Nitrogen enrichment alters multiple dimensions of grassland functional stability via changing compositional stability

Xu, Qianna; Yang, Xian; Song, Jian; Ru, Jingyi; Xia, Jianyang; Wang, Shaopeng; Wan, Shiqiang; Jiang, Lin

doi:10.1111/ele.14119

Cited by 37 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…Landscape‐level selective logging experiments may provide additional evidence of landscape‐level processes of community assembly and the potential impact on ecological restoration. The effect of anthropogenic disturbance on compositional stability at the local scale has been receiving greater attention in other ecosystems (such as grasslands) (Xu et al 2022, Li et al 2023). Based on our results, embracing the dual nature of ecosystem stability across spatial scales in different taxa will contribute to a better understanding of the overall stability of ecosystems in the future.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective logging destabilizes the functioning and composition of forest ecosystems at multiple spatial scales

Qiao,

Lamy,

Wang

et al. 2023

Oikos

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Selective logging is one of the most prevalent land uses of forests worldwide, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. However, the effect of selective logging on the dual nature of temporal stability, and the scale dependence of this effect, remain to be elucidated. By conducting several decade‐long experiments in temperate forest ecosystems, we tested the effects of selective logging on aggregate and compositional stability at multiple spatial scales. As expected, forest ecosystem stability at larger spatial scales was enhanced both by the stability of local scales (i.e. α stability) and asynchronous dynamics among local communities (i.e. spatial asynchrony). We found that the negative effects of selective logging on both facets of forest stability propagated from local to larger spatial scales due to reduced α stability and the biological insurance effects of α diversity. However, both spatial aggregate and compositional asynchrony were not affected by selective logging. Interestingly, despite the selective logging, α diversity still provided biological insurance effects for maintaining aggregate and compositional stability. Our results imply that selective logging may destabilize the aggregate ecosystem functioning and species composition of forest ecosystems at local and larger spatial scales. To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence of the scale dependence of aggregate and compositional stability of forest ecosystems in response to selective logging. Our findings suggest that forest management should avoid excessive selective logging and strive to protect forest diversity to safeguard the sustainability of the functioning and composition of natural forest ecosystems at multiple spatial scales.Keywords: aggregate stability, compositional stability, diversity, ecosystem functioning, spatial asynchrony, stability

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective logging destabilizes the functioning and composition of forest ecosystems at multiple spatial scales

Qiao,

Lamy,

Wang

et al. 2023

Oikos

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“…α functional stability at the plot scale was defined as the biomass‐weighted average of the temporal stability of each plot, and γ functional stability at the transect scale was defined as the temporal stability of the total community biomass of the 5 plots along a transect (Wang et al, 2019). The α compositional stability at the plot scale was quantified by one minus the mean Euclidean distance from each plot in each year to its centroid over 7 years (2003–2010, with the exception of 2005), with the distance calculated based on the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity between two communities of the same plot in each year and then averaged at the transect level (Xu et al, 2022). γ compositional stability at the transect scale was quantified by one minus the mean Euclidean distance from each transect in each year to its 7‐year (2003–2010, with the exception of 2005) transect centroid, with distance calculated based on the Bray–Curtis dissimilarity among communities of the same transect.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass temporal stability increases at two spatial scales during secondary succession

Zhou

Zhi-qiang

et al. 2023

Journal of Ecology

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Ecological stability has long been considered to change over succession, but how secondary succession influences the relationship between diversity and temporal stability of biomass production at different spatial scales is poorly understood. We studied changes in plant diversity, functional temporal stability (biomass production) and compositional temporal stability (the latter two are hereafter referred to as functional stability and compositional stability) and explored the stabilizing roles of plant diversity at two spatial scales (small plots of 0.25 m2 and large transects of 1.25 m2) during secondary succession in a subalpine meadow from 2003 to 2010. Our results showed that both plant diversity and functional and compositional stability increased at the small plot scale and large transect scale during secondary succession. As secondary succession proceeded, higher average alpha diversity (i.e. species diversity at the plot scale) led to higher functional and compositional stability at the plot scale by mainly species stability, predominantly contributing to higher functional and compositional stability at the large transect scale. In addition, Simpson‐based beta diversity (i.e. compositional dissimilarity among communities within the same transect), while unaffected by succession, contributed to functional stability at the large transect scale by promoting asynchronous dynamics among communities. Synthesis. Our study highlights the stabilizing effects of plant diversity across the two spatial scales during secondary succession. Our findings provide the first empirical evidence that biodiversity‐mediated effects on ecosystem temporal stability strengthen over successional time, suggesting that the stabilizing effects of biodiversity should be considered across spatial and temporal scales in the face of global changes and biodiversity loss.

