published studies across grasslands worldwide. Our study indicates that loss of grassland species richness in the future may be greatest under a scenario of increasing temperature and nitrogen deposition, but decreasing precipitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hailing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Juan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Barcelona08193, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona08193, Spain
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Barcelona08193, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona08193, Spain
| | - Scott L. Collins
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87131, USA
| | - Kailiang Yu
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544, USA
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100101, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chao Song
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jian-Sheng Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, People’s Republic of China
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5
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Zhang E, Wang Y, Chen S, Zhou D, Shangguan Z, Huang J, He JS, Wang Y, Sheng J, Tang L, Li X, Dong M, Wu Y, Hu S, Bai Y. Mycorrhizal Symbiosis Increases Plant Phylogenetic Diversity and Regulates Community Assembly in Grasslands. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14516. [PMID: 39354912 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Revised: 07/29/2024] [Accepted: 09/01/2024] [Indexed: 10/03/2024]
Abstract
The intricate mechanisms controlling plant diversity and community composition are cornerstone of ecological understanding. Yet, the role of mycorrhizal symbiosis in influencing community composition has often been underestimated. Here, we use extensive species survey data from 1315 grassland sites in China to elucidate the influence of mycorrhizal symbiosis on plant phylogenetic diversity and community assembly. We show that increasing mycorrhizal symbiotic potential leads to greater phylogenetic dispersion within plant communities. Mycorrhizal species predominantly influence deterministic processes, suggesting a role in niche-based community assembly. Conversely, non-mycorrhizal species exert a stronger influence on stochastic processes, highlighting the importance of random events in shaping community structure. These results underscore the crucial but often hidden role of mycorrhizal symbiosis in driving plant community diversity and assembly. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms shaping ecological communities and the way for more informed conservation that acknowledges the complex interplay between symbiosis and community dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Entao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shiping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Daowei Zhou
- Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
| | - Zhouping Shangguan
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming in the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Jianhui Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jin-Sheng He
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, and College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yanfen Wang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jiandong Sheng
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Soil and Plant Ecological Processes, College of Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, China
| | - Lisong Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
| | - Xinrong Li
- Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Ming Dong
- Key Laboratory of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yan Wu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Shuijin Hu
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Yongfei Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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6
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Sun Y, Ren ZK, Müller-Schärer H, Callaway RM, van Kleunen M, Huang W. Increasing and fluctuating resource availability enhances invasional meltdown. Ecology 2024; 105:e4387. [PMID: 39016245 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Exotic plant invaders can promote others via direct or indirect facilitation, known as "invasional meltdown." Increased soil nutrients can also promote invaders by increasing their competitive impacts, but how this might affect meltdown is unknown. In a mesocosm experiment, we evaluated how eight exotic plant species and eight Eurasian native species responded individually to increasing densities of the invasive plant Conyza canadensis, while varying the supply and fluctuations of nutrients. We found that increasing density of C. canadensis intensified competitive suppression of natives but intensified facilitation of other exotics. Higher and fluctuating nutrients exacerbated the competitive effects on natives and facilitative effects on exotics. Overall, these results show a pronounced advantage of exotics over native target species with increased relative density of C. canadensis under high nutrient availability and fluctuation. We integrate these results with the observation that exotic species commonly drive increases in soil resources to suggest the Resource-driven Invasional Meltdown and Inhibition of Natives hypothesis in which biotic acceleration of resource availability promotes other exotic species over native species, leading to invasional meltdown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Sun
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhi-Kun Ren
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Heinz Müller-Schärer
- College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Ragan M Callaway
- Division of Biological Sciences and Wildlife Biology, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Mark van Kleunen
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Wei Huang
- Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
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7
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Ren Z, Zhao W, Chen N, Zhou X. Explaining the mechanisms behind niche dimensionality and light-driving species diversity based on functional traits. NPJ BIODIVERSITY 2024; 3:17. [PMID: 39242837 PMCID: PMC11332029 DOI: 10.1038/s44185-024-00049-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/09/2024]
Abstract
Two prevalent ecological mechanisms, niche dimensionality and light asymmetry, may well explain species loss with fertilization gradients in grassland communities. Although there is still controversy surrounding the two competitive mechanisms that maintain species coexistence, few studies have examined the patterns of change in dissimilarity in species composition (β-diversity) and the relative explanatory contributions of plant functional traits to α- and β-diversity when multiple resources are added. To clarify this knowledge gap, we conducted a 6-year experiment of resource addition in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to assess how species richness and spatial β-diversity are affected by increasing numbers of added resources (NAR) and light limitation. Our results found that both NAR and light limitation led to decreased species richness, suggesting that niche dimensionality and light asymmetry may contribute equally to species loss, rather than either alone. Moreover, NAR is the primary factor responsible for the increase in β-diversity, which exhibits a negative relationship with species richness. Furthermore, the increase in height is the most likely explanation for β-diversity, while the increase in SLA is the most likely explanation for species richness, thereby indicating the changes in species richness and composition can be effectively explained by the response of certain morphological functional traits with the addition of multiple resources. Future research should focus on the complex interactions of different ecological mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity in grassland ecosystems all over the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengwei Ren
- College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, No. 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China
| | - Wei Zhao
- College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, No. 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China
| | - Ning Chen
- College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, No. 222 Tianshui South Road, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China
| | - Xiaolong Zhou
- College of Ecology and Environment, Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ministry of Education, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830046, China.
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8
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Holden EM, Salimbayeva K, Brown C, Stotz GC, Cahill JF. Vegetative growth drives the negative effects of an invasive species on resident community diversity and is not limited by plant-soil feedbacks: A temporal assessment. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e70070. [PMID: 39041020 PMCID: PMC11262830 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2024] [Revised: 06/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Many pathways of invasion have been posited, but ecologists lack an experimental framework to identify which mechanisms are dominant in a given invasion scenario. Plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) are one such mechanism that tend to initially facilitate, but over time attenuate, invasive species' impacts on plant diversity and ecosystem function. PSFs are typically measured under greenhouse conditions and are often assumed to have significant effects under field conditions that change over time. However, direct tests of PSFs effects in natural settings and their change over time are rare. Here we compare the role of PSFs with the effects of biomass in limiting the dominance of an invasive species and impacts on resident species diversity. We characterized the effects of the invader Bromus inermis (Leyss.) on native plant communities over time and measured changes in its conspecific PSFs and vegetative growth to understand their integrated effects on community diversity. To do so, we combined data from a 6-year field study documenting the rate and impacts of invasion with a short-term greenhouse experiment quantifying PSF as a function of time since invasion in the field. We found that the nature and strength of B. inermis PSFs did not change over time and were not mediated by soil microbial communities. Though PSFs impacted B. inermis reproduction, they did not sufficiently limit vegetative growth to diminish the negative impacts of B. inermis biomass on native species. B. inermis experienced the full strength of its negative PSFs immediately upon invasion, but they were ineffective at reducing B. inermis vigor to facilitate the recovery of the native plant community. We recommend that conservation efforts focus on limiting B. inermis vegetative growth to facilitate community recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M. Holden
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
| | - Karina Salimbayeva
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
| | - Charlotte Brown
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
- Départment de BiologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQuebecCanada
| | - Gisela C. Stotz
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
- Centro de Investigación Para la Sustentabilidad, Facultad de Ciencias de la VidaUniversidad Andrés BelloSantiagoChile
| | - James F. Cahill
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
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9
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Shi TS, Collins SL, Yu K, Peñuelas J, Sardans J, Li H, Ye JS. A global meta-analysis on the effects of organic and inorganic fertilization on grasslands and croplands. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3411. [PMID: 38649721 PMCID: PMC11035549 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47829-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
A central role for nature-based solution is to identify optimal management practices to address environmental challenges, including carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. Inorganic fertilization increases plant aboveground biomass but often causes a tradeoff with plant diversity loss. It remains unclear, however, whether organic fertilization, as a potential nature-based solution, could alter this tradeoff by increasing aboveground biomass without plant diversity loss. Here we compile data from 537 experiments on organic and inorganic fertilization across grasslands and croplands worldwide to evaluate the responses of aboveground biomass, plant diversity, and soil organic carbon (SOC). Both organic and inorganic fertilization increase aboveground biomass by 56% and 42% relative to ambient, respectively. However, only inorganic fertilization decreases plant diversity, while organic fertilization increases plant diversity in grasslands with greater soil water content. Moreover, organic fertilization increases SOC in grasslands by 19% and 15% relative to ambient and inorganic fertilization, respectively. The positive effect of organic fertilization on SOC increases with increasing mean annual temperature in grasslands, a pattern not observed in croplands. Collectively, our findings highlight organic fertilization as a potential nature-based solution that can increase two ecosystem services of grasslands, forage production, and soil carbon storage, without a tradeoff in plant diversity loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting-Shuai Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Scott L Collins
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Kailiang Yu
- High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Josep Peñuelas
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
| | - Jordi Sardans
- CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
| | - Hailing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Jian-Sheng Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
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10
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Liu S, Xia S, Zhang X, Cai X, Yang J, Hu Y, Zhou S, Wang H. Microbial communities exhibit distinct diversities and assembly mechanisms in rainwater and tap-water storage systems. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 253:121305. [PMID: 38367380 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
