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Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1038/s42003-025-07882-7
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory
Author Nelson, R.A.; Sullivan, L.L.; Hersch-Green, E.I.; Seabloom, E.W.; Borer, E.T.; Tognetti, P.M.; Adler, P.B.; Biederman, L.; Bugalho, M.N.; Caldeira, M.C.; Cancela, J.P.; Carvalheiro, L.G.; Catford, J.A.; Dickman, C.R.; Dolezal, A.J.; Donohue, I.; Ebeling, A.; Eisenhauer, N.; Elgersma, K.J.; Eskelinen, A.; Estrada, C.; Garbowski, M.; Graff, P.; Gruner, D.S.; Hagenah, N.; Haider, S.; Harpole, W.S. ORCID logo ; Hautier, Y.; Jentsch, A.; Johanson, N.; Koerner, S.E.; Lannes, L.S.; MacDougall, A.S.; Martinson, H.; Morgan, J.W.; Venterink, H.O.; Orr, D.; Osborne, B.B.; Peri, P.L.; Power, S.A.; Raynaud, X.; Risch, A.C.; Shrestha, M.; Smith, N.G.; Stevens, C.J.; Veen, G.F.C.; Virtanen, R.; Wardle, G.M.; Wolf, A.A.; Young, A.L.; Harrison, S.P.
Source Titel Communications Biology
Year 2025
Department iDiv; PHYDIV
Volume 8
Page From art. 444
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Data and Software links https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4810381/v1
https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/62e2c0f1bc1ccb5a29d63b513bb66810
Supplements Supplement 1
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Abstract Forbs (“wildflowers”) are important contributors to grassland biodiversity but are vulnerable to environmental changes. In a factorial experiment at 94 sites on 6 continents, we test the global generality of several broad predictions: (1) Forb cover and richness decline under nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen enrichment. (2) Forb cover and richness increase under herbivory by large mammals. (3) Forb richness and cover are less affected by nutrient enrichment and herbivory in more arid climates, because water limitation reduces the impacts of competition with grasses. (4) Forb families will respond differently to nutrient enrichment and mammalian herbivory due to differences in nutrient requirements. We find strong evidence for the first, partial support for the second, no support for the third, and support for the fourth prediction. Our results underscore that anthropogenic nitrogen addition is a major threat to grassland forbs, but grazing under high herbivore intensity can offset these nutrient effects.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=31993
Nelson, R.A., Sullivan, L.L., Hersch-Green, E.I., Seabloom, E.W., Borer, E.T., Tognetti, P.M., Adler, P.B., Biederman, L., Bugalho, M.N., Caldeira, M.C., Cancela, J.P., Carvalheiro, L.G., Catford, J.A., Dickman, C.R., Dolezal, A.J., Donohue, I., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Elgersma, K.J., Eskelinen, A., Estrada, C., Garbowski, M., Graff, P., Gruner, D.S., Hagenah, N., Haider, S., Harpole, W.S., Hautier, Y., Jentsch, A., Johanson, N., Koerner, S.E., Lannes, L.S., MacDougall, A.S., Martinson, H., Morgan, J.W., Venterink, H.O., Orr, D., Osborne, B.B., Peri, P.L., Power, S.A., Raynaud, X., Risch, A.C., Shrestha, M., Smith, N.G., Stevens, C.J., Veen, G.F.C., Virtanen, R., Wardle, G.M., Wolf, A.A., Young, A.L., Harrison, S.P. (2025):
Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory
Commun. Biol. 8 , art. 444 10.1038/s42003-025-07882-7