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“…The expected rise in atmospheric greenhouse gases and associated warming trends in the coming decades will lead to increases in drought frequency and duration in many regions (Bradford et al, 2020). This predicted intensification of drought has the potential to decrease primary production and biodiversity, and alter community composition, with immediate and potentially long‐lasting post‐drought impacts on ecosystem function and stability at regional and global scales (He et al, 2022; Knapp et al, 2008; Luo et al, 2023; Xu, Yang, et al, 2022). Indeed, several broad‐scale analyses have found that water‐limited ecosystems such as grasslands are especially vulnerable to drought both during and after these events end (Knapp et al, 2015; Maurer et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, several broad‐scale analyses have found that water‐limited ecosystems such as grasslands are especially vulnerable to drought both during and after these events end (Knapp et al, 2015; Maurer et al, 2020). Determining how and why ecosystem stability is altered by both drought and post‐drought effects may improve our ability to predict how future changes in precipitation will impact ecosystem structure and functions (Broderick et al, 2022; Xu, Yang, et al, 2022). Yet, most studies that model the influence of climate change have focused on ecosystem function and stability during drought periods, whereas ecosystem stability during post‐drought periods has received much less attention (de Bello et al, 2021; He et al, 2022; Matos et al, 2020), with even less research on the mechanistic pathways behind these responses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant traits modulate grassland stability during drought and post‐drought periods

Luo,

Shi,

Wilkins

et al. 2023

Functional Ecology

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Grasslands are subject to climate change, such as severe drought, and an important aspect of their functioning is temporal stability in response to extreme climate events. Previous research has explored the impacts of extreme drought and post‐drought periods on grassland stability, yet the mechanistic pathways behind these changes have rarely been studied. Here, we implemented an experiment with 4 years of drought and 3 years of recovery to assess the effects of drought and post‐drought on the temporal stability of above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP) and its underlying mechanisms. To do so, we measured community‐weighted mean (CWM) of six plant growth and nine seed traits, functional diversity, population stability and species asynchrony across two cold, semiarid grasslands in northern China. We also performed piecewise structural equation models (SEMs) to assess the relationships between ANPP stability and its underlying mechanisms and how drought and post‐drought periods alter the relative contribution of these mechanisms to ANPP stability. We found that temporal stability of ANPP was not reduced during drought due to grasses maintaining productivity, which compensated for increased variation of forb productivity. Moreover, ANPP recovered rapidly after drought, and both grasses and forbs contributed to community stability during the post‐drought period. Overall, ANPP stability decreased during the combined drought and post‐drought periods because of rapid changes in ANPP from drought to post‐drought. SEMs revealed that the temporal stability of ANPP during drought and post‐drought periods was modulated by functional diversity and community‐weighted mean traits directly and indirectly by altering species asynchrony and population stability. Specifically, the temporal stability of ANPP was positively correlated with functional divergence of plant communities. CWMs of seed traits (e.g. seed width and thickness), rather than plant growth traits (e.g. specific leaf area and leaf nutrient content), stabilized grassland ANPP. Productivity of plant communities with large and thick seeds was less sensitive to precipitation changes over time. These results emphasize the importance of considering both the functional trait distribution among species and seed traits of dominant species since their combined effects can stabilize ecosystem functions under global climate change scenarios. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Nitrogen enrichment alters multiple dimensions of grassland functional stability via changing compositional stability

Cited by 37 publications

References 109 publications

Selective logging destabilizes the functioning and composition of forest ecosystems at multiple spatial scales

Selective logging destabilizes the functioning and composition of forest ecosystems at multiple spatial scales

Biomass temporal stability increases at two spatial scales during secondary succession

Plant traits modulate grassland stability during drought and post‐drought periods

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