Roof-harvested rainwater stored for potable and nonpotable usages represent a clean and sustainable water supply resource. However, the microbial dynamics and mechanisms of community assembly in long-termed operated rainwater storage systems remain elusive. In this study, characteristics of microbial communities in different habitats were systematically compared within rainwater and tap-water simulated storage systems (SWSSs) constructed with different tank materials (PVC, stainless steel and cement). Distinct microbial communities were observed between rainwater and tap-water SWSSs for both water and biofilm samples (ANOSIM, p < 0.05), with lower diversity indexes noted in rainwater samples. Notably, a divergent potential pathogen profile was observed between rainwater and tap-water SWSSs, with higher relative abundances of potential pathogens noted in rainwater SWSSs. Moreover, tank materials had a notable impact on microbial communities in rainwater SWSSs (ANOSIM, p < 0.05), rather than tap-water SWSSs, illustrating the distinct interplay between water chemistry and engineering factors in shaping the SWSS microbiomes. Deterministic processes contributed predominantly to the microbial community assembly in cement rainwater SWSSs and all tap-water SWSSs, which might be ascribed to the high pH levels in cement rainwater SWSSs and low-nutrient levels in all tap-water SWSSs, respectively. However, microbial communities in the PVC and stainless-steel rainwater SWSSs were mainly driven by stochastic processes. Overall, the results provided insights to the distinct microbial assembly mechanisms and potential health risks in stored roof-harvested rainwater, highlighting the importance of developing tailored microbial management strategies for the storage and utilization of rainwater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sihang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Siqing Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Xucheng Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Jinhao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Yuxing Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Shuang Zhou
- School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
| | - Hong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
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11
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Li S, Tu T, Li S, Yang X, Zheng Y, Guo LD, Zhang D, Jiang L. Different mechanisms underlie similar species-area relationships in two tropical archipelagoes. PLANT DIVERSITY 2024; 46:238-246. [PMID: 38807910 PMCID: PMC11128831 DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2023.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Despite much research in the field of island biogeography, mechanisms regulating insular diversity remain elusive. Here, we aim to explore mechanisms underlying plant species-area relationships in two tropical archipelagoes in the South China Sea. We found positive plant species-area relationships for both coral and continental archipelagoes. However, our results showed that different mechanisms contributed to similar plant species-area relationships between the two archipelagoes. For coral islands, soil nutrients and spatial distance among communities played major roles in shaping plant community structure and species diversity. By contrast, the direct effect of island area, and to a lesser extent, soil nutrients determined plant species richness on continental islands. Intriguingly, increasing soil nutrients availability (N, P, K) had opposite effects on plant diversity between the two archipelagoes. In summary, the habitat quality effect and dispersal limitation are important for regulating plant diversity on coral islands, whereas the passive sampling effect, and to a lesser extent, the habitat quality effect are important for regulating plant diversity on continental islands. More generally, our findings indicate that island plant species-area relationships are outcomes of the interplay of both niche and neutral processes, but the driving mechanisms behind these relationships depends on the type of islands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengchun Li
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
- ECNU-Alberta Joint Lab for Biodiversity Study, Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Jiangxi Academy of Forestry, Nanchang 330032, China
| | - Tieyao Tu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Shaopeng Li
- ECNU-Alberta Joint Lab for Biodiversity Study, Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), Shanghai 202162, China
| | - Xian Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
| | - Yong Zheng
- School of Geographical Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China
| | - Liang-Dong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Dianxiang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
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12
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Wu P, Hu D, Guo J, Li J, Zhong Q, Cheng D. Unraveling the spatial-temporal distribution patterns of soil abundant and rare bacterial communities in China's subtropical mountain forest. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1323887. [PMID: 38410396 PMCID: PMC10895375 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1323887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction The pivotal roles of both abundant and rare bacteria in ecosystem function are widely acknowledged. Despite this, the diversity elevational patterns of these two bacterial taxa in different seasons and influencing factors remains underexplored, especially in the case of rare bacteria. Methods Here, a metabarcoding approach was employed to investigate elevational patterns of these two bacterial communities in different seasons and tested the roles of soil physico-chemical properties in structuring these abundant and rare bacterial community. Results and discussion Our findings revealed that variation in elevation and season exerted notably effects on the rare bacterial diversity. Despite the reactions of abundant and rare communities to the elevational gradient exhibited similarities during both summer and winter, distinct elevational patterns were observed in their respective diversity. Specifically, abundant bacterial diversity exhibited a roughly U-shaped pattern along the elevation gradient, while rare bacterial diversity increased with the elevational gradient. Soil moisture and N:P were the dominant factor leading to the pronounced divergence in elevational distributions in summer. Soil temperature and pH were the key factors in winter. The network analysis revealed the bacteria are better able to adapt to environmental fluctuations during the summer season. Additionally, compared to abundant bacteria, the taxonomy of rare bacteria displayed a higher degree of complexity. Our discovery contributes to advancing our comprehension of intricate dynamic diversity patterns in abundant and rare bacteria in the context of environmental gradients and seasonal fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panpan Wu
- Institute of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Dandan Hu
- Institute of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jiaheng Guo
- Institute of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Jinlong Li
- Institute of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Quanlin Zhong
- Institute of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Dongliang Cheng
- Institute of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Humid Subtropical Eco-geographical Process, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, China
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13
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Walton CR. From the ashes: volcanic phosphorus and the pace of evolution. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2023; 68:3117-3119. [PMID: 37953119 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Craig R Walton
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB21TQ, UK.
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14
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Wang Y, Wang C, Ren F, Jing X, Ma W, He JS, Jiang L. Asymmetric response of aboveground and belowground temporal stability to nitrogen and phosphorus addition in a Tibetan alpine grassland. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:7072-7084. [PMID: 37795748 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic eutrophication is known to impair the stability of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), but its effects on the stability of belowground (BNPP) and total (TNPP) net primary productivity remain poorly understood. Based on a nitrogen and phosphorus addition experiment in a Tibetan alpine grassland, we show that nitrogen addition had little impact on the temporal stability of ANPP, BNPP, and TNPP, whereas phosphorus addition reduced the temporal stability of BNPP and TNPP, but not ANPP. Significant interactive effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition were observed on the stability of ANPP because of the opposite phosphorus effects under ambient and enriched nitrogen conditions. We found that the stability of TNPP was primarily driven by that of BNPP rather than that of ANPP. The responses of BNPP stability cannot be predicted by those of ANPP stability, as the variations in responses of ANPP and BNPP to enriched nutrient, with ANPP increased while BNPP remained unaffected, resulted in asymmetric responses in their stability. The dynamics of grasses, the most abundant plant functional group, instead of community species diversity, largely contributed to the ANPP stability. Under the enriched nutrient condition, the synchronization of grasses reduced the grass stability, while the latter had a significant but weak negative impact on the BNPP stability. These findings challenge the prevalent view that species diversity regulates the responses of ecosystem stability to nutrient enrichment. Our findings also suggest that the ecological consequences of nutrient enrichment on ecosystem stability cannot be accurately predicted from the responses of aboveground components and highlight the need for a better understanding of the belowground ecosystem dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonghui Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Chao Wang
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
- Institute of Grassland, Flowers and Ecology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (BAAFS), Beijing, China
| | - Fei Ren
- Key Laboratory of Restoration Ecology for Cold Regions in Qinghai Province, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining, China
| | - Xin Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Wenhong Ma
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Jin-Sheng He
- Department of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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15
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Wilcox KR, Chen A, Avolio ML, Butler EE, Collins S, Fisher R, Keenan T, Kiang NY, Knapp AK, Koerner SE, Kueppers L, Liang G, Lieungh E, Loik M, Luo Y, Poulter B, Reich P, Renwick K, Smith MD, Walker A, Weng E, Komatsu KJ. Accounting for herbaceous communities in process-based models will advance our understanding of "grassy" ecosystems. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:6453-6477. [PMID: 37814910 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
Grassland and other herbaceous communities cover significant portions of Earth's terrestrial surface and provide many critical services, such as carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, and food production. Forecasts of global change impacts on these services will require predictive tools, such as process-based dynamic vegetation models. Yet, model representation of herbaceous communities and ecosystems lags substantially behind that of tree communities and forests. The limited representation of herbaceous communities within models arises from two important knowledge gaps: first, our empirical understanding of the principles governing herbaceous vegetation dynamics is either incomplete or does not provide mechanistic information necessary to drive herbaceous community processes with models; second, current model structure and parameterization of grass and other herbaceous plant functional types limits the ability of models to predict outcomes of competition and growth for herbaceous vegetation. In this review, we provide direction for addressing these gaps by: (1) presenting a brief history of how vegetation dynamics have been developed and incorporated into earth system models, (2) reporting on a model simulation activity to evaluate current model capability to represent herbaceous vegetation dynamics and ecosystem function, and (3) detailing several ecological properties and phenomena that should be a focus for both empiricists and modelers to improve representation of herbaceous vegetation in models. Together, empiricists and modelers can improve representation of herbaceous ecosystem processes within models. In so doing, we will greatly enhance our ability to forecast future states of the earth system, which is of high importance given the rapid rate of environmental change on our planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin R Wilcox
- University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
- University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Anping Chen
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Meghan L Avolio
- Earth and Planetary Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Ethan E Butler
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Scott Collins
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Rosie Fisher
- CICERO Centre for International Cimate Research, Forskningsparken, Oslo, Norway
| | - Trevor Keenan
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Nancy Y Kiang
- NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA
| | - Alan K Knapp
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Sally E Koerner
- University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
| | - Lara Kueppers
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Guopeng Liang
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Eva Lieungh
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Michael Loik
- Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | - Yiqi Luo
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Ben Poulter
- Biospheric Sciences Lab, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
| | - Peter Reich
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Melinda D Smith
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Anthony Walker
- Environmental Sciences Division and Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
| | - Ensheng Weng
- NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA
- Center for Climate Systems Research, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kimberly J Komatsu
- University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
