Functional- and abundance-based mechanisms explain diversity loss due to N fertilization

Human activities have increased N availability dramatically in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Extensive research demonstrates that local plant species diversity generally declines in response to nutrient enrichment, yet the mechanisms for this decline remain unclear. Based on an analysis of >...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 102; no. 12; pp. 4387 - 4392
Main Authors Suding, K.N, Collins, S.L, Gough, L, Clark, C, Cleland, E.E, Gross, K.L, Milchunas, D.G, Pennings, S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 22.03.2005
National Acad Sciences
Subjects
Biodiversity
Biological Sciences
community ecology
Ecological genetics
Ecological life histories
Ecology
Ecosystem
ecosystems
Extinct species
extinction
Fertilization
fertilizer application
Fertilizers - adverse effects
Functional groups
Nitrogen
Nitrogen - analysis
nitrogen fertilizers
North America
perennials
plant ecology
Plants
Productivity
Salt marshes
Species
Species diversity
vegetation types
United States
North America
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Summary:Human activities have increased N availability dramatically in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Extensive research demonstrates that local plant species diversity generally declines in response to nutrient enrichment, yet the mechanisms for this decline remain unclear. Based on an analysis of >900 species responses from 34 N-fertilization experiments across nine terrestrial ecosystems in North America, we show that both trait-neutral and trait-based mechanisms operate simultaneously to influence diversity loss as production increases. Rare species were often lost because of soil fertilization, randomly with respect to traits. The risk of species loss due to fertilization ranged from >60% for the rarest species to 10% for the most abundant species. Perennials, species with N-fixing symbionts, and those of native origin also experienced increased risk of local extinction after fertilization, regardless of their initial abundance. Whereas abundance was consistently important across all systems, functional mechanisms were often system-dependent. As N availability continues to increase globally, management that focuses on locally susceptible functional groups and generally susceptible rare species will be essential to maintain biodiversity.
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This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ksuding@uci.edu.
Edited by F. Stuart Chapin, III, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, and approved January 26, 2005
Author contributions: K.N.S., S.L.C., and L.G. designed research; K.N.S., S.L.C., L.G., C.C., E.E.C., K.L.G., D.G.M., and S.P. analyzed data and performed research; and K.N.S. and S.L.C. wrote the paper.
Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2525.
K.N.S. and S.L.C. contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0408648102