Linking plant diversity–productivity relationships to plant functional traits of dominant species and changes in soil properties in 15‐year‐old experimental grasslands

Dietrich, P.; Eisenhauer, Nico; Roscher, Christiane

doi:10.1002/ece3.9883

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…These interactions are often due to species traits. Dietrich et al (2023) found that higher nutrient availability, possibly facilitated by legumes, benefits tall and densely rooted plant species in diverse communities, leading to greater biomass production, litter input, and soil organic carbon and nitrogen, and lower soil pH, creating a beneficial feedback loop. This knowledge can be applied to select plant species with complementary traits for grassland leys, particularly since additional benefits for the follow‐on crops could be provided (Fox et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional group richness increases multifunctionality in intensively managed grasslands

Argens,

Brophy,

Weisser

et al. 2023

Grassland Research

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BackgroundAgricultural yields have increased continuously over the last few decades. However, a focus solely on production can harm the environment. Diversification of agriculture has been suggested to increase production and sustainability. Biodiversity experiments showed positive effects on ecosystems and productivity. However, application of these results to intensively managed grasslands has been questioned due to differences in plant species and management regimes. Research on whether diversity can benefit multifunctionality, that is, an integrated index of multiple ecosystem functions, under intensive management, is still scarce.MethodsTo address this, we manipulated plant species richness from one to six species spanning three functional groups (legumes, herbs, and grasses) in intensively managed multispecies grassland leys and examined seven ecosystem functions.ResultsWe found that multifunctionality increased with functional group and species richness. Legume+herb mixtures showed high multifunctionality, while grass monocultures and mixtures with high proportions of grasses had low multifunctionality. Different plant species and plant communities drove different ecosystem functions. Legumes and herbs improved productivity and water availability, while grasses enhanced invasion resistance. These results indicate that multifunctionality and individual ecosystem functions can be promoted through targeted combinations of plants with complementary ecological traits.ConclusionsPlant diversity can improve multifunctionality also under intensive management, potentially benefitting agroeconomics and sustainability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional group richness increases multifunctionality in intensively managed grasslands

Argens,

Brophy,

Weisser

et al. 2023

Grassland Research

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“…increased foliar elemental concentration and pools in tree foliage and accordingly higher foliage quality with higher tree diversity). Similar patterns were observed in a grassland study, where N and P decreased with plant diversity, while C concentration remained constant (Guiz et al ., 2016, 2018; Dietrich et al ., 2023). Explanations for these observations could also correspond to our findings, for example trees in mixtures might invest more nutrients into plant organs relevant for height growth instead into foliage biomass to remain competitive for other resources (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mycorrhizal type and tree diversity affect foliar elemental pools and stoichiometry

Bönisch,

Blagodatskaya,

Dirzo

et al. 2024

New Phytologist

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Summary Species‐specific differences in nutrient acquisition strategies allow for complementary use of resources among plants in mixtures, which may be further shaped by mycorrhizal associations. However, empirical evidence of this potential role of mycorrhizae is scarce, particularly for tree communities. We investigated the impact of tree species richness and mycorrhizal types, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EM), on above‐ and belowground carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) dynamics. Soil and soil microbial biomass elemental dynamics showed weak responses to tree species richness and none to mycorrhizal type. However, foliar elemental concentrations, stoichiometry, and pools were significantly affected by both treatments. Tree species richness increased foliar C and P pools but not N pools. Additive partitioning analyses showed that net biodiversity effects of foliar C, N, P pools in EM tree communities were driven by selection effects, but in mixtures of both mycorrhizal types by complementarity effects. Furthermore, increased tree species richness reduced soil nitrate availability, over 2 yr. Our results indicate that positive effects of tree diversity on aboveground nutrient storage are mediated by complementary mycorrhizal strategies and highlight the importance of using mixtures composed of tree species with different types of mycorrhizae to achieve more multifunctional afforestation.

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“…Species diversity reflects the complex relationship between organisms and their environment as well as the richness of biological resources. The aboveground biomass mirrors the vegetation characteristics and productivity of grasslands and maintains ecosystem diversity ( Hector et al., 1999 ; Dietrich et al., 2023 ). Grassland degradation contributes to the reverse transformation of the structure and function of grassland ecosystems, simultaneously weakening grassland productivity, which leads to biodiversity loss and community destabilization ( Dong et al., 2018 ; Berdugo et al., 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the win–win situation of forage production and soil organic carbon through a short-term active restoration strategy in alpine grasslands

Wang,

Kang

et al. 2024

Front. Plant Sci.

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IntroductionGrassland degradation has seriously affected the ecological environment and human livelihood. To abate these, implementing effective management strategies to restore and improve the service functions and productivity of degraded grasslands is crucial.MethodsTo evaluate the influences of restoration measures combined with different grazing intensities on short-term (1 year) grassland restoration, the changes in soil physicochemical properties, as well as plant traits under restoration measures of different grazing intensities, reseeding, and fertilization, were analyzed.ResultsSoil organic carbon (SOC) increased to varying degrees, whereas available nutrients decreased under all combined restoration measures. Reseeding, alone and in combination with fertilization, substantially increased SOC, improved grassland vegetation status, and enhanced grassland productivity. The aboveground biomass of Gramineae and the total aboveground biomass increased under the combined restoration measures of transferring livestock out of the pasture 45 days in advance, reseeding, and fertilization (T4). Redundancy analysis revealed a strong correlation between grassland vegetation characteristics, SOC, and available potassium. Considering soil and vegetation factors, the short-term results suggested that the combination measures in T4had the most marked positive impact on grassland restoration.DiscussionThese findings offer valuable theoretical insights for the ecological restoration of degraded grasslands in alpine regions.

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Linking plant diversity–productivity relationships to plant functional traits of dominant species and changes in soil properties in 15‐year‐old experimental grasslands

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 7 publications

References 102 publications

Functional group richness increases multifunctionality in intensively managed grasslands

Functional group richness increases multifunctionality in intensively managed grasslands

Mycorrhizal type and tree diversity affect foliar elemental pools and stoichiometry

Assessing the win–win situation of forage production and soil organic carbon through a short-term active restoration strategy in alpine grasslands

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