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16
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Siebert J, Sünnemann M, Hautier Y, Risch AC, Bakker JD, Biederman L, Blumenthal DM, Borer ET, Bugalho MN, Broadbent AAD, Caldeira MC, Cleland E, Davies KF, Eskelinen A, Hagenah N, Knops JMH, MacDougall AS, McCulley RL, Moore JL, Power SA, Price JN, Seabloom EW, Standish R, Stevens CJ, Zimmermann S, Eisenhauer N. Drivers of soil microbial and detritivore activity across global grasslands. Commun Biol 2023; 6:1220. [PMID: 38040868 PMCID: PMC10692199 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05607-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Covering approximately 40% of land surfaces, grasslands provide critical ecosystem services that rely on soil organisms. However, the global determinants of soil biodiversity and functioning remain underexplored. In this study, we investigate the drivers of soil microbial and detritivore activity in grasslands across a wide range of climatic conditions on five continents. We apply standardized treatments of nutrient addition and herbivore reduction, allowing us to disentangle the regional and local drivers of soil organism activity. We use structural equation modeling to assess the direct and indirect effects of local and regional drivers on soil biological activities. Microbial and detritivore activities are positively correlated across global grasslands. These correlations are shaped more by global climatic factors than by local treatments, with annual precipitation and soil water content explaining the majority of the variation. Nutrient addition tends to reduce microbial activity by enhancing plant growth, while herbivore reduction typically increases microbial and detritivore activity through increased soil moisture. Our findings emphasize soil moisture as a key driver of soil biological activity, highlighting the potential impacts of climate change, altered grazing pressure, and eutrophication on nutrient cycling and decomposition within grassland ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Siebert
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marie Sünnemann
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Anita C Risch
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Community Ecology, Zuercherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Jonathan D Bakker
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Lori Biederman
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50010, USA
| | - Dana M Blumenthal
- USDA-ARS Rangeland Resources & Systems Research Unit, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA
| | - Elizabeth T Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Miguel N Bugalho
- Centre for Applied Ecology "Prof. Baeta Neves", School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Arthur A D Broadbent
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK
| | - Maria C Caldeira
- Forest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Elsa Cleland
- Ecology, Behavior and Evolution Section, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr. #0116, La Jolla, California, 92093-0116, USA
| | - Kendi F Davies
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Anu Eskelinen
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Ecology and Genetics Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 8000, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Physiological Diversity, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicole Hagenah
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Johannes M H Knops
- Health & Environmental Sciences Department, Xi'an Jiatong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China
| | - Andrew S MacDougall
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Rebecca L McCulley
- Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA
| | - Joslin L Moore
- Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, 123 Brown Street, Heidelberg, VIC, 3084, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Sally A Power
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Jodi N Price
- School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia
| | - Eric W Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Rachel Standish
- Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
- Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Carly J Stevens
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Stephan Zimmermann
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Forest Soils and Biogeochemistry, Zuercherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
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17
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Huang Z, Li Y, Wang W, Li B, Luo W, Wang Y, Chu C. The unimodal intransitivity-fertility relationship is not mediated by demographic trade-offs in a subtropical forest. Ecology 2023; 104:e4172. [PMID: 37768319 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Intransitive competition has long been acknowledged as a potential mechanism favoring species coexistence. However, its prevalence, variance along environmental gradients, and possible underlying mechanisms (trade-offs) in plant communities (especially in forests) has seldom been examined. A recently developed "reverse-engineering" approach based on Markov Chain allowed us to estimate the competitive transition matrices and competitive intransitivity from observational abundance data. Using this approach, we estimated competitive intransitivity of five dominant species in a subtropical forest and then related it to soil fertility (soil organic matter and soil pH) and demographic trade-offs (growth-survival and stature-recruitment trade-offs). In our forest plot, intransitive competition was common among the dominant species and peaked at the intermediate level of soil organic matter. Neither the growth-survival trade-off nor the stature-recruitment trade-off was positively related to competitive intransitivity. Our study for the first time empirically supported the unimodal intransitivity-fertility relationship in forests, which, however, was not mediated by the two demographic trade-offs in our plot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengliang Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuanzhi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Weitao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Buhang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenqi Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Youshi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chengjin Chu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China
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18
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Zuo H, Shen H, Dong S, Wu S, He F, Zhang R, Wang Z, Shi H, Hao X, Tan Y, Ma C, Li S, Liu Y, Zhang F, Xiao J. Potential short-term effects of earthquake on the plant-soil interface in alpine grassland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1240719. [PMID: 37915511 PMCID: PMC10616788 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1240719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023]
Abstract
Earthquakes are environmental disturbances affecting ecosystem functioning, health, and biodiversity, but their potential impacts on plant-soil interface are still poorly understood. In this study, grassland habitats in areas near and away from the seismo-fault in Madou, a region typical of alpine conditions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, were randomly selected. The impacts of earthquake on soil properties and plant nutrient content in the short term were emphasized, and their potential relationships with community diversity and productivity were examined. According to the findings of the study, the Maduo earthquake led to a decrease in soil nutrient content in alpine grassland ecosystems, especially soil TC, TN, TP, TCa, AP, AK, NH4 +-N, and SOC, and inhibited the absorption of N, Ca, and Mg nutrients by plants. In addition, the diversity and productivity of communities were affected by both direct and indirect earthquake pathways. The negative impacts of seismic fracture on soil structure had the most significant direct impact on plant community diversity. Earthquakes also indirectly reduced community productivity by reducing the soil N content and inhibiting the absorption of plant nutrients. Our findings suggested that earthquakes could potentially decrease the stability of the alpine grassland ecosystem on the QTP by affecting nutrient availability at the plant-soil interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Zuo
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Shen
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Shikui Dong
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Shengnan Wu
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Fengcai He
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Ran Zhang
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Ziying Wang
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Hang Shi
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinghai Hao
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Youquan Tan
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Chunhui Ma
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Shengmei Li
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Yongqi Liu
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Feng Zhang
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiannan Xiao
- School of Environment, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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19
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Zhang X, van Kleunen M, Chang C, Liu Y. Soil microbes mediate the effects of resource variability on plant invasion. Ecology 2023; 104:e4154. [PMID: 37611168 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental question in ecology is which species will prevail over others amid changes in both environmental mean conditions and their variability. Although the widely accepted fluctuating resource hypothesis predicts that increases in mean resource availability and variability therein will promote nonnative plant invasion, it remains unclear to what extent these effects might be mediated by soil microbes. We grew eight invasive nonnative plant species as target plants in pot-mesocosms planted with five different synthetic native communities as competitors, and assigned them to eight combinations of two nutrient-fluctuation (constant vs. pulsed), two nutrient-availability (low vs. high) and two soil-microbe (living vs. sterilized) treatments. We found that when plants grew in sterilized soil, nutrient fluctuation promoted the dominance of nonnative plants under overall low nutrient availability, whereas the nutrient fluctuation had minimal effect under high nutrient availability. In contrast, when plants grew in living soil, nutrient fluctuation promoted the dominance of nonnative plants under high nutrient availability rather than under low nutrient availability. Analysis of the soil microbial community suggests that this might reflect that nutrient fluctuation strongly increased the relative abundance of the most dominant pathogenic fungal family or genus under high nutrient availability, while decreasing it under low nutrient availability. Our findings are the first to indicate that besides its direct effect, environmental variability could also indirectly affect plant invasion via changes in soil microbial communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Mark van Kleunen
- Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou, China
| | - Chunling Chang
- Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
| | - Yanjie Liu
- Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China
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20
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Weng X, Wang M, Sui X, Frey B, Liu Y, Zhang R, Ni H, Li M. High Ammonium Addition Changes the Diversity and Structure of Bacterial Communities in Temperate Wetland Soils of Northeastern China. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2033. [PMID: 37630593 PMCID: PMC10459003 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11082033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The soil microbiome is an important component of wetland ecosystems and plays a pivotal role in nutrient cycling and climate regulation. Nitrogen (N) addition influences the soil's microbial diversity, composition, and function by affecting the soil's nutrient status. The change in soil bacterial diversity and composition in temperate wetland ecosystems in response to high ammonium nitrogen additions remains unclear. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing technology to study the changes of soil bacterial diversity and community structure with increasing ammonium concentrations [CK (control, 0 kg ha-1 a-1), LN (low nitrogen addition, 40 kg ha-1 a-1), and HN (high nitrogen addition, 80 kg ha-1 a-1)] at a field experimental site in the Sanjiang Plain wetland, China. Our results showed that except for soil organic carbon (SOC), other soil physicochemical parameters, i.e., soil moisture content (SMC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), total nitrogen (TN), pH, ammonium nitrogen (NH4+), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), changed significantly among three ammonium nitrogen addition concentrations (p < 0.05). Compared to CK, LN did not change soil bacterial α-diversity (p > 0.05), and HN only decreased the Shannon (p < 0.05) and did not change the Chao (p > 0.05) indices of soil bacterial community. Ammonium nitrogen addition did not significantly affect the soil's bacterial community structure based on non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and PERMANOVA (ADONIS) analyses. Acidobacteriota (24.96-31.11%), Proteobacteria (16.82-26.78%), Chloroflexi (10.34-18.09%), Verrucomicrobiota (5.23-11.56%), and Actinobacteriota (5.63-8.75%) were the most abundant bacterial phyla in the soils. Nitrogen addition changed the complexity and stability of the bacterial network. SMC, NO3-, and pH were the main drivers of the bacterial community structure. These findings indicate that enhanced atmospheric nitrogen addition may have an impact on bacterial communities in soil, and this study will allow us to better understand the response of the soil microbiome in wetland ecosystems in the framework of increasing nitrogen deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohong Weng
- Engineering Research Center of Agricultural Microbiology Technology, Ministry of Education & Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration and Resource Utilization for Cold Region & Key Laboratory of Microbiology, College of Heilongjiang Province & School of Life Sciences, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China; (X.W.); (M.W.)
