Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands

Autores
Wenhuai, Li; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Seabloom, Eric William; Stevens, Carly J.; Arnillas, Carlos Alberto; Barrio, Isabel C.; Biederman, Lori; Bråthen, Kari Anne; Buckley, Yvonne M.; Bugalho, Miguel N.; Peri, Pablo Luis; Bakker, Jonathan D.
Año de publicación
2026
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Changes in soil nutrients and herbivore pressure are key drivers of plant community dynamics in grasslands worldwide. Predicting how plant communities will respond to these global change factors requires understanding the responses of individual species, which can be affected by their abundance and frequency within the community, and by characteristics such as their geographical origin (native vs. exotic), life history (annual vs. perennial) and growth form (grass vs. forb). We analysed data from 2414 plant species from 98 grasslands over 13 years (739 site-years) to examine how nutrient addition (fertilised treatment vs. unfertilised control) and herbivore exclusion (fenced treatment vs. unfenced control) alter plant community composition. We quantified species-specific contributions to compositional variation and related these contributions to their dominance, commonness (whether they occurred in one or both treatments) and characteristics. Nutrient addition led to increasing plant community compositional divergence over time, whereas herbivore exclusion had weak and transient effects on plant community composition. Plant species unique to one treatment became increasingly prevalent in nutrient addition treatments but contributed surprisingly little to compositional variation. Most variation was due to common species, particularly those with similar dominance patterns in the two treatments. Indicator species contributed a disproportionately high amount of the compositional variation between treatments; these species were more likely to be dominants, common to both treatments, annuals and exotics. Synthesis. These findings highlight that global change impacts on plant community composition can be driven by shifts in a subset of species. Understanding these species-specific responses is crucial for predicting community dynamics and for biodiversity conservation efforts in the face of ongoing environmental change. Our study demonstrates the utility of identifying key drivers of compositional shifts in grasslands worldwide.
EEA Santa Cruz
Fil: Wenhuai, Li. Inner Mongolia University. School of Ecology and Environment; China
Fil: Wenhuai, Li. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology & Observation and Research Station for the Typical Steppe Ecosystem of the Ministry of Education; China
Fil: Borer, Elizabeth T. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; Estados Unidos
 Fil: Seabloom, Eric William. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; Estados Unidos
Fil: Stevens, Carly J. Lancaster University. Lancaster Environment Centre; Reino Unido
Fil: Arnillas, Carlos Alberto. University of Toronto. Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences; Canada.
Fil: Barrio, Isabel C. Agricultural University of Iceland. Faculty of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences; Islandia
Fil: Biederman, Lori. Iowa State University. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; Estados Unidos
Fil: Bråthen, Kari Anne. Arctic University of Norway. Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology; Noruega
Fil: Buckley, Yvonne M. Trinity College Dublin. School of Natural Sciences. Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water; Irlanda
Fil: Bugalho, Miguel N. University of Lisbon. Centre for Applied Ecology “Prof. Baeta Neves” (CEABN-InBIO). School of Agriculture; Portugal.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.
Fil: Bakker, Jonathan D. University of Washington. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences; Estados Unidos
Fuente
Journal of Ecology 114 (9) : e70443. (September 2026)
Materia
Praderas
Nutrientes
Aplicación de Abonos
Diversidad de Especies
Biodiversidad
Grasslands
Nutrients
Fertilizer Application
Species Diversity
Biodiversity
Fertilización
Red de Nutrientes
Nutrient Network (NutNet)
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso restringido
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
oai:localhost:20.500.12123/27899
Acceder
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oai_identifier_str oai:localhost:20.500.12123/27899
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spelling Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslandsWenhuai, LiBorer, Elizabeth T.Seabloom, Eric WilliamStevens, Carly J.Arnillas, Carlos AlbertoBarrio, Isabel C.Biederman, LoriBråthen, Kari AnneBuckley, Yvonne M.Bugalho, Miguel N.Peri, Pablo LuisBakker, Jonathan D.PraderasNutrientesAplicación de AbonosDiversidad de EspeciesBiodiversidadGrasslandsNutrientsFertilizer ApplicationSpecies DiversityBiodiversityFertilizaciónRed de NutrientesNutrient Network (NutNet)Changes in soil nutrients and herbivore pressure are key drivers of plant community dynamics in grasslands worldwide. Predicting how plant communities will respond to these global change factors requires understanding the responses of individual species, which can be affected by their abundance and frequency