loading page

Species losses, gains, and changes in persistent species are associated with distinct effects on ecosystem functioning in global grasslands
  • +40
  • Emma Ladouceur,
  • Shane Blowes,
  • Jonathan Chase,
  • Adam Clark,
  • Magda Garbowski,
  • Juan Alberti,
  • Carlos Arnillas,
  • Jonathan Bakker,
  • Isabel C. Barrio,
  • Siddharth Bharath,
  • Elizabeth Borer,
  • Lars Brudvig,
  • Marc Cadotte,
  • Q. Q. Chen,
  • Scott Collins,
  • Christopher Dickman,
  • Ian Donohue,
  • Guo-Zhen Du,
  • Anne Ebeling,
  • Nico Eisenhauer,
  • Philip Fay,
  • Nicole Hagenah,
  • Yann Hautier,
  • Anke Jentsch,
  • Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir,
  • Kimberly Komatsu,
  • Andrew MacDougall,
  • Jason Martina,
  • Joslin Moore,
  • John Morgan,
  • Pablo Peri,
  • Sally A Power,
  • Zhengwei Ren,
  • Anita Risch,
  • Christiane Roscher,
  • Max Schuchardt,
  • Eric Seabloom,
  • Carly Stevens,
  • Ciska Veen,
  • Risto Virtanen,
  • Glenda Wardle,
  • Peter Wilfahrt,
  • Stan Harpole
Emma Ladouceur
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

Corresponding Author:emma.ladouceur@idiv.de

Author Profile
Shane Blowes
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Author Profile
Jonathan Chase
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Author Profile
Adam Clark
University of Graz
Author Profile
Magda Garbowski
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Author Profile
Juan Alberti
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC) (UNMdP – CONICET)
Author Profile
Carlos Arnillas
University of Toronto-Scarborough
Author Profile
Jonathan Bakker
University of Washington
Author Profile
Isabel C. Barrio
Agricultural University of Iceland
Author Profile
Siddharth Bharath
Atria University
Author Profile
Elizabeth Borer
University of Minnesota
Author Profile
Lars Brudvig
Michigan State University
Author Profile
Marc Cadotte
University of Toronto Scarborough
Author Profile
Q. Q. Chen
Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences
Author Profile
Scott Collins
University of New Mexico
Author Profile
Christopher Dickman
University of Sydney
Author Profile
Ian Donohue
Trinity College Dublin
Author Profile
Guo-Zhen Du
School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, South Tianshui Road 222, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People’s Republic of China
Author Profile
Anne Ebeling
University of Jena
Author Profile
Nico Eisenhauer
University of Leipzig
Author Profile
Philip Fay
USDA-ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory
Author Profile
Nicole Hagenah
University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Life Sciences
Author Profile
Yann Hautier
Utrecht University
Author Profile
Anke Jentsch
University of Bayreuth
Author Profile
Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir
University of Iceland
Author Profile
Kimberly Komatsu
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Author Profile
Andrew MacDougall
University of Guelph
Author Profile
Jason Martina
Texas State University
Author Profile
Joslin Moore
Monash University
Author Profile
John Morgan
La Trobe University
Author Profile
Pablo Peri
Southern Patagonia National University
Author Profile
Sally A Power
Western Sydney University
Author Profile
Zhengwei Ren
Lanzhou University
Author Profile
Anita Risch
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research
Author Profile
Christiane Roscher
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Author Profile
Max Schuchardt
Universitat Bayreuth
Author Profile
Eric Seabloom
University of Minnesota
Author Profile
Carly Stevens
Lancaster University
Author Profile
Ciska Veen
Netherlands Institute of Ecology
Author Profile
Risto Virtanen
University of Oulu
Author Profile
Glenda Wardle
University of Sydney
Author Profile
Peter Wilfahrt
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Author Profile
Stan Harpole
iDiv: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Author Profile

Abstract

Global change drivers such as anthropogenic nutrient inputs simultaneously alter biodiversity, species composition, and ecosystem functions such as aboveground biomass. These changes are interconnected by complex feedbacks among extinction, colonization, and shifting relative abundance. Here, we use a novel temporal application of the Price equation to quantify the functional contributions of species that are lost, gained, and persist under ambient and experimental nutrient addition in 59 global grasslands. Under ambient conditions, compositional and biomass turnover was high, but species losses (i.e., local extinctions) were balanced by gains (i.e. colonization). There was biomass loss associated with species loss under fertilization. Few species were gained in fertilized conditions over time but those that were, and species that persisted, contributed to net biomass gains, outweighing biomass loss. These components of community change are key to understanding the relationship between change in composition, diversity and functioning.