TY - JOUR T1 - Linking changes in species composition and biomass in a globally distributed grassland experiment JF - Ecology Letters Y1 - 2022 A1 - Ladouceur, Emma A1 - Blowes, Shane A. A1 - Chase, Jonathan M. A1 - Clark, Adam T. A1 - Garbowski, Magda A1 - Alberti, Juan A1 - Arnillas, Carlos Alberto A1 - Bakker, Jonathan D. A1 - Barrio, Isabel C. A1 - Bharath, Siddharth A1 - Borer, Elizabeth T. A1 - Brudvig, Lars A. A1 - Cadotte, Marc W. A1 - Chen, Qingqing A1 - Collins, Scott L. A1 - Dickman, Christopher R. A1 - Donohue, Ian A1 - Du, Guozhen A1 - Ebeling, Anne A1 - Eisenhauer, Nico A1 - Fay, Philip A. A1 - Hagenah, Nicole A1 - Hautier, Yann A1 - Jentsch, Anke A1 - Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg S. A1 - Kimberly J. Komatsu A1 - MacDougall, Andrew A1 - Martina, Jason P. A1 - Moore, Joslin L. A1 - Morgan, John W. A1 - Peri, Pablo L. A1 - Power,  A. A1 - Ren, Zhengwei A1 - Risch, Anita C. A1 - Roscher, Christiane A1 - Schuchardt,  A. A1 - Seabloom, Eric W. A1 - Stevens, Carly J. A1 - Veen, G.F. (Ciska) A1 - Virtanen, Risto A1 - Wardle, Glenda M. A1 - Wilfahrt, Peter A. A1 - Harpole, W. Stanley VL - 25 UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.14126 IS - 12 JO - Ecology Letters ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Temporal rarity is a better predictor of local extinction risk than spatial rarity JF - Ecology Y1 - 2021 A1 - Wilfahrt, Peter A. A1 - Asmus, Ashley L. A1 - Seabloom, Eric W. A1 - Henning, Jeremiah A. A1 - Adler, Peter A1 - Arnillas, Carlos A. A1 - Bakker, Jonathan D. A1 - Biederman, Lori A1 - Brudvig, Lars A. A1 - Cadotte, Marc A1 - Daleo, Pedro A1 - Eskelinen, Anu A1 - Firn, Jennifer A1 - Harpole, W. Stanley A1 - Hautier, Yann A1 - Kirkman, K.P. A1 - Kimberly J. Komatsu A1 - Laungani, Ramesh A1 - MacDougall, Andrew A1 - McCulley, Rebecca L. A1 - Moore, Joslin L. A1 - Morgan, John W. A1 - Mortensen, Brent A1 - Ochoa Hueso, Raul A1 - Ohlert, Timothy A1 - Power, Sally A. A1 - Price, Jodi A1 - Risch, Anita C. A1 - Schuetz, Martin A1 - Shoemaker, Lauren A1 - Stevens, Carly A1 - Strauss, Alexander T. A1 - Tognetti, Pedro M. A1 - Virtanen, Risto A1 - Borer, Elizabeth T. VL - 102 UR - https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecy.3504 IS - 11 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Belowground biomass response to nutrient enrichment depends on light limitation across globally distributed grasslands JF - Ecosystems Y1 - 2019 A1 - Cleland, Elsa E. A1 - Lind, Eric M. A1 - DeCrappeo, Nicole M. A1 - DeLorenze, Elizabeth A1 - Wilkins, Rachel Abbott A1 - P. Adler A1 - Bakker, Jonathan D. A1 - Brown, Cynthia S. A1 - Davies, Kendi F. A1 - Esch, Ellen A1 - Firn, Jennifer A1 - Gressard, Scott A1 - Gruner, Daniel S. A1 - Hagenah, Nicole A1 - Harpole, W. Stanley A1 - Hautier, Yann A1 - Hobbie, Sarah E. A1 - Hofmockel, Kirsten S. A1 - Kirkman, Kevin A1 - Knops, Johannes A1 - Kopp, Christopher W. A1 - Kimberly J. La Pierre A1 - MacDougall, Andrew A1 - McCulley, Rebecca L. A1 - Melbourne, Brett A. A1 - Joslin L. Moore A1 - Prober, Suzanne M. A1 - Riggs, Charlotte A1 - Risch, Anita C. A1 - Schuetz, Martin A1 - Stevens, Carly A1 - Wragg, Peter D. A1 - Wright, Justin A1 - E.T. Borer A1 - Seabloom, Eric W. KW - belowground biomass KW - Fertilization KW - nitrogen KW - Nutrient Network KW - optimal allocation KW - phosphorus roots AB -

