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Land use intensification results in abrupt transitions between contrasting grassland states
  • +38
  • Hugo Saiz,
  • Lena Neuenkamp,
  • Caterina Penone,
  • Klaus Birkhofer,
  • Nico Bluthgen,
  • Steffen Boch,
  • Michael Bonkowski,
  • Francois Buscot,
  • María Felipe-Lucía,
  • Anna-Maria Fiore-Donno,
  • Markus Fischer,
  • Martin Freitag,
  • Oscar Godoy,
  • Kezia Goldmann,
  • Martin Gossner,
  • Ute Hamer,
  • Norbert Hölzel,
  • Kirsten Jung,
  • Ellen Kandeler,
  • Valentin Klaus,
  • Till Kleinebecker,
  • Sophia Leimer,
  • Sven Marhan,
  • Yvonne Oelmann,
  • Jörg Overmann,
  • Daniel Prati,
  • Swen Renner,
  • Matthias Rillig,
  • Sebastian Seibold,
  • Michael Schloter,
  • Ingo Schöning,
  • Johannes Sikorski,
  • Stephanie Socher,
  • Emily Solly,
  • Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter,
  • Barbara Stempfhuber,
  • Catrin Westphal,
  • Wolfgang Wilcke,
  • Tesfaye Wubet,
  • Susanne Wurst,
  • Eric Allan
Hugo Saiz
University of Zaragoza

Corresponding Author:saizhugo@gmail.com

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Lena Neuenkamp
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Caterina Penone
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Klaus Birkhofer
Brandenburgische Technische Universitat Cottbus-Senftenberg
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Nico Bluthgen
TU Darmstadt
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Steffen Boch
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
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Michael Bonkowski
University of Cologne
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Francois Buscot
UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
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María Felipe-Lucía
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Anna-Maria Fiore-Donno
University of Cologne
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Markus Fischer
University of Potsdam
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Martin Freitag
University of Münster
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Oscar Godoy
Universidad de Cadiz Campus de Puerto Real
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Kezia Goldmann
Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Umweltforschung UFZ
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Martin Gossner
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
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Norbert Hölzel
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Kirsten Jung
University Ulm, BIO III
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Ellen Kandeler
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Valentin Klaus
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich
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Till Kleinebecker
Institute of Landscape Ecology and Resource Management, University of Gießen
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Sophia Leimer
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
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Sven Marhan
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Yvonne Oelmann
Eberhard Karls-University Tuebingen
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Jörg Overmann
Leibniz Institut - Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH
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Daniel Prati
University of Bern
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Swen Renner
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Matthias Rillig
Freie Universitaet Berlin
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Sebastian Seibold
Technische Universität München
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Michael Schloter
Helmholtz Zentrum München
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Ingo Schöning
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
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Johannes Sikorski
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Stephanie Socher
Paris Lodron University of Salzburg
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Emily Solly
ETH Zurich
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Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
University of Würzburg
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Barbara Stempfhuber
Helmholtz Zentrum München
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Catrin Westphal
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Wolfgang Wilcke
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Tesfaye Wubet
UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research,
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Susanne Wurst
Freie Universität Berlin
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Eric Allan
University of Bern
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Abstract

Understanding whether land use intensification causes regime shifts is of key importance for management, particularly if these shifts are associated with thresholds separating different ecosystem states and with hysteretic dynamics. Here we use a unique, long-term grassland database to identify thresholds in the response of 16 ecosystem functions and the diversities of 21 taxa to land use intensity. We show that aboveground diversity (5 of 10 taxa), shoot biomass and soil N retention showed threshold responses to land use intensity, i.e., abrupt changes between extensively and intensively managed grasslands. Time-series analysis revealed that ecosystem functions showed hysteresis around the threshold, while diversity did not. Shifting back to the functioning seen in extensively managed grasslands may therefore require larger reductions in land use intensity than shifting to the high intensity state. Identifying such thresholds along land use gradients is critical to prevent ecosystem degradation and conserve biodiversity and ecosystem functions.