| | - Mingyu Wang
- Engineering Research Center of Agricultural Microbiology Technology, Ministry of Education & Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration and Resource Utilization for Cold Region & Key Laboratory of Microbiology, College of Heilongjiang Province & School of Life Sciences, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China; (X.W.); (M.W.)
| | - Xin Sui
- Engineering Research Center of Agricultural Microbiology Technology, Ministry of Education & Heilongjiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ecological Restoration and Resource Utilization for Cold Region & Key Laboratory of Microbiology, College of Heilongjiang Province & School of Life Sciences, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China; (X.W.); (M.W.)
| | - Beat Frey
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland;
| | - Yingnan Liu
- Institute of Nature and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150001, China; (Y.L.); (R.Z.)
| | - Rongtao Zhang
- Institute of Nature and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150001, China; (Y.L.); (R.Z.)
| | - Hongwei Ni
- Heilongjiang Academy of Forestry, Harbin 150022, China;
| | - Maihe Li
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, 8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland;
- Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
- School of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
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21
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Kiene C, Jung EY, Engelbrecht BMJ. Nutrient effects on drought responses vary across common temperate grassland species. Oecologia 2023; 202:1-14. [PMID: 37145315 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05370-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Drought and nutrient input are two main global change drivers that threaten ecosystem function and services. Resolving the interactive effects of human-induced stressors on individual species is necessary to improve our understanding of community and ecosystem responses. This study comparatively assessed how different nutrient conditions affect whole-plant drought responses across 13 common temperate grassland species. We conducted a fully factorial drought-fertilization experiment to examine the effect of nutrient addition [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and combined NP] on species' drought survival, and on drought resistance of growth as well as drought legacy effects. Drought had an overall negative effect on survival and growth, and the adverse drought effects extended into the next growing season. Neither drought resistance nor legacy effects exhibited an overall effect of nutrients. Instead, both the size and the direction of the effects differed strongly among species and between nutrient conditions. Consistently, species performance ranking under drought changed with nitrogen availability. The idiosyncratic responses of species to drought under different nutrient conditions may underlie the seemingly contradicting effects of drought in studies on grassland composition and productivity along nutrient and land-use gradients-ranging from amplifying to dampening. Differential species' responses to combinations of nutrients and drought, as observed in our study, complicate predictions of community and ecosystem responses to climate and land-use changes. Moreover, they highlight the urgent need for an improved understanding of the mechanisms that render species more or less vulnerable to drought under different nutrients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Kiene
- Functional and Tropical Plant Ecology, Bayreuth Centre of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany.
| | - Eun-Young Jung
- Functional and Tropical Plant Ecology, Bayreuth Centre of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Bettina M J Engelbrecht
- Functional and Tropical Plant Ecology, Bayreuth Centre of Ecology and Environmental Research (BayCEER), University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama
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22
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Mollashahi H, Szymura M, Perera PCD, Szymura TH. The effect of grassland type and proximity to the city center on urban soil and vegetation coverage. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2023; 195:599. [PMID: 37081193 PMCID: PMC10119043 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11210-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Urban soils with associated vegetation are important components of urban ecosystems, providing multiple regulating and supporting ecosystem services. This study aimed to analyze the differences in the soil chemistry and vegetation of urban grasslands considering urbanization gradient and urban grassland type (UGT). We hypothesized that the chemical properties of soil, such as metal content, as well as vegetation traits, differ according to grassland type (lawns, grasslands in parks, grasslands on river embankments, and roadsides) and the location of grassland patches (city center versus peripheries). Our samples included 94 UGT patches which each patch represented by four square sampling plots sized 1 m2. The results showed high differentiation of measured traits unrelated to UGT and location. The exception was K content, with a relatively high concentration in lawns, and some metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn), with higher concentrations in the city center than in the peripheries. We found two grassland patches located in the city center where the concentrations of Pb, Zn, and Cu exceeded the level authorized by Polish standards. In the case of vegetation traits, the variability was not structured considering the UGT and location of the patches, except for bare soil cover, which was higher in lawns in the city center compared to embankments in the peripheries. We observed correlations between vegetation traits and soil chemical properties. The vascular plant species richness decreased when N, P, and C content, along with an increase in grass cover and a decrease in herbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hassanali Mollashahi
- Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzki Sq 24a, Norwida St. 25, 50-363, Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Magdalena Szymura
- Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzki Sq 24a, Norwida St. 25, 50-363, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Peliyagodage Chathura Dineth Perera
- Institute of Agroecology and Plant Production, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzki Sq 24a, Norwida St. 25, 50-363, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz H Szymura
- Department of Ecology, Biogeochemistry and Environmental Protection, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
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23
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Liu H, Li FY, Liu J, Shi C, Tang K, Yang Q, Liu Y, Fu Q, Gao X, Wang N, Guo W. The reciprocal changes in dominant species with complete metabolic functions explain the decoupling phenomenon of microbial taxonomic and functional composition in a grassland. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1113157. [PMID: 37007478 PMCID: PMC10060659 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1113157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The decoupling of microbial functional and taxonomic components refers to the phenomenon that a drastic change in microbial taxonomic composition leads to no or only a gentle change in functional composition. Although many studies have identified this phenomenon, the mechanisms underlying it are still unclear. Here we demonstrate, using metagenomics data from a steppe grassland soil under different grazing and phosphorus addition treatments, that there is no “decoupling” in the variation of taxonomic and metabolic functional composition of the microbial community within functional groups at species level. In contrast, the high consistency and complementarity between the abundance and functional gene diversity of two dominant species made metabolic functions unaffected by grazing and phosphorus addition. This complementarity between the two dominant species shapes a bistability pattern that differs from functional redundancy in that only two species cannot form observable redundancy in a large microbial community. In other words, the “monopoly” of metabolic functions by the two most abundant species leads to the disappearance of functional redundancy. Our findings imply that for soil microbial communities, the impact of species identity on metabolic functions is much greater than that of species diversity, and it is more important to monitor the dynamics of key dominant microorganisms for accurately predicting the changes in the metabolic functions of the ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaiqiang Liu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Frank Yonghong Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Grassland Ecological Security, Ministry of Education of China, Hohhot, China
- *Correspondence: Frank Yonghong Li,
| | - Jiayue Liu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Chunjun Shi
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Kuanyan Tang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Qianhui Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Yu Liu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Qiang Fu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Xiaotian Gao
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Ning Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Wei Guo
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use on the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
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24
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Yamauchi A, Ito K, Shibasaki S. Competition model explains trends of long-term fertilization in plant communities. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9832. [PMID: 36818534 PMCID: PMC9929124 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Over 40 years ago, Kempton (Biometrics, 35, 1979, 307) reported significant modification to plant community structure following a long-term fertilization experiment. Many researchers have investigated this phenomenon in the years since. Collectively, these studies have shown consistent shifts in rank abundance relationships among species in communities following fertilization. The previous studies indicated that fertilization affects community structure through several critical processes, including trait-based functional response, reordering of species in rank abundance diagram (RAD), and niche dimensionality, although some questions have remained. How does the species reordering driven by the plant responses cause characteristic trends in temporal changes of RAD? Why are those trends ubiquitous in various systems? To answer those questions, we theoretically investigated the effects of fertilization on community structure based on a colonization model (or Levins model) with competition-fecundity trade-offs, which can result in the coexistence of multiple species under competition. The model represents characteristic RAD, which can be an adequate tool to study community composition. Our theoretical model comprehensively represents observed trends in rank abundance relationships following long-term fertilization and suggests that competitive interactions among species are a critical factor in structuring species diversity in plant communities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Koichi Ito
- Center for Ecological ResearchKyoto UniversityOtsuJapan
- International Institute for Zoonosis ControlHokkaido UniversitySapporoJapan
| | - Shota Shibasaki
- Department of Fundamental MicrobiologyUniversity of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
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25
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Wandrag EM, Catford JA, Duncan RP. Niche partitioning overrides interspecific competition to determine plant species distributions along a nutrient gradient. OIKOS 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M. Wandrag
- Dept of Biology, Univ. of York York UK
- Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene Biodiversity, Univ. of York York UK
- Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics, Inst. for Applied Ecology, Univ. of Canberra Bruce ACT Australia
| | - Jane A. Catford
- Dept of Geography, King's College London London UK
- School of BioSciences, The Univ. of Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Richard P. Duncan
- Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics, Inst. for Applied Ecology, Univ. of Canberra Bruce ACT Australia
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26
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Guo X, Zuo X, Medina-Roldán E, Guo A, Yue P, Zhao X, Qiao J, Li X, Chen M, Wei C, Yang T, Ke Y, Yu Q. Effects of multi-resource addition on grassland plant productivity and biodiversity along a resource gradient. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 857:159367. [PMID: 36240924 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The change of plant biodiversity caused by resource-enhancing global changes has greatly affected grassland productivity. However, it remains unclear how multi-resource enrichment induces the effects of multifaceted biodiversity on grassland productivity under different site resource constraints. We conducted a multiple resource addition (MRA) experiment of water and nutrients at three sites located along a resource gradient in northern China. This allowed us to assess the response of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), species (species richness and plant density), functional (functional richness and community-weighted mean of traits) and phylogenetic (phylogenetic richness) diversity to increasing number of MRA. We used structural equation model (SEM) to examine the direct and indirect effects of MRA and multifaceted biodiversity on ANPP. The combined addition of the four resources increased ANPP at all three sites. But with increasing number of MRA, biodiversity varied at the three sites. At the high resource constraint site, species richness, plant density and leaf nitrogen concentration (LNC) increased. At the medium resource constraint site, plant height and LNC increased, leaf dry matter content (LDMC) decreased. At the low resource constraint site, species, functional and phylogenetic richness decreased, and height increased. The SEM showed that MRA increased ANPP directly at all three sites, and indirectly by increasing plant density at the high constraint site and height at the medium constraint site. Independent of MRA, ANPP was affected by height at the high resource constraint site and LNC at the low resource constraint site. Our results illustrate that multi-resource addition positively affects productivity, while affects biodiversity depending on site resource constraint. The study highlights that site resource constraint conditions need to be taken into consideration to better predict grassland structure and function, particularly under the future multifaceted global change scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinxin Guo
- Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Xiaoan Zuo
- Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China; Naiman Desertification Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Eduardo Medina-Roldán
- Institute of BioEconomy-National Research Council (IBE-NRC), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
| | - Aixia Guo
- Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Ping Yue
- Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Xueyong Zhao
- Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China; Naiman Desertification Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou 730000, China.