within the community, and by characteristics such as their geographical origin (native vs. exotic), life history (annual vs. perennial) and growth form (grass vs. forb). We analysed data from 2414 plant species from 98 grasslands over 13 years (739 site-years) to examine how nutrient addition (fertilised treatment vs. unfertilised control) and herbivore exclusion (fenced treatment vs. unfenced control) alter plant community composition. We quantified species-specific contributions to compositional variation and related these contributions to their dominance, commonness (whether they occurred in one or both treatments) and characteristics. Nutrient addition led to increasing plant community compositional divergence over time, whereas herbivore exclusion had weak and transient effects on plant community composition. Plant species unique to one treatment became increasingly prevalent in nutrient addition treatments but contributed surprisingly little to compositional variation. Most variation was due to common species, particularly those with similar dominance patterns in the two treatments. Indicator species contributed a disproportionately high amount of the compositional variation between treatments; these species were more likely to be dominants, common to both treatments, annuals and exotics. Synthesis. These findings highlight that global change impacts on plant community composition can be driven by shifts in a subset of species. Understanding these species-specific responses is crucial for predicting community dynamics and for biodiversity conservation efforts in the face of ongoing environmental change. Our study demonstrates the utility of identifying key drivers of compositional shifts in grasslands worldwide.EEA Santa CruzFil: Wenhuai, Li. Inner Mongolia University. School of Ecology and Environment; ChinaFil: Wenhuai, Li. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology & Observation and Research Station for the Typical Steppe Ecosystem of the Ministry of Education; ChinaFil: Borer, Elizabeth T. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; Estados Unidos Fil: Seabloom, Eric William. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; Estados UnidosFil: Stevens, Carly J. Lancaster University. Lancaster Environment Centre; Reino UnidoFil: Arnillas, Carlos Alberto. University of Toronto. Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences; Canada.Fil: Barrio, Isabel C. Agricultural University of Iceland. Faculty of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences; IslandiaFil: Biederman, Lori. Iowa State University. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; Estados UnidosFil: Bråthen, Kari Anne. Arctic University of Norway. Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology; NoruegaFil: Buckley, Yvonne M. Trinity College Dublin. School of Natural Sciences. Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water; IrlandaFil: Bugalho, Miguel N. University of Lisbon. Centre for Applied Ecology “Prof. Baeta Neves” (CEABN-InBIO). School of Agriculture; Portugal.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina.Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Bakker, Jonathan D. University of Washington. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences; Estados UnidosWiley2026-09-23T10:48:04Z2026-09-23T10:48:04Z2026-09info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27899https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.704430022-04771365-2745https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70443Journal of Ecology 114 (9) : e70443. (September 2026)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)2026-09-24T11:43:52Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/27899instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2026-09-24 11:43:52.926INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
title Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
spellingShingle Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
Wenhuai, Li
Praderas
Nutrientes
Aplicación de Abonos
Diversidad de Especies
Biodiversidad
Grasslands
Nutrients
Fertilizer Application
Species Diversity
Biodiversity
Fertilización
Red de Nutrientes
Nutrient Network (NutNet)
title_short Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
title_full Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
title_fullStr Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
title_full_unstemmed Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
title_sort Plant species responses to nutrient addition, but not to herbivore exclusion, strengthen over time in global grasslands
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Wenhuai, Li
Borer, Elizabeth T.
Seabloom, Eric William
Stevens, Carly J.
Arnillas, Carlos Alberto
Barrio, Isabel C.
Biederman, Lori
Bråthen, Kari Anne
Buckley, Yvonne M.
Bugalho, Miguel N.
Peri, Pablo Luis
Bakker, Jonathan D.
author Wenhuai, Li
author_facet Wenhuai, Li
Borer, Elizabeth T.
Seabloom, Eric William
Stevens, Carly J.
Arnillas, Carlos Alberto
Barrio, Isabel C.
Biederman, Lori
Bråthen, Kari Anne
Buckley, Yvonne M.
Bugalho, Miguel N.
Peri, Pablo Luis
Bakker, Jonathan D.
author_role author
author2 Borer, Elizabeth T.
Seabloom, Eric William
Stevens, Carly J.
Arnillas, Carlos Alberto
Barrio, Isabel C.
Biederman, Lori
Bråthen, Kari Anne
Buckley, Yvonne M.
Bugalho, Miguel N.
