Different Assembly Processes Drive Shifts in Species and Functional Composition in Experimental Grasslands Varying in Sown Diversity and Community History

Roscher, Christiane; Schumacher, Jens; Gerighausen, Uta; Schmid, Bernhard

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101928

Cited by 23 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…We observed evidence of rare species spillover only at sites with low richness, echoing findings from studies on invasion (e.g. Kennedy et al, ; Stachowicz, Whitlatch, & Osman, ) and colonization (Roscher, Schumacher, Gerighausen, & Schmid, ), where increased local richness leads to decreased establishment of novel species. Several mechanisms could cause this richness‐dependent pattern.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Species diversity and dispersal traits alter biodiversity spillover in reconstructed grasslands

Sperry

Hilfer

Lane

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Grasslands are among the planet’s most imperilled ecosystems, largely because habitat conversion has caused extreme biodiversity loss. In response, managers and scientists aim to recreate grassland habitat, yet these reconstructed grasslands are often species‐poor and lose diversity through time. One potential mechanism to promote biodiversity in grasslands is spillover, or the targeted dispersal of species across habitat boundaries from areas of high to low biodiversity. There is potential for native species to disperse via spillover from high‐quality remnant habitat and establish in reconstructions, thus increasing biodiversity. However, plant dispersal and establishment are often context dependent, and the conditions that promote spillover in grasslands are largely unknown. Here we examine the contexts under which spillover can enhance biodiversity in grasslands. Specifically, we investigate whether the species richness of reconstructions and individual plant dispersal traits alter spillover. To do so, we surveyed plant species richness at reconstructed grasslands of varying diversity adjacent to remnant grasslands. We found that spillover from remnants supplies reconstructions with rare species that would otherwise not be present, but only in reconstructions with lower overall richness. Furthermore, spillover was more likely to occur for species with wind dispersed seeds than species with unassisted seed dispersal. Synthesis and applications. Our results show that the context dependency of both dispersal and establishment processes are critical to understanding when and where spillover can promote biodiversity in reconstructed systems. Understanding these contexts will help land managers leverage natural dispersal to mitigate biodiversity loss by anticipating which species are likely to arrive in reconstructions without assistance and when they are likely to establish.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Species diversity and dispersal traits alter biodiversity spillover in reconstructed grasslands

Sperry

Hilfer

Lane

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…Particularly, plant communities sown with highly diverse seed mixtures are often less impacted by colonizers than communities sown with low-diversity mixtures resulting in increased predictability of functioning and stability of high diversity grassland communities (van der Putten et al 2000, Pywell et al 2002, Roscher et al 2013). In addition, we also provide evidence that, in the long term, functional diversity and composition converge (see also Fukami et al 2005, Petermann et al 2010, Roscher et al 2014, as well as that biomass production and the stability of biomass production in plots sown with a high-diversity seed mixture decline toward the level of unsown plots. S1).…”

Section: Temporal Patterns In Diversity and Ecosystem Functioningmentioning

confidence: 60%

Biodiversity‐ecosystem functioning relationships in a long‐term non‐weeded field experiment

Veen

Putten

Bezemer

2018

Ecology

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Many grassland biodiversity experiments show a positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, however, in most of these experiments plant communities are established by sowing and natural colonization is prevented by selective weeding of non-sown species. During ecosystem restoration, for example on abandoned fields, plant communities start on bare soil, and diversity is often manipulated in a single sowing event. How such initial plant diversity manipulations influence plant biodiversity development and ecosystem functioning is not well understood. We examined how relationships between taxonomic and functional diversity, biomass production and stability develop over 16 yr in non-weeded plots sown with 15 species, four species, or that were not sown. We found that sown plant communities become functionally similar to unsown, naturally colonized plant communities. However, initial sowing treatments had long-lasting effects on species composition and taxonomic diversity. We found only few relationships between biomass production, or stability in biomass production, and functional or taxonomic diversity, and the ones we observed were negative. In addition, the cover of dominant plant species was positively related to biomass production and stability. We conclude that effects of introducing plant species at the start of secondary succession can persist for a long time, and that in secondary succession communities with natural plant species dynamics diversity-functioning relationships can be weak or negative. Moreover, our findings indicate that in systems where natural colonization of species is allowed effects of plant dominance may underlie diversity-functioning relationships.

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“…Altered hydrological conditions will likely mediate fast exclusion of species intolerant of these changes, whereas the establishment of new species relies on their dispersal and establishment within the areas. Therefore, a delay in the response of mean trait values of the community to changed habitat conditions may occur (Oddershede, Svenning, & Damgaard, ; Sandel et al., ), reflecting progressive filling of available niches within the community, eventually leading to stronger trait convergence (Helsen, Hermy, & Honnay, ; Roscher, Schumacher, Gerighausen, & Schmid, ). This delay may be stronger in existing vegetation than in bare plots where colonization and environmental filtering may occur rapidly (Fraaije, Braak, Verduyn, Verhoeven, et al., ; Fraaije, Braak, Verduyn, Breeman, et al., ) as also seen in the bare plots in our study, which differed significantly in species composition from the existing vegetation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and functional responses of plant communities to climate change‐mediated alterations in the hydrology of riparian areas in temperate Europe

Baattrup‐Pedersen

Garssen

Göthe

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The hydrology of riparian areas changes rapidly these years because of climate change‐mediated alterations in precipitation patterns. In this study, we used a large‐scale in situ experimental approach to explore effects of drought and flooding on plant taxonomic diversity and functional trait composition in riparian areas in temperate Europe. We found significant effects of flooding and drought in all study areas, the effects being most pronounced under flooded conditions. In near‐stream areas, taxonomic diversity initially declined in response to both drought and flooding (although not significantly so in all years) and remained stable under drought conditions, whereas the decline continued under flooded conditions. For most traits, we found clear indications that the functional diversity also declined under flooded conditions, particularly in near‐stream areas, indicating that fewer strategies succeeded under flooded conditions. Consistent changes in community mean trait values were also identified, but fewer than expected. This can have several, not mutually exclusive, explanations. First, different adaptive strategies may coexist in a community. Second, intraspecific variability was not considered for any of the traits. For example, many species can elongate shoots and petioles that enable them to survive shallow, prolonged flooding but such abilities will not be captured when applying mean trait values. Third, we only followed the communities for 3 years. Flooding excludes species intolerant of the altered hydrology, whereas the establishment of new species relies on time‐dependent processes, for instance the dispersal and establishment of species within the areas. We expect that altered precipitation patterns will have profound consequences for riparian vegetation in temperate Europe. Riparian areas will experience loss of taxonomic and functional diversity and, over time, possibly also alterations in community trait responses that may have cascading effects on ecosystem functioning.

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Different Assembly Processes Drive Shifts in Species and Functional Composition in Experimental Grasslands Varying in Sown Diversity and Community History

Cited by 23 publications

References 44 publications

Species diversity and dispersal traits alter biodiversity spillover in reconstructed grasslands

Species diversity and dispersal traits alter biodiversity spillover in reconstructed grasslands

Biodiversity‐ecosystem functioning relationships in a long‐term non‐weeded field experiment

Structural and functional responses of plant communities to climate change‐mediated alterations in the hydrology of riparian areas in temperate Europe

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