Effects of plant diversity on productivity strengthen over time due to trait-dependent shifts in species overyielding
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Plant diversity effects on community productivity often increase over time. Whether the strengthening of diversity effects is caused by temporal shifts in species-level overyielding (i.e., higher species-level productivity in diverse communities compared with monocultures) remains unclear. Here, using data from 65 grassland and forest biodiversity experiments, we show that the temporal strength of diversity effects at the community scale is underpinned by temporal changes in the species that yield. These temporal trends of species-level overyielding are shaped by plant ecological strategies, which can be quantitatively delimited by functional traits. In grasslands, the temporal strengthening of biodiversity effects on community productivity was associated with increasing biomass overyielding of resource-conservative species increasing over time, and with overyielding of species characterized by fast resource acquisition either decreasing or increasing. In forests, temporal trends in species overyielding differ when considering above- versus belowground resource acquisition strategies. Overyielding in stem growth decreased for species with high light capture capacity but increased for those with high soil resource acquisition capacity. Our results imply that a diversity of species with different, and potentially complementary, ecological strategies is beneficial for maintaining community productivity over time in both grassland and forest ecosystems.
Source: Nature Communications
Authors: Liting Zheng, Kathryn E. Barry, Nathaly R. Guerrero-Ramírez, Dylan Craven, Peter B. Reich, Kris Verheyen, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Nico Eisenhauer, Nadia Barsoum, Jürgen Bauhus, Helge Bruelheide, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Jiri Dolezal, Harald Auge, Marina V. Fagundes, Olga Ferlian, Sebastian Fiedler, David I. Forrester, Gislene Ganade, Tobias Gebauer, Josephine Haase, Peter Hajek, Andy Hector, Bruno Hérault, Dirk Hölscher, Kristin B. Hulvey, Bambang Irawan, Hervé Jactel, Julia Koricheva, Holger Kreft, Vojtech Lanta, Jan Leps, Simone Mereu, Christian Messier, Florencia Montagnini, Martin Mörsdorf, Sandra Müller, Bart Muys, Charles A. Nock, Alain Paquette, William C. Parker, John D. Parker, John A. Parrotta, Gustavo B. Paterno, Michael P. Perring, Daniel Piotto, H. Wayne Polley, Quentin Ponette, Catherine Potvin, Julius Quosh, Boris Rewald, Douglas L. Godbold, Jasper van Ruijven, Rachel J. Standish, Artur Stefanski, Leti Sundawati, Jon Urgoiti, Laura J. Williams, Brian J. Wilsey, Baiyu Yang, Li Zhang, Zhao Zhao, Yongchuan Yang, Hans Sandén, Anne Ebeling, Bernhard Schmid, Markus Fischer, Martyna M. Kotowska, Cecilia Palmborg, David Tilman, Enrong Yan, Yann Hautier
Institutions: University of Michigan, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, East China Normal University, Utrecht University, University of Göttingen, Universidad Mayor, Data Observatory Foundation, University of Minnesota, Western Sydney University, Ghent University, University of Freiburg, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig University, Forest Research, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Czech Academy of Sciences, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO Environment, Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, University of Oxford, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Forests and Societies, Universitas Jambi, Université de Bordeaux, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, UMR BIOdiversity, GEnes & Communities, Royal Holloway University of London, Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, National Research Council, Istituto per la BioEconomia, Université du Québec à Montréal, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Yale University, KU Leuven, University of Alberta, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, US Forest Service, The University of Western Australia, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, UCLouvain, McGill University, Mendel University in Brno, BOKU University, Wageningen University & Research, Murdoch University, IPB University, Iowa State University, Chongqing University, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, University of Zurich, University of Bern, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,790
Funders: National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, Biodiversa+, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Akademie Věd České Republiky, Universiteit Gent, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Australian Research Council
Awards: G1061035602, Collaborative Research: Microbiome mediation of multi-trophic interactions in a tree diversity experiment, G1351799643, G177079035, G1854792443, Intervention ecology: managing ecosystems in the 21st century, G204579599, G211635838, G2218410645, SFB 990: Ökologische und sozioökonomische Funktionen tropischer TieflandregenwaldTransformationssysteme (Sumatra, Indonesien), BII-Implementation: The causes and consequences of plant biodiversity across scales in a rapidly changing world, G2977974405, G3001359899, G3167538810, G4617990, ERA-Chair: Striving for excellence in forest ecosystem research, LTER: Multi-decadal responses of prairie, savanna, and forest ecosystems to interacting environmental changes: insights from experiments, observations, and models, G5632166549, Collaborative Research: MRA: Elucidating Plant and Mycorrhizal Fungal Relationships and Consequences Across Space and Time, G6677243274, G727948174, Zeitliche Dynamik von Baumdiversitätseffekten auf Wachstum, Mortalität und Biomasseproduktion (BIOTREE Projekt), G812928977
OpenAlex ID: W4392562091