Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1073/pnas.2527128123
Lizenz creative commons licence
Titel (primär) Intense solar radiation constrains plant species richness in global grasslands
Autor Spohn, M.; Arnillas, C.A.; Bakker, J.D.; Borer, E.T.; Bråthen, K.A.; Cadotte, M.W.; Carbutt, C.; Catford, J.A.; DuPre, M.E.; Dwyer, C.; Eisenhauer, N.; Estrada, C.; Hagenah, N.; Haider, S.; Harms, K.E.; Hautier, Y.; Hersch-Green, E.I.; Knops, J.M.H.; Laanisto, L.; Laungani, R.; Macek, P.; Martinson, H.; Millett, J.; Pärtel, M.; Pennings, S.C.; Peri, P.L.; Power, S.A.; Risch, A.C.; Roscher, C.; Seabloom, E.W.; Smith, N.G.; Stevens, C.; Virtanen, R.; Wardle, G.M.; Zhang, P.
Quelle Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
Department iDiv; PHYDIV
Band/Volume 123
Heft 6
Seite von e2527128123
Sprache englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Daten-/Softwarelinks https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18068106
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18146296
Supplements Supplement 1
Keywords plant species richness; solar radiation; plant diversity; environmental filters; grasslands
Abstract The search for predictors of plant diversity has challenged scientists for decades. Here we identify intense photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) as a major factor constraining plant species richness in global grasslands. We show that the strength of the negative relationship between species richness and PAR increases with increasing elevation and that species richness is more strongly correlated with intense PAR than with UV-B radiation, climate variables, and atmospheric nitrogen deposition. In addition to species richness, plant biomass was also negatively correlated with PAR at higher elevations, indicating that intense PAR also constrains plant biomass in montane grasslands. Furthermore, we show that the decrease in plant species richness with increasing PAR is mainly caused by a decrease in species richness of forbs, sedges, and rushes. In contrast, species richness of grasses was only negatively correlated with PAR at high elevations, and species richness of legumes was not significantly correlated with PAR. Our results suggest that PAR constrains plant species richness in global grasslands and limits the extent to which plant species of specific functional groups can migrate uphill in response to climate warming.
Spohn, M., Arnillas, C.A., Bakker, J.D., Borer, E.T., Bråthen, K.A., Cadotte, M.W., Carbutt, C., Catford, J.A., DuPre, M.E., Dwyer, C., Eisenhauer, N., Estrada, C., Hagenah, N., Haider, S., Harms, K.E., Hautier, Y., Hersch-Green, E.I., Knops, J.M.H., Laanisto, L., Laungani, R., Macek, P., Martinson, H., Millett, J., Pärtel, M., Pennings, S.C., Peri, P.L., Power, S.A., Risch, A.C., Roscher, C., Seabloom, E.W., Smith, N.G., Stevens, C., Virtanen, R., Wardle, G.M., Zhang, P. (2026):
Intense solar radiation constrains plant species richness in global grasslands
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 123 (6), e2527128123
10.1073/pnas.2527128123