| | - Jingjuan Qiao
- Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiangyun Li
- Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Min Chen
- Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China; Key Laboratory of Stress Physiology and Ecology in Cold and Arid Regions, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Cunzheng Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
| | - Tian Yang
- National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Yuguang Ke
- National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Qiang Yu
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
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27
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Number of simultaneously acting global change factors affects composition, diversity and productivity of grassland plant communities. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7811. [PMID: 36535931 PMCID: PMC9763497 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35473-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant communities experience impacts of increasing numbers of global change factors (e.g., warming, eutrophication, pollution). Consequently, unpredictable global change effects could arise. However, information about multi-factor effects on plant communities is scarce. To test plant-community responses to multiple global change factors (GCFs), we subjected sown and transplanted-seedling communities to increasing numbers (0, 1, 2, 4, 6) of co-acting GCFs, and assessed effects of individual factors and increasing numbers of GCFs on community composition and productivity. GCF number reduced species diversity and evenness of both community types, whereas none of the individual factors alone affected these measures. In contrast, GCF number positively affected the productivity of the transplanted-seedling community. Our findings show that simultaneously acting GCFs can affect plant communities in ways differing from those expected from single factor effects, which may be due to biological effects, sampling effects, or both. Consequently, exploring the multifactorial nature of global change is crucial to better understand ecological impacts of global change.
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28
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Rodríguez A, de Vries FT, Manning P, Sebastià MT, Bardgett RD. Soil Abiotic Properties Shape Plant Functional Diversity Across Temperate Grassland Plant Communities. Ecosystems 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-022-00812-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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29
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Wang Y, Du J, Pang Z, Liu Y, Xue K, Hautier Y, Zhang B, Tang L, Jiang L, Ji B, Xu X, Zhang J, Hu R, Zhou S, Wang F, Che R, Wang D, Zhou C, Cui X, Eisenhauer N, Hao Y. Unimodal productivity-biodiversity relationship along the gradient of multidimensional resources across Chinese grasslands. Natl Sci Rev 2022; 9:nwac165. [PMID: 36519072 PMCID: PMC9743175 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwac165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Resources can affect plant productivity and biodiversity simultaneously and thus are key drivers of their relationships in addition to plant-plant interactions. However, most previous studies only focused on a single resource while neglecting the nature of resource multidimensionality. Here we integrated four essential resources for plant growth into a single metric of resource diversity (RD) to investigate its effects on the productivity-biodiversity relationship (PBR) across Chinese grasslands. Results showed that habitats differing in RD have different PBRs-positive in low-resource habitats, but neutral in medium- and high-resource ones-while collectively, a weak positive PBR was observed. However, when excluding direct effects of RD on productivity and biodiversity, the PBR in high-resource habitats became negative, which leads to a unimodal instead of a positive PBR along the RD gradient. By integrating resource effects and changing plant-plant interactions into a unified framework with the RD gradient, our work contributes to uncovering underlying mechanisms for inconsistent PBRs at large scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanfen Wang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100101, China
| | - Jianqing Du
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
- Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing101408, China
| | - Zhe Pang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Yali Liu
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing100083, China
| | - Kai Xue
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
- Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing101408, China
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht3584CH, The Netherlands
| | - Biao Zhang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Li Tang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Lili Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100101, China
| | - Baoming Ji
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing100083, China
| | - Xingliang Xu
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100101, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing100083, China
| | - Ronghai Hu
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
- Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing101408, China
| | - Shutong Zhou
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Fang Wang
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Rongxiao Che
- School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming650091, China
| | - Di Wang
- Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100101, China
| | - Chaoting Zhou
- Department of Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Xiaoyong Cui
- Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing101408, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig04103, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig04103, Germany
| | - Yanbin Hao
- Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing101408, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing100049, China
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30
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Waterton J, Hammond M, Lau JA. Evolutionary effects of nitrogen are not easily predicted from ecological responses. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2022; 109:1741-1756. [PMID: 36371717 PMCID: PMC10099611 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) addition alters the abiotic and biotic environment, potentially leading to changes in patterns of natural selection (i.e., trait-fitness relationships) and the opportunity for selection (i.e., variance in relative fitness). Because N addition favors species with light acquisition strategies (e.g., tall species), we predicted that N would strengthen selection favoring those same traits. We also predicted that N could alter the opportunity for selection via its effects on mean fitness and/or competitive asymmetries. METHODS We quantified the strength of selection and the opportunity for selection in replicated populations of the annual grass Setaria faberi (giant foxtail) growing in a long-term N addition experiment. We also correlated these population-level parameters with community-level metrics to identify the proximate causes of N-mediated evolutionary effects. RESULTS N addition increased aboveground productivity, light asymmetry, and reduced species diversity. Contrary to expectations, N addition did not strengthen selection for trait values associated with higher light acquisition such as greater height and specific leaf area (SLA); rather, it strengthened selection favoring lower SLA. Light asymmetry and species diversity were associated with selection for height and SLA, suggesting a role for these factors in driving N-mediated selection. The opportunity for selection was not influenced by N addition but was negatively associated with species diversity. CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that anthropogenic N enrichment can affect evolutionary processes, but that evolutionary changes in plant traits within populations are unlikely to parallel the shifts in plant traits observed at the community level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Waterton
- Department of BiologyIndiana University1001 E. 3rd St.BloomingtonIN47405USA
| | - Mark Hammond
- Kellogg Biological StationMichigan State UniversityHickory CornersMI49060USA
| | - Jennifer A. Lau
- Department of Biology and the Environmental Resilience InstituteIndiana University1001 E. 3rd St.BloomingtonIN47405USA
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31
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Zhang Z, Liu Y, Hardrath A, Jin H, van Kleunen M. Increases in multiple resources promote competitive ability of naturalized non-native plants. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1150. [PMID: 36310319 PMCID: PMC9618556 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04113-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Invasion by non-native plants is frequently attributed to increased resource availability. Still, our understanding is mainly based on effects of single resources and on plants grown without competition despite the fact that plants rely on multiple resources and usually grow in competition. How multiple resources affects competition between native and non-native plants remains largely unexplored. Here, with two similar common garden experiments, one in China and one in Germany, we tested whether nutrient and light availabilities affected the competitive outcomes, in terms of biomass production, between native and naturalized non-native plants. We found that under low resource availability or with addition of only one type of resource non-natives were not more competitive than natives. However, with a joint increase of nutrients and light intensity, non-natives were more competitive than natives. Our finding indicates that addition of multiple resources could greatly reduce the niche dimensionality (i.e. number of limiting factors), favoring dominance of non-native species. It also indicates that habitats experiencing multiple global changes might be more vulnerable to plant invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijie Zhang
- Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Yanjie Liu
- Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 130102, Changchun, China.
