1
|
Xu C, Silliman BR, Chen J, Li X, Thomsen MS, Zhang Q, Lee J, Lefcheck JS, Daleo P, Hughes BB, Jones HP, Wang R, Wang S, Smith CS, Xi X, Altieri AH, van de Koppel J, Palmer TM, Liu L, Wu J, Li B, He Q. Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally. Science 2023; 382:589-594. [PMID: 37917679 DOI: 10.1126/science.add2814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Restoring vegetation in degraded ecosystems is an increasingly common practice for promoting biodiversity and ecological function, but successful implementation is hampered by an incomplete understanding of the processes that limit restoration success. By synthesizing terrestrial and aquatic studies globally (2594 experimental tests from 610 articles), we reveal substantial herbivore control of vegetation under restoration. Herbivores at restoration sites reduced vegetation abundance more strongly (by 89%, on average) than those at relatively undegraded sites and suppressed, rather than fostered, plant diversity. These effects were particularly pronounced in regions with higher temperatures and lower precipitation. Excluding targeted herbivores temporarily or introducing their predators improved restoration by magnitudes similar to or greater than those achieved by managing plant competition or facilitation. Thus, managing herbivory is a promising strategy for enhancing vegetation restoration efforts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Changlin Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Jianshe Chen
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xincheng Li
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mads S Thomsen
- Marine Ecology Research Group and Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Qun Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Juhyung Lee
- Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, MA, USA
- Department of Oceanography and Marine Research Institute, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jonathan S Lefcheck
- Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network and MarineGEO Program, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD, USA
| | - Pedro Daleo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), UNMdP, CONICETC, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Brent B Hughes
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA
| | - Holly P Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Rong Wang
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Carter S Smith
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Xinqiang Xi
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Andrew H Altieri
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Yerseke, Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Todd M Palmer
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jihua Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, and College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Bo Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Qiang He
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Croy JR, Pratt JD, Mooney KA. Latitudinal resource gradient shapes multivariate defense strategies in a long‐lived shrub. Ecology 2022; 103:e3830. [PMID: 35869688 PMCID: PMC10078560 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Plant defense against herbivores is multidimensional, and investment into different defense traits is intertwined due to genetic, physiological, and ecological costs. This relationship is expected to generate a trade-off between direct defense and tolerance that is underlain by resource availability, with increasing resources being associated with increased investment in tolerance and decreased investment in direct resistance. We tested these predictions across populations of the shrub Artemisia californica by growing plants sourced from a latitudinal aridity gradient within common gardens located at the southern (xeric) and northern (mesic) portions of its distribution. We measured plant growth rate, resistance via a damage survey, and tolerance to herbivory by experimentally simulating vertebrate herbivory. Plants from more northern (vs. southern) environments were less resistant (received higher percent damage by vertebrate herbivores) and tended to be more tolerant (marginally significant) with respect to change in biomass measured 12 months after simulated vertebrate herbivory. Also, putative growth and defense traits paralleled patterns of resistance and tolerance, such that leaves from northern populations contained lower concentrations of terpenes and increased N, specific leaf area, and % water. Last, plant growth rate did not demonstrate clear clinal patterns, as northern populations (vs. southern populations) grew more slowly in the southern (xeric) garden, but there was no clinal relationship detected in the northern (mesic) garden. Overall, our findings support the prediction of lower resistance and higher tolerance in plant populations adapted to more resource-rich, mesic environments, but this trade-off was not associated with concomitant trade-offs in growth rate. These findings ultimately suggest that plant adaptation to resource availability and herbivory can shape intraspecific variation in multivariate plant defenses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jordan R. Croy
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Irvine CA USA
- Department of Entomology University of Georgia Athens GA USA
| | - Jessica D. Pratt
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Irvine CA USA
| | - Kailen A. Mooney
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Irvine CA USA
| |
Collapse
|