Anthropogenic activities are increasing nutrient inputs to ecosystems worldwide, with consequences for global carbon and nutrient cycles. Recent meta-analyses show that aboveground primary production is often co-limited by multiple nutrients; however, little is known about how root production responds to changes in nutrient availability. At twenty-nine grassland sites on four continents, we quantified shallow root biomass responses to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium plus micronutrient enrichment and compared below- and aboveground responses. We hypothesized that optimal allocation theory would predict context dependence in root biomass responses to nutrient enrichment, given variation among sites in the resources limiting to plant growth (specifically light versus nutrients). Consistent with the predictions of optimal allocation theory, the proportion of total biomass belowground declined with N or P addition, due to increased biomass aboveground (for N and P) and decreased biomass belowground (N, particularly in sites with low canopy light penetration). Absolute root biomass increased with N addition where light was abundant at the soil surface, but declined in sites where the grassland canopy intercepted a large proportion of incoming light. These results demonstrate that belowground responses to changes in resource supply can differ strongly from aboveground responses, which could significantly modify predictions of future rates of nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration. Our results also highlight how optimal allocation theory developed for individual plants may help predict belowground biomass responses to nutrient enrichment at the ecosystem scale across wide climatic and environmental gradients.

VL - 22 UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10021-019-00350-4 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Local loss and spatial homogenization of plant diversity reduce ecosystem multifunctionality JF - Nature Ecology & Evolution Y1 - 2018 A1 - Hautier, Yann A1 - Isbell, Forest A1 - E.T. Borer A1 - Seabloom, Eric W. A1 - Harpole, W. Stanley A1 - Lind, Eric M. A1 - MacDougall, Andrew S. A1 - Stevens, Carly J. A1 - P. Adler A1 - J. Alberti A1 - Bakker, Jonathan D. A1 - Brudvig, Lars A. A1 - Buckley, Yvonne M. A1 - Cadotte, Marc A1 - Caldeira, Maria C. A1 - Chaneton, Enrique J. A1 - Chu, Chengjin A1 - Daleo, Pedro A1 - Dickman, Christopher R. A1 - Dwyer, John M. A1 - Eskelinen, Anu A1 - Fay, Philip A. A1 - Firn, Jennifer A1 - Hagenah, Nicole A1 - Hillebrand, Helmut A1 - Iribarne, Oscar A1 - Kirkman, Kevin P. A1 - Knops, Johannes M. H. A1 - Kimberly J. La Pierre A1 - McCulley, Rebecca L. A1 - J.W. Morgan A1 - Pärtel, Meelis A1 - Pascual, Jesus A1 - Price, Jodi N. A1 - Prober, Suzanne M. A1 - Risch, Anita C. A1 - Sankaran, Mahesh A1 - Schuetz, Martin A1 - Standish, Rachel J. A1 - Virtanen, Risto A1 - Wardle, Glenda M. A1 - Yahdjian, Laura A1 - Hector, Andy AB -

Biodiversity is declining in many local communities while also becoming increasingly homogenized across space. Experiments show that local plant species loss reduces ecosystem functioning and services, but the role of spatial homogenization of community composition and the potential interaction between diversity at different scales in maintaining ecosystem functioning remains unclear, especially when many functions are considered (ecosystem multifunctionality). We present an analysis of eight ecosystem functions measured in 65 grasslands worldwide. We find that more diverse grasslands—those with both species-rich local communities (α-diversity) and large compositional differences among localities (β-diversity)—had higher levels of multifunctionality. Moreover, α- and β-diversity synergistically affected multifunctionality, with higher levels of diversity at one scale amplifying the contribution to ecological functions at the other scale. The identity of species influencing ecosystem functioning differed among functions and across local communities, explaining why more diverse grasslands maintained greater functionality when more functions and localities were considered. These results were robust to variation in environmental drivers. Our findings reveal that plant diversity, at both local and landscape scales, contributes to the maintenance of multiple ecosystem services provided by grasslands. Preserving ecosystem functioning therefore requires conservation of biodiversity both within and among ecological communities.