| | - Angelina Hardrath
- Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Huifei Jin
- Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 130102, Changchun, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China
| | - Mark van Kleunen
- Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, 318000, Taizhou, China
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Xu Q, Yang X, Song J, Ru J, Xia J, Wang S, Wan S, Jiang L. Nitrogen enrichment alters multiple dimensions of grassland functional stability via changing compositional stability. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2713-2725. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.14119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qianna Xu
- School of Biological Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia USA
| | - Xian Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou P. R. China
| | - Jian Song
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Life Science and Green Development Hebei University Baoding P. R. China
| | - Jingyi Ru
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Life Science and Green Development Hebei University Baoding P. R. China
| | - Jianyang Xia
- Research Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences East China Normal University Shanghai China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Peking University Beijing P. R. China
| | - Shiqiang Wan
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Life Science and Green Development Hebei University Baoding P. R. China
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta Georgia USA
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Ladouceur E, Blowes SA, Chase JM, Clark AT, Garbowski M, Alberti J, Arnillas CA, Bakker JD, Barrio IC, Bharath S, Borer ET, Brudvig LA, Cadotte MW, Chen Q, Collins SL, Dickman CR, Donohue I, Du G, Ebeling A, Eisenhauer N, Fay PA, Hagenah N, Hautier Y, Jentsch A, Jónsdóttir IS, Komatsu K, MacDougall A, Martina JP, Moore JL, Morgan JW, Peri PL, Power S, Ren Z, Risch AC, Roscher C, Schuchardt M, Seabloom EW, Stevens CJ, Veen G(C, Virtanen R, Wardle GM, Wilfahrt PA, Harpole WS. Linking changes in species composition and biomass in a globally distributed grassland experiment. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2699-2712. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.14126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Ladouceur
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig‐Halle‐Jena Leipzig Germany
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Department of Biology University of Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Institute of Computer Science Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Shane A. Blowes
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig‐Halle‐Jena Leipzig Germany
- Institute of Computer Science Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Jonathan M. Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig‐Halle‐Jena Leipzig Germany
- Institute of Computer Science Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Adam T. Clark
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig‐Halle‐Jena Leipzig Germany
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Institute of Biology Karl‐Franzens University of Graz Styria Austria
| | - Magda Garbowski
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig‐Halle‐Jena Leipzig Germany
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Juan Alberti
- Laboratorio de Ecología, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC) Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Mar del Plata Argentina
| | - Carlos Alberto Arnillas
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - Jonathan D. Bakker
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences University of Washington Seattle Washington USA
| | - Isabel C. Barrio
- Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences Agricultural University of Iceland Reykjavík Iceland
| | | | - Elizabeth T. Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | - Lars A. Brudvig
- Department of Plant Biology and Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA
| | - Marc W. Cadotte
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Toronto Scarborough Toronto Ontario Canada
| | - Qingqing Chen
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science Peking University Beijing China
| | - Scott L. Collins
- Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque New Mexico USA
| | - Christopher R. Dickman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Ian Donohue
- Department of Zoology Trinity College Dublin Dublin Ireland
| | - Guozhen Du
- School of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Gansu China
| | - Anne Ebeling
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution Friedrich‐Schiller University Jena Jena Germany
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig‐Halle‐Jena Leipzig Germany
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle—Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
| | - Philip A. Fay
- USDA‐ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Lab Temple Texas USA
| | - Nicole Hagenah
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Anke Jentsch
- Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
| | | | - Kimberly Komatsu
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Edgewater Maryland USA
| | - Andrew MacDougall
- Dept of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph Ontario Canada
| | - Jason P. Martina
- Department of Biology Texas State University San Marcos Texas USA
| | - Joslin L. Moore
- Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Heidelberg Victoria Australia
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton Victoria Australia
| | - John W. Morgan
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria Australia
| | - Pablo L. Peri
- National Institute of Agricultural Research (INTA) Southern Patagonia National University (UNPA) CONICET Santa Cruz Argentina
| | - Sally A. Power
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment Western Sydney University Penrith New South Wales Australia
| | - Zhengwei Ren
- School of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Gansu China
| | - Anita C. Risch
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Community Ecology Birmensdorf Switzerland
| | - Christiane Roscher
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig‐Halle‐Jena Leipzig Germany
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
| | - Max A. Schuchardt
- Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research University of Bayreuth Bayreuth Germany
| | - Eric W. Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | | | - G.F. (Ciska) Veen
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology Wageningen the Netherlands
| | | | - Glenda M. Wardle
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Peter A. Wilfahrt
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | - W. Stanley Harpole
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig‐Halle‐Jena Leipzig Germany
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Leipzig Germany
- Institute of Biology Martin Luther University Halle—Wittenberg Halle (Saale) Germany
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Ma K, Tu Q. Random sampling associated with microbial profiling leads to overestimated stochasticity inference in community assembly. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1011269. [PMID: 36312987 PMCID: PMC9598869 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1011269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Revealing the mechanisms governing the complex community assembly over space and time is a central issue in ecology. Null models have been developed to quantitatively disentangle the relative importance of deterministic vs. stochastic processes in structuring the compositional variations of biological communities. Similar approaches have been recently extended to the field of microbial ecology. However, the profiling of highly diverse biological communities (e.g., microbial communities) is severely influenced by random sampling issues, leading to undersampled community profiles and overestimated β-diversity, which may further affect stochasticity inference in community assembly. By implementing simulated datasets, this study demonstrate that microbial stochasticity inference is also affected due to random sampling issues associated with microbial profiling. The effects on microbial stochasticity inference for the whole community and the abundant subcommunities were different using different randomization methods in generating null communities. The stochasticity of rare subcommunities, however, was persistently overestimated irrespective of which randomization method was used. Comparatively, the stochastic ratio approach was more sensitive to random sampling issues, whereas the Raup–Crick metric was more affected by randomization methods. As more studies begin to focus on the mechanisms governing abundant and rare subcommunities, we urge cautions be taken for microbial stochasticity inference based on β-diversity, especially for rare subcommunities. Randomization methods to generate null communities shall also be carefully selected. When necessary, the cutoff used for judging the relative importance of deterministic vs. stochastic processes shall be redefined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Ma
- Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Qichao Tu
- Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
- Joint Lab for Ocean Research and Education at Dalhousie University, Shandong University and Xiamen University, Qingdao, China
- *Correspondence: Qichao Tu,
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35
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Mao W, Sun Z, Forrestel EJ, Griffin‐Nolan R, Chen A, Smith MD. Using local and regional trait hypervolumes to study the effects of environmental factors on community assembly. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Mao
- College of Ecology and Environment Hainan University Haikou China
- Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Zhibin Sun
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | | | | | - Anping Chen
- Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Melinda D. Smith
- Department of Biology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
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36
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Fukano Y, Tachiki Y, Kasada M, Uchida K. Evolution of competitive traits changes species diversity in a natural field. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221376. [PMID: 36168760 PMCID: PMC9515622 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Studying the interaction between evolutionary and ecological processes (i.e. eco-evolutionary dynamics) has great potential to improve our understanding of biological processes such as species interactions, community assembly and ecosystem functions. However, most experimental studies have been conducted under controlled laboratory or mesocosm conditions, and the importance of these interactions in natural field communities has not been evaluated. In this study, we focused on the contemporary divergence of a competitive trait (the height-width ratio) of an annual grass Eleusine indica between urban and farmland populations and investigated how trait evolution affects ecological processes by transplanting E. indica individuals from lineages with different trait values into semi-natural grassland. The competitive trait of the transplanted individuals not only affected their own growth and fitness, but also affected the vegetative growth of the competing species and the species diversity. These results indicate that the evolution of competitive traits, even in a single species, can influence the community species diversity through changes in interspecific interactions. Eco-evolutionary interactions therefore play a crucial role in natural field environments. Our results suggest that understanding intraspecific variation in competitive traits driven by rapid evolution is essential for understanding interspecific competitive interactions, community assembly and species diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuya Fukano
- Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
| | - Yuuya Tachiki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Minoru Kasada
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aoba, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
- Department of Experimental Limnology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Zur alten Fischerhuette 2, 16775 Stechlin, Germany
| | - Kei Uchida
- Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1, Midori-cho, Nishi-Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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37
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Li W, Gan X, Jiang Y, Cao F, Lü XT, Ceulemans T, Zhao C. Nitrogen effects on grassland biomass production and biodiversity are stronger than those of phosphorus. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 309:119720. [PMID: 35810985 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Human-induced nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment have profound effects on grassland net primary production (NPP) and species richness. However, a comprehensive understanding of the relative contribution of N vs. P addition and their interaction on grassland NPP increase and species loss remains elusive. We compiled data from 80 field manipulative studies and conducted a meta-analysis (2107 observations world-wide) to evaluate the individual and combined effects of N and P addition on grassland NPP and species richness. We found that both N addition and P addition significantly enhanced grassland above-ground NPP (ANPP; 33.2% and 14.2%, respectively), but did not affect total NPP, below-ground NPP (BNPP), and species evenness. Species richness significantly decreased with N addition (11.7%; by decreasing forbs) probably due to strong decreased soil pH, but not with P addition. The combined effects of N and P addition were generally stronger than the individual effects of N or P addition, and we found the synergistic effects on ANPP, and additive effects on total NPP, BNPP, species richness, and evenness within the combinations of N and P addition. In addition, N and P addition effects were strongly affected by moderator variables (e.g. climate and fertilization type, duration and amount of fertilizer addition). These results demonstrate a higher relative contribution of N than P addition to grassland NPP increase and species loss, although the effects varied across climate and fertilization types. The existing data also reveals that more long-term (≥5 years) experimental studies that combine N and P and test multifactor effects in different climate zones (particularly in boreal grasslands) are needed to provide a more solid basis for forecasting grassland community response and C sequestration response to nutrient enrichment at the global scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weibin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China.
