The relative and combined effects of herbivore assemblage and soil nitrogen on plant diversity

Zhang, Minna; Liu, Bai; Li, Guangyin; Kuang, Yingying; Xiu-quan, Yue; Jiang, Shicheng; Liu, Jushan; Wang, Ling

doi:10.1007/s11427-021-1963-2

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…First, aridity is the most important feature in drylands, yet the experimental interaction between aridity and grazing impacts on biodiversity and multifunctionality have not been studied before. This limitation stems from the fact that most previous grazing experiments are conducted at a single site [9][10][11] . Regional experiments are needed to determine whether domestic herbivore impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functions is general or whether these effects depend on grassland aridity conditions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity

Zhang,

Delgado-Baquerizo,

et al. 2023

Nat Commun

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Grazing by domestic herbivores is the most widespread land use on the planet, and also a major global change driver in grasslands. Yet, experimental evidence on the long-term impacts of livestock grazing on biodiversity and function is largely lacking. Here, we report results from a network of 10 experimental sites from paired grazed and ungrazed grasslands across an aridity gradient, including some of the largest remaining native grasslands on the planet. We show that aridity partly explains the responses of biodiversity and multifunctionality to long-term livestock grazing. Grazing greatly reduced biodiversity and multifunctionality in steppes with higher aridity, while had no effects in steppes with relatively lower aridity. Moreover, we found that long-term grazing further changed the capacity of above- and below-ground biodiversity to explain multifunctionality. Thus, while plant diversity was positively correlated with multifunctionality across grasslands with excluded livestock, soil biodiversity was positively correlated with multifunctionality across grazed grasslands. Together, our cross-site experiment reveals that the impacts of long-term grazing on biodiversity and function depend on aridity levels, with the more arid sites experiencing more negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. We also highlight the fundamental importance of conserving soil biodiversity for protecting multifunctionality in widespread grazed grasslands.

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confidence: 99%

Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity

Zhang,

Delgado-Baquerizo,

et al. 2023

Nat Commun

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“…This is probably because grazing and N addition may decrease plant α‐diversity, and increase the overwhelming effect of dominant species on ecosystem functioning (Garnier et al, 2004; Le Bagousse‐Pinguet et al, 2019). On the one hand, small herbivores like sheep are capable of reducing plant α‐diversity (Kleynhans et al, 2011; Olofsson et al, 2004) because their predation on rare species (Zhang et al, 2022) would increase the dominant species throughout the landscapes. Supporting the notion that in dry and less productive grasslands, there is a negative link between diversity and disturbance (Olff & Ritchie, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant α‐and β‐diversity, and soil microbial stoichiometry co‐regulate the alterations in ecosystem multifunctionality in response to grazing and N addition in a typical steppe

Wang

et al. 2023

Land Degrad Dev

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Despite their significance, how interactions of plant diversity at multiple spatial scales and soil microbial stoichiometry alter a series of ecosystem functions (multifunctionality, EMF) in response to anthropogenic nitrogen (N) input and herbivores are poorly known. We conducted a 17-year sheep grazing experiment with 6-year N addition to explore the impacts of grazing (0, 2.7, 5.3 and 8.7 sheep ha À1 ) and N addition (N0, N5, N10 and N20, i.e., 0, 5, 10 and 20 g N m À2 yr À1 , respectively) on grassland functions and EMF via changes in plant α-and β-diversity, and carbon to nitrogen ratio (C: N) of soil microbes in a typical steppe. The results show that grazing or N addition alone significantly affected EMF with a treatment order of 2.7 and 8.7 sheep ha À1 > 0 and 5.3 sheep ha À1 for grazing intensity or N5 > N10 and N20 > N0 for N addition, which resulted in a significant higher EMF in the combination treatment of 2.7 sheep ha À1 and 5 g N m À2 yr À1 . Plant α-and β-diversity, and soil microbial C:N were the predominant drivers of changes in EMF. Grazing reduced EMF indirectly by decreasing the plant β-diversity. N addition promoted EMF indirectly by decreasing plant α-diversity. In addition, lower plant α-diversity enhanced EMF indirectly by increasing soil microbial C:N. Our results suggest that the negative effects of herbivore on EMF were stronger at larger spatial scales compared to the smaller local communities, while N addition could maintain a higher level of EMF at smaller scales rather than at the larger ones. Our results highlight that multiple spatial scales should be considered to fully unravel the effects of herbivore and eutrophication on ecosystem functions. Our results also demonstrate the important role of soil microbe in maintaining higher grassland multifunctionality, thus we should include the soil microbial functions (i.e., C and N transformation) in further studies. Our results suggest that grazing at a low grazing intensity of 2.7 sheep ha À1 with a low N supplementation of 5 g N m À2 yr À1 could maintain the most important ecosystem functions. Our work provides important insight into grassland conservation and management, aiming to maintain the capacity of grasslands to sustainably supply ecological and productive functions.

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“…Soil moisture (SM) in terms of mass loss was determined by a 10 g soil sample dried at 105°C for 24 h (Schmugge et al, 1980). Soil ammonia and nitrate were analyzed with a continuous flow analyzer (Futura, Alliance, Frepillon, France) (Zhang et al, 2022). The third portion was air‐dried soil to measure soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and soil nutrients.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does grassland degradation affect soil enzyme activity and microbial nutrient limitation in saline‐alkaline meadow?

Yang,

Wu,

Ruan

et al. 2023

Land Degrad Dev

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Soil enzyme activity and its stoichiometry are excellent representatives of soil microorganisms' response to changing conditions, and act as a good indicator of microbial energy and nutrient demands. However, how soil enzyme activity and microbial nutrient limitation will be modified by grassland degradation is not well understood, especially in the saline‐alkaline meadow. Here, we presented how soil enzyme activity and microbial nutrient limitation shifted along a well‐characterized gradient of salinized degraded grasslands (non‐degraded, moderately degraded, and severely degraded). Our results showed soil enzyme activity was the highest in moderately degraded grasslands, which was mainly regulated by soil bacterial diversity. Soil microbial community metabolism in alkali‐saline meadow grasslands was limited by both carbon and phosphorus. Microbial carbon limitation showed a hump‐shaped pattern along the grassland degradation gradient, while microbial phosphorus limitation showed a gradually decreasing trend. Soil bacterial diversity is a key regulator of soil microbial carbon limitation, but the structure of the soil bacterial and plant community determines microbial phosphorus limitation. Taken together, our findings, taken together, provide evidence that soil bacteria are direct drivers of soil enzyme activity and microbial nutrient limitation along a grassland degradation gradient with salinization and suggest that these changes are regulated by soil salinity.

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The relative and combined effects of herbivore assemblage and soil nitrogen on plant diversity

Cited by 11 publications

References 67 publications

Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity

Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity

Plant α‐and β‐diversity, and soil microbial stoichiometry co‐regulate the alterations in ecosystem multifunctionality in response to grazing and N addition in a typical steppe

How does grassland degradation affect soil enzyme activity and microbial nutrient limitation in saline‐alkaline meadow?

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