VL - 2 UR - http://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0395-0 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Spatial heterogeneity in species composition constrains plant community responses to herbivory and fertilisation JF - Ecology Letters Y1 - 2018 A1 - Hodapp, Dorothee A1 - E.T. Borer A1 - Harpole, W. Stanley A1 - Lind, Eric M. A1 - Seabloom, Eric W. A1 - P. Adler A1 - J. Alberti A1 - Arnillas, Carlos A. A1 - J.D. Bakker A1 - L.A. Biederman A1 - Cadotte, Marc A1 - Cleland, Elsa E. A1 - Scott. L. Collins A1 - Fay, Philip A. A1 - Firn, Jennifer A1 - Hagenah, Nicole A1 - Hautier, Yann A1 - Iribarne, Oscar A1 - Knops, Johannes M. H. A1 - McCulley, Rebecca L. A1 - MacDougall, Andrew A1 - Joslin L. Moore A1 - J.W. Morgan A1 - Mortensen, Brent A1 - Kimberly J. La Pierre A1 - Risch, Anita C. A1 - Schütz, Martin A1 - Peri, Pablo A1 - Stevens, Carly J. A1 - Wright, Justin A1 - Hillebrand, Helmut ED - Gurevitch, Jessica AB -

Environmental change can result in substantial shifts in community composition. The associated immigration and extinction events are likely constrained by the spatial distribution of species. Still, studies on environmental change typically quantify biotic responses at single spatial (time series within a single plot) or temporal (spatial beta diversity at single time points) scales, ignoring their potential interdependence. Here, we use data from a global network of grassland experiments to determine how turnover responses to two major forms of environmental change – fertilisation and herbivore loss – are affected by species pool size and spatial compositional heterogeneity. Fertilisation led to higher rates of local extinction, whereas turnover in herbivore exclusion plots was driven by species replacement. Overall, sites with more spatially heterogeneous composition showed significantly higher rates of annual turnover, independent of species pool size and treatment. Taking into account spatial biodiversity aspects will therefore improve our understanding of consequences of global and anthropogenic change on community dynamics.

VL - 21 UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ele.13102 IS - 9 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Out of the shadows: multiple nutrient limitations drive relationships among biomass, light and plant diversity JF - Functional Ecology Y1 - 2017 A1 - Harpole, W. Stanley A1 - L.L. Sullivan A1 - Lind, Eric M. A1 - Firn, Jennifer A1 - P. Adler A1 - E.T. Borer A1 - Chase, Jonathan A1 - Fay, Philip A. A1 - Hautier, Yann A1 - Hillebrand, Helmut A1 - MacDougall, Andrew S. A1 - Seabloom, Eric W. A1 - Bakker, Jonathan D. A1 - Cadotte, Marc W. A1 - Chaneton, Enrique J. A1 - Chu, Chengjin A1 - Hagenah, Nicole A1 - Kirkman, Kevin A1 - Kimberly J. La Pierre A1 - Joslin L. Moore A1 - J.W. Morgan A1 - Prober, Suzanne M. A1 - Risch, Anita C. A1 - Schuetz, Martin A1 - Stevens, Carly J. ED - Thompson, Ken AB -
  1. The paradigmatic hypothesis for the effect of fertilisation on plant diversity represents a one‐dimensional trade‐off for plants competing for below‐ground nutrients (generically) and above‐ground light: fertilisation reduces competition for nutrients while increasing biomass and thereby shifts competition for depleted available light.
  2. The essential problem of this simple paradigm is that it misses both the multivariate and mechanistic nature of the factors that determine biodiversity as well as their causal relationships.
  3. We agree that light limitation, as DeMalach and Kadmon argue, can indeed be an important factor associated with diversity loss, and we presented it as an integral part of our tests of the niche dimension hypothesis.
  4. We disagree with DeMalach and Kadmon that light is the ‘main’ factor explaining diversity, because this misrepresents the causal structure represented in the design of our experiment in which multiple nutrient addition was the ultimate causal driver of a suite of correlated responses that included diversity and light, and especially live and dead biomass, which are the factors that control light depletion.
  5. Our findings highlight that multiple nutrient limitations can structure plant diversity and composition independently of changes in light and biomass. For example, approximately one‐third of our sites showed no significant increase in biomass with greater number of added nutrients yet still lost diversity when nutrients were added.
  6. The important message is that while light limitation can be an important contributor to diversity loss, it is not a necessary mechanism.
VL - 31 UR - https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2435.12967 IS - 9 ER -