| | - Xiaoling Gan
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Yuan Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Fengfeng Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Xiao-Tao Lü
- Erguna Forest-Steppe Ecotone Research Station, CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Tobias Ceulemans
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Department of Biology, University of Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 31, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Chuanyan Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
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Gillespie MA, Buckley HL, Condron L, Wratten SD. Grassland plant and invertebrate species richness increases from mowing are mediated by impacts on soil chemistry. Basic Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2022.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Wang L, Wen Y, Tong R, Zhang H, Chen H, Hu T, Liu G, Wang J, Zhu L, Wu T. Understanding Responses of Soil Microbiome to the Nitrogen and Phosphorus Addition in Metasequoia glyptostroboides Plantations of Different Ages. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2022; 84:565-579. [PMID: 34545413 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-021-01863-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have significant effects on soil microbial community diversity, composition, and function. Also, trees of different life stages have different fertilization requirements. In this study, we designed three N additions and three P levels (5 years of experimental treatment) at two Metasequoia glyptostroboides plantations of different ages (young, 6 years old; middle mature, 24 years old) to understand how different addition levels of N and P affect the soil microbiome. Here, the N fertilization of M. glyptostroboides plantation land (5 years of experimental treatment) significantly enriched microbes (e.g., Lysobacter, Luteimonas, and Rhodanobacter) involved in nitrification, denitrification, and P-starvation response regulation, which might further lead to the decreasing in alpha diversity (especially in 6YMP soil). The P addition could impact the genes involved in inorganic P-solubilization and organic P-mineralization by increasing soil AP and TP. Moreover, the functional differences in the soil microbiomes were identified between the 6YMP and 24YMP soil. This study provides valuable information that improves our understanding on the effects of N and P input on the belowground soil microbial community and functional characteristics in plantations of different stand ages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Wang
- East China Coastal Forest Ecosystem Long-Term Research Station, Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou, 311400, Zhejiang, China
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Wenyuan Road 1, Nanjing, 210046, China
| | - Yuxiang Wen
- East China Coastal Forest Ecosystem Long-Term Research Station, Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou, 311400, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ran Tong
- East China Coastal Forest Ecosystem Long-Term Research Station, Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou, 311400, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- East China Coastal Forest Ecosystem Long-Term Research Station, Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou, 311400, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hua Chen
- Mingke Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ting Hu
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Wenyuan Road 1, Nanjing, 210046, China
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Guoqi Liu
- Mingke Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jianjun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Lifeng Zhu
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Wenyuan Road 1, Nanjing, 210046, China.
| | - Tonggui Wu
- East China Coastal Forest Ecosystem Long-Term Research Station, Research Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Hangzhou, 311400, Zhejiang, China.
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40
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Liu W, Yang X, Jiang L, Guo L, Chen Y, Yang S, Liu L. Partitioning of beta-diversity reveals distinct assembly mechanisms of plant and soil microbial communities in response to nitrogen enrichment. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9016. [PMID: 35784037 PMCID: PMC9205676 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) deposition poses a serious threat to terrestrial biodiversity and alters plant and soil microbial community composition. Species turnover and nestedness reflect the underlying mechanisms of variations in community composition. However, it remains unclear how species turnover and nestedness contribute to different responses of taxonomic groups (plants and soil microbes) to N enrichment. Here, based on a 13-year consecutive multi-level N addition experiment in a semiarid steppe, we partitioned community β-diversity into species turnover and nestedness components and explored how and why plant and microbial communities reorganize via these two processes following N enrichment. We found that plant, soil bacterial, and fungal β-diversity increased, but their two components showed different patterns with increasing N input. Plant β-diversity was mainly driven by species turnover under lower N input but by nestedness under higher N input, which may be due to a reduction in forb species, with low tolerance to soil Mn2+, with increasing N input. However, turnover was the main contributor to differences in soil bacterial and fungal communities with increasing N input, indicating the phenomenon of microbial taxa replacement. The turnover of bacteria increased greatly whereas that of fungi remained within a narrow range with increasing N input. We further found that the increased soil Mn2+ concentration was the best predictor for increasing nestedness of plant communities under higher N input, whereas increasing N availability and acidification together contributed to the turnover of bacterial communities. However, environmental factors could explain neither fungal turnover nor nestedness. Our findings reflect two different pathways of community changes in plants, soil bacteria, and fungi, as well as their distinct community assembly in response to N enrichment. Disentangling the turnover and nestedness of plant and microbial β-diversity would have important implications for understanding plant-soil microbe interactions and seeking conservation strategies for maintaining regional diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Xian Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of EcologySun Yat‐sen UniversityGuangzhouChina
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Lulu Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yaru Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Sen Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
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Lyu S, Alexander JM. Competition contributes to both warm and cool range edges. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2502. [PMID: 35523780 PMCID: PMC9076896 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30013-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition plays an important role in shaping species’ spatial distributions. However, it remains unclear where and how competition regulates species’ range limits. In a field experiment with plants originating from low and high elevations and conducted across an elevation gradient in the Swiss Alps, we find that both lowland and highland species can better persist in the presence of competition within, rather than beyond, their elevation ranges. These findings suggest that competition helps set both lower and upper elevation range limits of these species. Furthermore, the reduced ability of pairs of lowland or highland species to coexist beyond their range edges is mainly driven by diminishing niche differences; changes in both niche differences and relative fitness differences drive weakening competitive dominance of lowland over highland species with increasing elevation. These results highlight the need to account for competitive interactions and investigate underlying coexistence mechanisms to understand current and future species distributions. Using a field experiment, this study shows that both lowland and alpine plant species experience greater competitive effects and a reduced ability to coexist towards their elevation range edges due to increased niche overlap and competitive inequality. These findings suggest competition helps set both lower and upper elevation range limits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengman Lyu
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Jake M Alexander
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland
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42
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Coupled Relationship between Soil Physicochemical Properties and Plant Diversity in the Process of Vegetation Restoration. FORESTS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/f13050648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
An in-depth exploration of plant–soil interactions can improve our knowledge of the succession and evolution of forest ecosystems. To understand the coupling relationship between species diversity and soil physicochemical properties in natural secondary forests during the process of vegetation restoration, the species diversity of trees, shrubs and herbs and the physicochemical properties of soil at different depths were investigated in six forest communities in the Qinling Huoditang area over two years (2013 and 2019). The analysis indicated that the soil nutrient content in the region decreased during this period, but the plant diversity index showed no obvious change. Through RDA and regression analysis, we determined that the correlations between plant diversity and soil physicochemical properties were discrete. The tree and herb species diversity were most closely related to the surface soil, while shrub diversity was more strongly regulated by the middle soil layer. Available phosphorus had the strongest effect on trees, and the main factors affecting shrubs were NO3-N and NH4-N. Herb growth was more limited by soil physical properties such as the soil bulk density and porosity. We concluded that evident correlations exist between soil physicochemical properties and plant communities. After six years of natural restoration, the plant diversity index did not change significantly. However, the soil nutrient content decreased obviously. This study provides a reference for the management of vegetation restoration processes in forest ecosystems.
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Wu J, Zhang Q. 非传递性竞争在物种共存中的作用. CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN-CHINESE 2022. [DOI: 10.1360/tb-2022-0091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Fernández-Guisuraga JM, Fernández-García V, Tárrega R, Marcos E, Valbuena L, Pinto R, Monte P, Beltrán D, Huerta S, Calvo L. Transhumant Sheep Grazing Enhances Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Productive Mountain Grasslands: A Case Study in the Cantabrian Mountains. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.861611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the effects of traditional livestock grazing abandonment on the ability of mountain grasslands to sustain multiple ecosystem functions (ecosystem multifunctionality; EMF) is crucial for implementing policies that promote grasslands conservation and the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. In this study, we evaluated the effect of short- and long-term transhumant sheep abandonment on EMF through a grazing exclusion experiment in a grassland of the Cantabrian Mountains range (NW Spain), where transhumant sheep flocks graze in summer. We considered four key ecosystem functions, derived from vegetation and soil functional indicators measured in the field: (A) biodiversity function, evaluated from total plant species evenness, diversity and richness indicators; (B) forage production function, evaluated from cover and richness of perennial and annual herbaceous species indicators; (C) carbon sequestration function, evaluated from woody species cover and soil organic carbon indicators; and (D) soil fertility function, evaluated from NH4+-N, NO3–-N, P and K content in the soil. The EMF index was calculated by integrating the four standardized ecosystem functions through an averaging approach. Based on linear mixed modeling we found that grazing exclusion induced significant shifts in the considered individual ecosystem functions and also on EMF. Long-term livestock exclusion significantly hindered biodiversity and forage production functions, but enhanced the carbon sequestration function. Conversely, the soil fertility function was negatively affected by both short- and long-term grazing exclusion. Altogether, grazing exclusion significantly decreased overall EMF, especially in long-term livestock exclusion areas, while the decline in EMF in short-term exclusions with respect to grazed areas was marginally significant. The results of this study support the sustainability of traditional transhumance livestock grazing for promoting the conservation of grasslands and their ecosystem function in mountain regions.
