Realistic species loss has little effects on local resource depletion and competitive pressure in a temperate grassland
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: Biodiversity loss is expected to reduce community competitive ability by emptying ecological niches and increasing availability of unused resources. Yet, direct evidence remains scarce, especially under natural conditions. We simulated a realistic diversity loss through the long-term removal of rare and subordinate species in a species-rich grassland. To assess the effects of species removal on competitive ability, we transplanted phytometers of two species into plots varying in diversity and into competition-free gaps. We measured light interception, soil nutrients, water content, and temperature alongside phytometer performance and traits linked to resource depletion. Both species showed strong growth and trait responses to competition, but diversity effects on these responses were surprisingly weak. Monocultures of a dominant species exerted a similar competitive pressure as more than 25-species communities. Resource depletion did not explain trait or growth rate responses. These findings highlight complex links between diversity and competitive ability with implications for invasion resistance.
Institution: University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4414014145