Pathways for the effects of increased nitrogen deposition on fauna

Nijssen, Marijn; WallisDeVries, Michiel F.; Siepel, H.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2017.02.022

Cited by 64 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…There may be at least three potential causes for the outbreak of C. dauricus in the present study. First, N addition stimulated plant growth, thereby increasing the food resources for herbivores (Nijssen, Wallisdevries, & Siepel, ; Ritchie, ). In this aspect, although N addition did not significantly increase ANPP in the present study, ANPP showed an increasing trend (Figure e).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on rodent damage in an Inner Mongolian steppe

Liu

Zan

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Rodent damage is a serious threat to sustainable management of grassland. The effects of nitrogen (N) deposition and grassland management on rodent damage have been scarcely studied. Here, we reported the effects of 2 years of N addition and mowing on burrow density and damage area of Citellus dauricus in a semiarid steppe in Inner Mongolia. N addition significantly aggravated, while mowing alleviated rodent damage in the grassland under study. Burrow density and damage area increased 2.8‐fold and 4.7‐fold, in N addition plots compared to the ambient N addition treatment, respectively. Conversely, mowing decreased burrow density and damage area by 75.9% and 14.5%, respectively, compared to no mowing plots. Observed changes in rodent damage were mainly due to variations in plant community cover, height, and aboveground net primary productivity. Our findings demonstrate that N addition and mowing can affect the rodent density and activity in grassland, suggesting that the effects of a changing atmospheric composition and land use on rodent damage must be considered in order to achieve better grassland management.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on rodent damage in an Inner Mongolian steppe

Liu

Zan

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Although no substantial pollinator richness declines were detected during these early time periods, local density declines or changes in their foraging behavior might have already occurred, preceding the richness declines detected later on (Fig. In addition, the time lag detected for insects could be a response to changes in resource quality (Adler and Irwin 2011, Hoover et al 2012, Nijssen et al 2017, as discussed below. This suggests a time-lag for pollinator richness changes in relation to plants.…”

Section: Effect Of Resource Preferences On Historical Patterns Of Biomentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Impacts on plant community are well-recognized, including losses in species diversity (Stevens et al 2004, Bobbink et al 2010, and these may propagate to primary consumers (Stevens et al 2018). While there has been recent research into effects on herbivores (Nijssen et al 2017, Pöyry et al 2017, WallisDeVries and van Swaay 2017, the potential effects of soil eutrophication on those feeding on pollen and nectar (potential pollinators) are largely unexplored (Stevens et al 2018, but see Betzholtz et al 2013, Tamburini et al 2017, Ramos et al 2018. Such potential bottom-up effects could be mediated by reduction in nectar or pollen availability or quality (Petanidou et al 1999, Vanderplanck et al 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil eutrophication shaped the composition of pollinator assemblages during the past century

et al. 2019

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Atmospheric nitrogen deposition and other sources of environmental eutrophication have increased substantially over the past century worldwide, notwithstanding the recent declining trends in Europe. Despite the recognized susceptibility of plants to eutrophication, few studies evaluated how impacts propagate to consumers, such as pollinators. Here we aim to test if soil eutrophication contributes to the temporal dynamics of pollinators and their larval resources.We used a temporally and spatially explicit historical dataset with information on species occurrences to test if soil eutrophication, and more specifically nitrogen deposition, contributes to the patterns of change of plant and pollinator richness in the Netherlands over an 80 yr period. We focus on bees and butterflies, two groups for which we have good knowledge of larval resources that allowed us to define groups of species with different nitrogen related diet preferences. For each group we estimated richness changes between different 20-yr periods at local, regional and national scale, using analytical methods developed for analyzing richness changes based on collection data.Our findings suggest that the impacts of soil eutrophication on plant communities propagate to higher trophic levels, but with a time-lag. Pollinators with nitrogenrelated diet preferences were particularly affected, in turn potentially impairing the performance of pollinator-dependent plants. Pollinator declines continued even after their focal plants started to recover. In addition, our results suggest that current levels Research 210 of nitrogen deposition still have a negative impact on most groups here analyzed, constraining richness recoveries and accentuating declines.Our results indicate that the global increase in nitrogen availability plays an important role in the ongoing pollinator decline. Consequently, species tolerances to soil nitrogen levels should be considered across all trophic levels in management plans that aim to halt biodiversity loss and enhance ecosystems services worldwide.

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“…Nitrogen can impact plant–pollinator interactions via a number of mechanisms, these can be grouped into two of the key pathways suggested by Nijssen et al. (); (1) changes in food plant quantity (through shifts in plant community composition), (2) nutritional quality, in addition a third pathway via changes to phenology. Competitive exclusion of more stress‐tolerant plant species has been shown to reduce the functional diversity of flowering plants (Helsen et al., ) with associated impacts on pollinator diversity (Biesmeijer et al., ; Potts, Vuliiamy, Dafni, Ne'eman, & Willmer, ).…”

Section: Impacts On Higher Trophic Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition in terrestrial ecosystems: Its impact on plant communities and consequences across trophic levels

2018

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The global nitrogen cycle has been greatly perturbed by human activities resulting in elevated nitrogen deposition in many parts of the world. The threat nitrogen deposition poses to ecosystem function and biodiversity is increasingly recognised. In terrestrial systems, impacts on the plant community are mainly through eutrophication and soil acidification. Interactions with secondary environmental drivers such as extreme weather and disease are also key mechanisms. Impacts on consumers can be caused by changes in the quality or quantity of food as a result of changes in food plant chemistry or species composition, changes in vegetation structure leading to a change in the availability of prey species, nesting sites or cooled microclimates or changes in the phenology of plants leading to causing phenological asynchrony. Primary consumers have received considerably less research attention than plants but negative impacts have been observed for both folivorous insects and pollinators. Mammal herbivores have received little research attention. New analysis of changes in plant traits along a gradient of nitrogen deposition in the UK shows that plants pollinated by large bees were negatively associated with N deposition whilst low pH was associated with lower nectar production, reduced occurrence of plants pollinated by long‐tongued insects and a reduction in plants with larger floral units. Very few studies have investigated the effects on secondary consumers, but those that have suggest that there are likely to be negative impacts. This review identifies considerable knowledge gaps in the impacts of N deposition on higher tropic levels and highlights that for many groups, knowledge of N deposition impacts is patchy at best. Evidence that has been collected suggests that there are likely to be impacts on primary and secondary consumers making this a priority area for investigation.

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Pathways for the effects of increased nitrogen deposition on fauna

Cited by 64 publications

References 97 publications

Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on rodent damage in an Inner Mongolian steppe

Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on rodent damage in an Inner Mongolian steppe

Soil eutrophication shaped the composition of pollinator assemblages during the past century

Atmospheric nitrogen deposition in terrestrial ecosystems: Its impact on plant communities and consequences across trophic levels

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