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Moeneclaey I, Schelfhout S, Vanhellemont M, DeCock E, Van Coillie F, Verheyen K, Baeten L. Species ecological strategy and soil phosphorus supply interactively affect plant biomass and phosphorus concentration. Basic Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2022.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Wu W, Wang X, Ren Z, Zhou X, Du G. N-Induced Species Loss Dampened by Clipping Mainly Through Suppressing Dominant Species in an Alpine Meadow. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:815011. [PMID: 35392523 PMCID: PMC8980528 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.815011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen addition and clipping can exert substantial impact on species diversity but their interactions and the underlying mechanisms still remain unclear. Resource competition theory holds that sufficiently strong competitive ability of dominant species can lead to the losses of subordinate species through competitive exclusion, while niche differentiation theory suggests that the persistence of subordinate species in competitive systems can be promoted by guaranteeing positive growth rates of rare species. Taking advantage of a field experiment with nitrogen addition (10 g N m-2 year-1) and different clipping intensities (2, 15, and 30 cm) treatments in a Tibetan alpine meadow across 2015-2020, we assessed the relative importance of competitively dominant species and niche differentiation in driving species diversity changes via using community weighted mean (CWM) and variation coefficient of nearest neighbor distance (CV_NND) of functional traits including height, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC). We show that nitrogen enrichment drove a strong plant diversity loss (P < 0.001). Clipping at different intensities had little effect on species diversity, but it can reduce the N-induced diversity loss. Nitrogen addition and clipping caused changes in community diversity were mainly indirectly attributed to their effects on community functional composition, and the competitive ability of dominant species. Nitrogen increased the CWM of functional traits to improve the competitive ability of dominant species. In contrast, clipping influenced species diversity positively by decreasing CWMheight (P < 0.001), and also negatively by increasing CWMSLA (P < 0.001) and decreasing CV_NNDSLA (P < 0.05). Interacting with N addition, clipping resulted in a neutral effect on species diversity, because clipping could offset the negative effects of nitrogen addition through an opposite effect on CWMheight. This study provides new insights into the mechanisms of diversity maintenance with respect to nitrogen addition and clipping. Thus, clipping is recommended as a useful management strategy to alleviate the species loss caused by nutrients enrichment and maintain the diversity of grassland ecosystems.
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Xu M, Zhu X, Chen S, Pang S, Liu W, Gao L, Yang W, Li T, Zhang Y, Luo C, He D, Wang Z, Fan Y, Han X, Zhang X. Distinctive pattern and mechanism of precipitation changes affecting soil microbial assemblages in the Eurasian steppe. iScience 2022; 25:103893. [PMID: 35243251 PMCID: PMC8866155 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 01/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Precipitation may increase or decrease by different intensities, but the pattern and mechanism of soil microbial community assembly under various precipitation changes remain relatively underexplored. Here, although ±30% precipitation caused a small decrease (∼19%) in the within-treatment taxonomic compositional dissimilarity through the deterministic competitive exclusion process in a steppe ecosystem, ±60% precipitation caused a large increase (∼35%) in the dissimilarity through the stochastic ecological drift process (random birth/death), which was in contrast with the traditional thought that increasing the magnitude of environmental changes (e.g., from +30% to +60%) would elevate the importance of deterministic relative to stochastic processes. The increased taxonomic dissimilarity/stochasticity under ±60% precipitation translated into functional dissimilarity/stochasticity at the gene, protein, and enzyme levels. Overall, our results revealed the distinctive pattern and mechanism of precipitation changes affecting soil microbial community assembly and demonstrated the need to integrate microbial taxonomic information to better predict their functional responses to precipitation changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minjie Xu
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Xunzhi Zhu
- Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
| | - Shiping Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Shuang Pang
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Wei Liu
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Lili Gao
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Wei Yang
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Tingting Li
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Yuhan Zhang
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Chun Luo
- Shanghai Majorbio Bio-pharm Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201318, China
| | - Dandan He
- Shanghai Majorbio Bio-pharm Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Shanghai 201318, China
| | - Zhiping Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Yi Fan
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xingguo Han
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Ximei Zhang
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
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48
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Assessing the roles of nitrogen, biomass, and niche dimensionality as drivers of species loss in grassland communities. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2112010119. [PMID: 35235460 PMCID: PMC8915794 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2112010119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Nutrient enrichment of natural ecosystems is a primary characteristic of the Anthropocene and a known cause of biodiversity loss, particularly in grasslands. In a global meta-analysis of 630 resource addition experiments, we conduct a simultaneous test of the three most prominent explanations of this phenomenon. Our results conclusively indicate that nitrogen is the leading cause of species loss. This result is important because of the increase in nitrogen deposition and the frequent use of nitrogen-based fertilizers worldwide. Our findings provide global-scale, experimental evidence that minimizing nitrogen inputs to ecological systems may help to conserve the diversity of grassland ecosystems. Eutrophication is a major driver of species loss in plant communities worldwide. However, the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon are controversial. Previous studies have raised three main explanations: 1) High levels of soil resources increase standing biomass, thereby intensifying competitive interactions (the “biomass-driven competition hypothesis”). 2) High levels of soil resources reduce the potential for resource-based niche partitioning (the “niche dimension hypothesis”). 3) Increasing soil nitrogen causes stress by changing the abiotic or biotic conditions (the “nitrogen detriment hypothesis”). Despite several syntheses of resource addition experiments, so far, no study has tested all of the hypotheses together. This is a major shortcoming, since the mechanisms underlying the three hypotheses are not independent. Here, we conduct a simultaneous test of the three hypotheses by integrating data from 630 resource addition experiments located in 99 sites worldwide. Our results provide strong support for the nitrogen detriment hypothesis, weaker support for the biomass-driven competition hypothesis, and negligible support for the niche dimension hypothesis. The results further show that the indirect effect of nitrogen through its effect on biomass is minor compared to its direct effect and is much larger than that of all other resources (phosphorus, potassium, and water). Thus, we conclude that nitrogen-specific mechanisms are more important than biomass or niche dimensionality as drivers of species loss under high levels of soil resources. This conclusion is highly relevant for future attempts to reduce biodiversity loss caused by global eutrophication.
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Shen H, Dong S, DiTommaso A, Xiao J, Lu W, Zhi Y. Nitrogen Deposition Shifts Grassland Communities Through Directly Increasing Dominance of Graminoids: A 3-Year Case Study From the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:811970. [PMID: 35317015 PMCID: PMC8934429 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.811970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) deposition has been increasing for decades and has profoundly influenced the structure and function of grassland ecosystems in many regions of the world. However, the impact of N deposition on alpine grasslands is less well documented. We conducted a 3-year field experiment to determine the effects of N deposition on plant species richness, composition, and community productivity in an alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China. We found that 3 years of N deposition had a profound effect on these plant community parameters. Increasing N rates increased the dominance of graminoids and reduced the presence of non-graminoids. Species richness was inversely associated with aboveground biomass. The shift in plant species and functional group composition was largely responsible for the increase in productivity associated with N deposition. Climatic factors also interacted with N addition to influence productivity. Our findings suggest that short-term N deposition could increase the productivity of alpine meadows through shifts in composition toward a graminoid-dominated community. Longer-term studies are needed to determine if shifts in composition and increased productivity will be maintained. Future work must also evaluate whether decreasing plant diversity will impair the long-term stability and function of sensitive alpine grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Shen
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Shikui Dong
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Antonio DiTommaso
- Soil and Crop Sciences, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Jiannan Xiao
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Wen Lu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolia Plateau, Collaborative Innovation Center for Grassland Ecological Security, College of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Yangliu Zhi
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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50
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Yang S, Liu W, Guo L, Wang C, Deng M, Peng Z, Liu L. The changes in plant and soil C pools and their C:N stoichiometry control grassland N retention under elevated N inputs. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2517. [PMID: 34918838 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) retention is a critical ecosystem function for maintaining soil fertility and mitigating pollution caused by anthropogenic N input. However, it has not yet been elucidated how responses of plant and soil regulate ecosystem N retention. Here, we combined a 14-year N addition experiment in a temperate steppe with a global meta-analysis in grasslands, to assess changes in carbon (C) pool size and stoichiometric C:N ratio of plant and soil components and evaluate the contribution of each component to grassland N retention under increasing N levels. We found that N addition increased N storage in the plant pool by stimulating biomass production and reducing tissue C:N at the community level. However, the non-random loss of forbs and legumes associated with a low C:N ratio partially offset the decline in community-level C:N ratio, thereby diminishing the positive net effect of N enrichment on plant N storage. The observed increase in soil N storage was predominantly determined by the decrease in C:N ratio of topsoil, while no changes were detected in the subsoil. On 14-year time scale, the upper limitation of N retention capacity in our study site was 167.02 g N/m2 . Global meta-analysis further indicated that a decade's N addition significantly increased the N storage in shoot, root and topsoil through enhancing the C pool and decreasing the C:N ratio, while did not affect those of subsoil. However, the positive correlation between the response of subsoil N storage and treatment duration further indicates that, though the accumulation of added N lagged behind that of topsoil, subsoil could play an important role in N retention on a longer time scale. Our study demonstrated that the enhanced plant productivity and altered physiological metabolism indicated by the decreased C:N ratio jointly determined grassland ecosystem N retention. The capacity of the grassland ecosystem to retain exogenous N input is limited, especially for a large amount of N input that occurs in a short period. However, in the context of chronically rising N deposition, the long-term N retention capacity of grasslands should largely depend on the response of subsoil, especially after topsoil N is saturated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sen Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Weixing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lulu Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chengzhang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Meifeng Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ziyang Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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