Local nutrient addition drives plant diversity losses but not biotic homogenization in global grasslands

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

  • Qingqing Chen
  • Shane A. Blowes
  • W. Stanley Harpole
  • Emma Ladouceur
  • Elizabeth T. Borer
  • Andrew MacDougall
  • Jason P. Martina
  • Jonathan D. Bakker
  • Pedro M. Tognetti
  • Eric W. Seabloom
  • Pedro Daleo
  • Sally Power
  • Christiane Roscher
  • Peter B. Adler
  • Ian Donohue
  • George Wheeler
  • Carly Stevens
  • G. F.Ciska Veen
  • Anita C. Risch
  • Glenda M. Wardle
  • Yann Hautier
  • Catalina Estrada
  • Erika Hersch-Green
  • Yujie Niu
  • Pablo L. Peri
  • Anu Eskelinen
  • Daniel S. Gruner
  • Harry Olde Venterink
  • Carla D’Antonio
  • Marc W. Cadotte
  • Nico Eisenhauer
  • Jane Catford
  • Risto Virtanen
  • John W. Morgan
  • Michelle Tedder
  • Sumanta Bagchi
  • Maria C. Caldeira
  • Miguel N. Bugalho
  • Johannes M.H. Knops
  • Chris R. Dickman
  • Nicole Hagenah
  • Anke Jentsch
  • Petr Macek
  • Brooke B. Osborne
  • Lauri Laanisto
  • Jonathan M. Chase

Nutrient enrichment typically causes local plant diversity declines. A common but untested expectation is that nutrient enrichment also reduces variation in nutrient conditions among localities and selects for a smaller pool of species, causing greater diversity declines at larger than local scales and thus biotic homogenization. Here we apply a framework that links changes in species richness across scales to changes in the numbers of spatially restricted and widespread species for a standardized nutrient addition experiment across 72 grasslands on six continents. Overall, we find proportionally similar species loss at local and larger scales, suggesting similar declines of spatially restricted and widespread species, and no biotic homogenization after 4 years and up to 14 years of treatment. These patterns of diversity changes are generally consistent across species groups. Thus, nutrient enrichment poses threats to plant diversity, including for widespread species that are often critical for ecosystem functions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4903
JournalNature Communications
Volume16
Issue number1
ISSN2041-1723
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12.2025

Bibliographical note

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© The Author(s) 2025.