Data and code from: Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
Year: 2026
Type: dataset
Abstract: Nutrient enrichment and altered herbivory are among the most pervasive drivers of change in grasslands worldwide, yet how their effects on plant communities accumulate or fade over time, and which species drive those effects, remains poorly resolved. Using long-term data from the Nutrient Network (NutNet), a globally distributed experiment, we examined how grassland plant community composition responded to factorial nutrient addition (NPK) and herbivore exclusion (fencing) across 98 sites and up to 12 years of treatment. For each site and year, we quantified the overall compositional difference between treatments (PERMANOVA), identified the species contributing most to those differences (SIMPER), and classified species as indicators of each treatment (Indicator Species Analysis), linking these responses to each species' dominance, commonness, functional group, lifespan, and provenance. We found that compositional divergence under nutrient addition strengthened over time and was driven disproportionately by a relatively small subset of species, particularly dominant and common ones, whereas the effects of herbivore exclusion were comparatively weak and transient. These results highlight the importance of species-level dynamics for understanding how grassland biodiversity responds to global change. This package provides the processed data and annotated R code needed to reproduce all analyses and figures in the associated study.
Authors: Nutrient Network (NutNet), Borer, Elizabeth, Seabloom, Eric, Slette, Ingrid, Porath-Krause, Anita, Wilfahrt, Peter, Asmus, Ashley, Lind, Eric, O'Halloran, Lydia, Adler, Peter, Akasaka, Munemitsu, Alberti, Juan, Anderson, T., Baez, Selene, Bahamonde, Hector, Bakker, Jonathan, Bakker, Liesbeth, Barrio, Isabel, Biederman, Lori, Blumenthal, Dana, Böhner, Hanna, Boughton, Elizabeth, Bråthen, Kari Anne, Brown, Cynthia, Brudvig, Lars, Buckley, Yvonne, Bugalho, Miguel, Cadotte, Marc, Caldeira, Maria, Carbutt, Clinton, Catford, Jane, Chaneton, Enrique, Chu, Chengjin, Cleland, Elsa, Collins, Scott, Cottingham, Kathryn, Crawley, Mick, Daleo, Pedro, Damschen, Ellen, D’Antonio, Carla, Davies, Kendi, DeCrappeo, Nicole, Dickson, Tim, Donohue, Ian, Du, Guozhen, DuPre, Mary Ellyn, Dwyer, John, Ebeling, Anne, Eisenhauer, Nico, Eskelinen, Anu, Estrada, Catalina, Fay, Philip, Firn, Jennifer, Gruner, Daniel, Güsewell, Sabine, Hagenah, Nicole, Haider, Sylvia, Hallett, Lauren, Harpole, W., Hautier, Yann, Hector, Andy, Hersch-Green, Erika, Hille Ris Lambers, Janneke, Hofmockel, Kirsten, Jamiyansharav, Khishigbayar, Jentsch, Anke, Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg, Kadoya, Taku, Kay, Adam, Kirkman, Kevin, Klein, Julia, Knapp, Alan, Knight, Tiffany, Knops, Johannes, Koerner, Sally, Komatsu, Kimberly, Laanisto, Lauri, Ladwig, Laura, Lannes, Lucíola, Leakey, Andrew, Lekberg, Ylva, Li, Qi, Li, Wei, Lkhagva, Ariuntsetseg, MacDougall, Andrew, Macek, Petr, Martina, Jason, Martinson, Holly, McCulley, Rebecca, Melbourne, Brett, Mitchell, Charles, Mitchell, Rachel, Moore, Joslin, Morgan, John, Mortensen, Brent, Nelson, Jim, Ochoa-Hueso, Raul, Ohlert, Tim, olde Venterink, Harry, Orr, Devyn, Orrock, John, Osborne, Brooke, Paper, Janet, Peri, Pablo, Power, Sally, Price, Jodi, Prober, Suzanne, Pyke, David, Raynaud, Xavier, Reed, Sasha, Ren, Zhengwei, Richards, Anna, Risch, Anita, Roscher, Christiane, Sankaran, Mahesh, Schuetz, Martin, Silveira, Maria, Smith, Melinda, Smith, Nicholas, Speziale, Karina, Spohn, Marie, Standish, Rachel, Stevens, Carly, Sullivan, Lauren, Tedder, Michelle, Tognetti, Pedro, Veen, G. F. Ciska, Virtanen, Risto, Wallace, Alison, Wardle, Glenda, Wedin, David, Weiss, Arthur, Wen, Gang, Wheeler, George, Wolkovich, Elizabeth, Wragg, Peter, Wright, Justin, Yahdjian, Laura, Yang, Louie, Young, Alyssa, Young, Hillary, Li, Wenhuai
Institutions: University of Minnesota, Utah State University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, National University of Mar del Plata, Wake Forest University, Polytechnic School of Algiers, National Polytechnic School, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, University of Washington, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Agricultural University of Iceland, Iowa State University, Agricultural Research Service, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Archbold Biological Station, Colorado State University, Michigan State University, Trinity College Dublin, University of Lisbon, University of Toronto Scarborough, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Australian National University, King's College London, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Lanzhou University, University of California San Diego, University of New Mexico, Dartmouth College, Imperial College London, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of Colorado Boulder, United States Geological Survey, University of Nebraska at Omaha, The University of Queensland, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig University, University of Oulu, Queensland University of Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, ETH Zurich, University of Pretoria, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, University of Oregon, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Utrecht University, University of Zurich, Michigan Technological University, University of Bayreuth, University of Iceland, University of Tsukuba, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, National University of Mongolia, University of Guelph, Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Texas State University, McDaniel College, University of Kentucky, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Northern Arizona University, Government of Victoria, La Trobe University, Benedictine College, Benedict College, Universidad de Cádiz, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Oregon State University, National University of Austral Patagonia, National Agricultural Technology Institute, Western Sydney University, Charles Sturt University, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO Environment, Sorbonne Université, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, National Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Florida, Texas Tech University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Lancaster University, Agricultural Plant Physiology and Ecology Research Institute, Minnesota State University Moorhead, The University of Sydney, University of British Columbia, Duke University, University of California, Davis, Inner Mongolia University
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204165058