Scale-dependent responses of plant biodiversity to nitrogen enrichment

Ecology
David R ChalcraftDeana Pennington

Abstract

Experimental studies demonstrating that nitrogen (N) enrichment reduces plant diversity within individual plots have led to the conclusion that anthropogenic N enrichment is a threat to global biodiversity. These conclusions overlook the influence of spatial scale, however, as N enrichment may alter beta diversity (i.e., how similar plots are in their species composition), which would likely alter the degree to which N-induced changes in diversity within localities translate to changes in diversity at larger scales that are relevant to policy and management. Currently, it is unclear how N enrichment affects biodiversity at scales larger than a small plot. We synthesized data from 18 N-enrichment experiments across North America to examine the effects of N enrichment on plant species diversity at three spatial scales: small (within plots), intermediate (among plots), and large (within and among plots). We found that N enrichment reduced plant diversity within plots by an average of 25% (ranging from a reduction of 61% to an increase of 5%) and frequently enhanced beta diversity. The extent to which N enrichment altered beta diversity, however, varied substantially among sites (from a 22% increase to an 18% reduction) and was con...Continue Reading

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Citations

Dec 14, 2011·The ISME Journal·Silke LangenhederAnna J Székely
Jul 20, 2011·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Jonathan M Chase, Jonathan A Myers
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Nov 8, 2017·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Tianxiang HaoXuejun Liu
Aug 21, 2019·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Kimberly J KomatsuYunhai Zhang
Nov 12, 2019·Ecological Applications : a Publication of the Ecological Society of America·Preeti Verma, R Sagar
Jun 2, 2020·Emerging Topics in Life Sciences·Callum J Macgregor, Alison S Scott-Brown
Mar 14, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Kelly GravuerSusan P Harrison
Oct 20, 2017·Nature Ecology & Evolution·Joseph A LaMannaJonathan A Myers
Jul 20, 2021·Environmental Pollution·Stéfano Zorzal-AlmeidaDenise C Bicudo
Jul 10, 2021·Ecology Letters·Eric W SeabloomElizabeth T Borer

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