Peri, Pablo Luis
Bakker, Jonathan D.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Praderas
Nutrientes
Aplicación de Abonos
Diversidad de Especies
Biodiversidad
Grasslands
Nutrients
Fertilizer Application
Species Diversity
Biodiversity
Fertilización
Red de Nutrientes
Nutrient Network (NutNet)
topic Praderas
Nutrientes
Aplicación de Abonos
Diversidad de Especies
Biodiversidad
Grasslands
Nutrients
Fertilizer Application
Species Diversity
Biodiversity
Fertilización
Red de Nutrientes
Nutrient Network (NutNet)
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Changes in soil nutrients and herbivore pressure are key drivers of plant community dynamics in grasslands worldwide. Predicting how plant communities will respond to these global change factors requires understanding the responses of individual species, which can be affected by their abundance and frequency within the community, and by characteristics such as their geographical origin (native vs. exotic), life history (annual vs. perennial) and growth form (grass vs. forb). We analysed data from 2414 plant species from 98 grasslands over 13 years (739 site-years) to examine how nutrient addition (fertilised treatment vs. unfertilised control) and herbivore exclusion (fenced treatment vs. unfenced control) alter plant community composition. We quantified species-specific contributions to compositional variation and related these contributions to their dominance, commonness (whether they occurred in one or both treatments) and characteristics. Nutrient addition led to increasing plant community compositional divergence over time, whereas herbivore exclusion had weak and transient effects on plant community composition. Plant species unique to one treatment became increasingly prevalent in nutrient addition treatments but contributed surprisingly little to compositional variation. Most variation was due to common species, particularly those with similar dominance patterns in the two treatments. Indicator species contributed a disproportionately high amount of the compositional variation between treatments; these species were more likely to be dominants, common to both treatments, annuals and exotics. Synthesis. These findings highlight that global change impacts on plant community composition can be driven by shifts in a subset of species. Understanding these species-specific responses is crucial for predicting community dynamics and for biodiversity conservation efforts in the face of ongoing environmental change. Our study demonstrates the utility of identifying key drivers of compositional shifts in grasslands worldwide.
EEA Santa Cruz
Fil: Wenhuai, Li. Inner Mongolia University. School of Ecology and Environment; China
Fil: Wenhuai, Li. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology & Observation and Research Station for the Typical Steppe Ecosystem of the Ministry of Education; China
Fil: Borer, Elizabeth T. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; Estados Unidos
 Fil: Seabloom, Eric William. University of Minnesota. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; Estados Unidos
Fil: Stevens, Carly J. Lancaster University. Lancaster Environment Centre; Reino Unido
Fil: Arnillas, Carlos Alberto. University of Toronto. Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences; Canada.
Fil: Barrio, Isabel C. Agricultural University of Iceland. Faculty of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences; Islandia
Fil: Biederman, Lori. Iowa State University. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; Estados Unidos
Fil: Bråthen, Kari Anne. Arctic University of Norway. Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries, and Economics. Department of Arctic and Marine Biology; Noruega
Fil: Buckley, Yvonne M. Trinity College Dublin. School of Natural Sciences. Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water; Irlanda
Fil: Bugalho, Miguel N. University of Lisbon. Centre for Applied Ecology “Prof. Baeta Neves” (CEABN-InBIO). School of Agriculture; Portugal.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina.
Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.
Fil: Bakker, Jonathan D. University of Washington. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences; Estados Unidos
description Changes in soil nutrients and herbivore pressure are key drivers of plant community dynamics in grasslands worldwide. Predicting how plant communities will respond to these global change factors requires understanding the responses of individual species, which can be affected by their abundance and frequency within the community, and by characteristics such as their geographical origin (native vs. exotic), life history (annual vs. perennial) and growth form (grass vs. forb). We analysed data from 2414 plant species from 98 grasslands over 13 years (739 site-years) to examine how nutrient addition (fertilised treatment vs. unfertilised control) and herbivore exclusion (fenced treatment vs. unfenced control) alter plant community composition. We quantified species-specific contributions to compositional variation and related these contributions to their dominance, commonness (whether they occurred in one or both treatments) and characteristics. Nutrient addition led to increasing plant community compositional divergence over time, whereas herbivore exclusion had weak and transient effects on plant community composition. Plant species unique to one treatment became increasingly prevalent in nutrient addition treatments but contributed surprisingly little to compositional variation. Most variation was due to common species, particularly those with similar dominance patterns in the two treatments. Indicator species contributed a disproportionately high amount of the compositional variation between treatments; these species were more likely to be dominants, common to both treatments, annuals and exotics. Synthesis. These findings highlight that global change impacts on plant community composition can be driven by shifts in a subset of species. Understanding these species-specific responses is crucial for predicting community dynamics and for biodiversity conservation efforts in the face of ongoing environmental change. Our study demonstrates the utility of identifying key drivers of compositional shifts in grasslands worldwide.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026-09-23T10:48:04Z
2026-09-23T10:48:04Z
2026-09
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
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info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27899
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.70443
0022-0477
1365-2745
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70443
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/27899
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.70443
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70443
identifier_str_mv 0022-0477
1365-2745
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv restrictedAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Wiley
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Wiley
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Journal of Ecology 114 (9) : e70443. (September 2026)
reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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