Fertilization decreases species diversity but increases functional diversity: A three-year experiment in a Tibetan alpine meadow

Niu, Kechang; Choler, Philippe; Bello, Francesco de; Mirotchnick, Nicholas; Du, Guozhen; Sun, Shucun

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.07.015

Cited by 77 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…; Niu et al. ). Discrepancies between results obtained in the present study and those previously reported in the literature could stem from a number of factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Complex plant community responses to modifications of disturbance and nutrient availability in productive permanent grasslands

Louault¹,

Pottier²,

Note³

et al. 2017

J Vegetation Science

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Question Do the effects of grazing and fertilization on taxonomic and functional diversity follow the dynamic equilibrium model? Location Long‐term permanent upland grasslands, Massif‐central, France. Methods Over 8 yr, we monitored vegetation changes in 24 experimental plots in two productive grasslands after modification of grazing intensity (including abandonment) or fertilization regime (including cessation of fertilization). Botanical surveys and plant trait measurements (LDMC, SLA and reproductive plant height) were performed within each plot. We analysed taxonomic responses using PRC and functional responses from observed temporal changes of CWM traits and Rao index. Results Grazing abandonment led to significant reductions in species richness and functional convergence toward taller plants with higher LDMC in both grasslands. Intermediate and high grazing pressure did not differ but showed strong variations in taxonomic diversity between years. Changes in functional vegetation structure were mostly driven by species turnover and weakly influenced by intraspecific trait variability. Community responses to modified fertilization regime were more complex, with strong differences between the two mown grasslands. Species richness did not change significantly although species evenness decreased in the highly fertilized treatments (NPK), particularly in the most productive grassland. Here, functional changes were largely driven by intraspecific trait variability. Both functional divergence and convergence were found for different traits. In NPK, grassland assemblages converged toward taller plants while SLA diverged. Conclusions In our upland study system the different components of grassland diversity responded differently, in terms of direction or rate of change and mostly under extreme modifications of management. Following abandonment, the observed patterns suggest a prominent and consistent role of competitive exclusion, as expected under the DEM. However, our findings also suggest the role of additional processes, especially the importance of niche differentiation, for our mown grassland under NPK. Timing and net effects of these combined assembly drivers were sensitive to even slight differences in initial productivity and species composition.

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“…; Niu et al. ). Discrepancies between results obtained in the present study and those previously reported in the literature could stem from a number of factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…For example, Niu et al. () reported an increase in functional diversity, while Janeček et al. () observed a decrease, although both studies highlighted a decrease of species richness in response to fertilization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex plant community responses to modifications of disturbance and nutrient availability in productive permanent grasslands

Louault¹,

Pottier²,

Note³

et al. 2017

J Vegetation Science

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“…Individual ramets were counted and harvested by species (Niu et al, 2010;Niu et al, 2014) to calculate trait distribution. After aboveground biomass was harvested in each quadrat, we collected and pooled three soil samples from the 0-15 cm soil layer, which were sieved (2-mm mesh) for further analyses.…”

Section: Trait and Abundance Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tradeoffs between forage quality and soil fertility: Lessons from Himalayan rangelands

Niu

Zhang

et al. 2016

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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A B S T R A C TPastoralists on Eurasian rangeland often believe that traditional management practices involving moderate rotational grazing ensure sustainable yield, increase plant digestibility and promote biodiversity. To assess the generality of these suppositions we compared biomass production, community leaf C, N and P stoichiometry, leaf trait diversity and carbon and nutrient pools in root and soil for moderately grazed vs. ungrazed plots in Tibetan alpine meadows. We used five leaf traits (leaf C, leaf N and leaf P concentrations; SLA: specific leaf area, and LDMC: leaf dry matter content) as indicators of plant digestibility and rangeland quality. We measured these foliar traits and the ramet numbers for component species in moderately grazed plots as well as in exclosures (3-11 years) at five sites across the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Community weighted mean (CWM) trait values and functional dispersion (FDis) were used to quantify the mean and the variance in the distribution of trait values, respectively. Both the leaf P CWM and leaf P FDis generally increased under grazing and the LDMC CWM decreased, leading to improved plant digestibility and rangeland quality (e.g. high, community-wide leaf nutrients). The leaf C CWM , leaf N CWM and SLA CWM increased under grazing but the FDis of these traits tended to decrease. Grazing generally increased species diversity but decreased aboveground biomass, organic carbon, and nutrient concentrations in soil and root, especially decreasing root nitrogen and soil available phosphorus. Both root biomass and the leaf C:N CWM decreased in grazed plots at wet sites, but increased at dry sites. The community-wide increase and greater interspecific diversity in leaf nutrient concentrations coupled with decreasing LDMC CWM show that grazing induced an increase in plant digestibility, nutrient concentrations, and nutrient diversity in these alpine meadows. However, this increase in forage quality comes at the cost of losses in both carbon stock and nutrient availability that depress biomass production. Our findings and a review of related literature suggest that traditional grazing practices involve a trade-off between short-term yield and sustainability, a management challenge that must be addressed on rangelands with low soil fertility.

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“…Thus fifteen quadrats were investigated for each treatment in each year. In each quadrat, species, height, coverage and abundance for each species were investigated, using the methods shown in Jing et al (2013) and Niu et al (2014). Aboveground green parts were sorted and harvested by species.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…tion caused significant diversification of plant communities (Hejcman et al 2007), it is generally accepted that fertilization increases productivity of grasslands but decreases species diversity (Chalcraft et al 2008, Niu et al 2014, Li et al 2015. Several mechanisms involving competitive exclusion for resources, especially for light and soil water and nutrients, have been proposed to explain plant species loss (Borer et al 2014, Li et al 2015.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of fertilization, burning, and grazing on plant community in the long-term fenced grasslands

Jing¹,

Li²,

Yu³

et al. 2017

PLANT SOIL ENVIRON

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Fencing is the common management practice to restore degraded grasslands. However, long-term fencing decreases grassland productivity and species diversity. The study was therefore conducted as a three-year (2011–2013) experiment with a randomized complete block in a grassland fenced for 20 years in the Loess Plateau of China, and the effects of fertilization, burning and grazing on aboveground biomass, species and functional group composition, species and some functional group diversity were analysed. Our results showed that the functional group of perennial bunchgrasses dominated the grassland regardless of management practices. However, burning altered species composition (i.e. the unpalatable species, Artemisia sacrorum) more significantly than fertilization or grazing, and surprisingly, nearly quadrupled the functional group of shrubs and semi-shrubs. Fertilization had a positive effect on the aboveground biomass (44.0%), while clearly reducing species diversity (21.9%). Grazing decreased aboveground biomass, but increased species diversity by 15.9%. This study indicated that fertilization influenced plant community through its impact on aboveground biomass, while burning changed plant community by altering dominant species. Thus, it was concluded that fertilizer could further improve community biomass while burning reduced the edibility of grass. Grazing could be carried out to enhance the biodiversity in the long-term fenced grasslands.

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Fertilization decreases species diversity but increases functional diversity: A three-year experiment in a Tibetan alpine meadow

Cited by 77 publications

References 53 publications

Complex plant community responses to modifications of disturbance and nutrient availability in productive permanent grasslands

Complex plant community responses to modifications of disturbance and nutrient availability in productive permanent grasslands

Tradeoffs between forage quality and soil fertility: Lessons from Himalayan rangelands

Effects of fertilization, burning, and grazing on plant community in the long-term fenced grasslands

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