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Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Standard

Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally. / Engel, Thore; Bruelheide, Helge; Hoss, Daniela et al.
In: Global Ecology and Biogeography, Vol. 32, No. 5, 01.05.2023, p. 695-706.

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Engel, T, Bruelheide, H, Hoss, D, Sabatini, FM, Altman, J, Arfin-Khan, MAS, Bergmeier, E, Černý, T, Chytrý, M, Dainese, M, Dengler, J, Dolezal, J, Field, R, Fischer, FM, Huygens, D, Jandt, U, Jansen, F, Jentsch, A, Karger, DN, Kattge, J, Lenoir, J, Lens, F, Loos, J, Niinemets, Ü, Overbeck, GE, Ozinga, WA, Penuelas, J, Peyre, G, Phillips, O, Reich, PB, Römermann, C, Sandel, B, Schmidt, M, Schrodt, F, Velez-Martin, E, Violle, C & Pillar, V 2023, 'Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally', Global Ecology and Biogeography, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 695-706. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13644

APA

Engel, T., Bruelheide, H., Hoss, D., Sabatini, F. M., Altman, J., Arfin-Khan, M. A. S., Bergmeier, E., Černý, T., Chytrý, M., Dainese, M., Dengler, J., Dolezal, J., Field, R., Fischer, F. M., Huygens, D., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jentsch, A., Karger, D. N., ... Pillar, V. (2023). Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32(5), 695-706. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13644

Vancouver

Engel T, Bruelheide H, Hoss D, Sabatini FM, Altman J, Arfin-Khan MAS et al. Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 2023 May 1;32(5):695-706. Epub 2023 Feb 23. doi: 10.1111/geb.13644

Bibtex

@article{98d9475788c94225b4e89da8ff9503b0,
title = "Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally",
abstract = "Aim: Theoretical, experimental and observational studies have shown that biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships are influenced by functional community structure through two mutually non-exclusive mechanisms: (1) the dominance effect (which relates to the traits of the dominant species); and (2) the niche partitioning effect [which relates to functional diversity (FD)]. Although both mechanisms have been studied in plant communities and experiments at small spatial extents, it remains unclear whether evidence from small-extent case studies translates into a generalizable macroecological pattern. Here, we evaluate dominance and niche partitioning effects simultaneously in grassland systems world-wide. Location: Two thousand nine hundred and forty-one grassland plots globally. Time period: 2000–2014. Major taxa studied: Vascular plants. Methods: We obtained plot-based data on functional community structure from the global vegetation plot database “sPlot”, which combines species composition with plant trait data from the “TRY” database. We used data on the community-weighted mean (CWM) and FD for 18 ecologically relevant plant traits. As an indicator of primary productivity, we extracted the satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from MODIS. Using generalized additive models and deviation partitioning, we estimated the contributions of trait CWM and FD to the variation in annual maximum NDVI, while controlling for climatic variables and spatial structure. Results: Grassland communities dominated by relatively tall species with acquisitive traits had higher NDVI values, suggesting the prevalence of dominance effects for BEF relationships. We found no support for niche partitioning for the functional traits analysed, because NDVI remained unaffected by FD. Most of the predictive power of traits was shared by climatic predictors and spatial coordinates. This highlights the importance of community assembly processes for BEF relationships in natural communities. Main conclusions: Our analysis provides empirical evidence that plant functional community structure and global patterns in primary productivity are linked through the resource economics and size traits of the dominant species. This is an important test of the hypotheses underlying BEF relationships at the global scale.",
keywords = "biodiversity, biodiversity–ecosystem functioning, community-weighted mean, ecosystem functioning, functional diversity, sPlot, traits, vegetation, Biology, Ecosystems Research",
author = "Thore Engel and Helge Bruelheide and Daniela Hoss and Sabatini, {Francesco M.} and Jan Altman and Arfin-Khan, {Mohammed A.S.} and Erwin Bergmeier and Tom{\'a}{\v s} {\v C}ern{\'y} and Milan Chytr{\'y} and Matteo Dainese and J{\"u}rgen Dengler and Jiri Dolezal and Richard Field and Fischer, {Fel{\'i}cia M.} and Dries Huygens and Ute Jandt and Florian Jansen and Anke Jentsch and Karger, {Dirk N.} and Jens Kattge and Jonathan Lenoir and Frederic Lens and Jaqueline Loos and {\"U}lo Niinemets and Overbeck, {Gerhard E.} and Ozinga, {Wim A.} and Josep Penuelas and Gwendolyn Peyre and Oliver Phillips and Reich, {Peter B.} and Christine R{\"o}mermann and Brody Sandel and Marco Schmidt and Franziska Schrodt and Eduardo Velez-Martin and Cyrille Violle and Val{\'e}rio Pillar",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",
year = "2023",
month = may,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1111/geb.13644",
language = "English",
volume = "32",
pages = "695--706",
journal = "Global Ecology and Biogeography",
issn = "1466-822X",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.",
number = "5",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Traits of dominant plant species drive normalized difference vegetation index in grasslands globally

AU - Engel, Thore

AU - Bruelheide, Helge

AU - Hoss, Daniela

AU - Sabatini, Francesco M.

AU - Altman, Jan

AU - Arfin-Khan, Mohammed A.S.

AU - Bergmeier, Erwin

AU - Černý, Tomáš

AU - Chytrý, Milan

AU - Dainese, Matteo

AU - Dengler, Jürgen

AU - Dolezal, Jiri

AU - Field, Richard

AU - Fischer, Felícia M.

AU - Huygens, Dries

AU - Jandt, Ute

AU - Jansen, Florian

AU - Jentsch, Anke

AU - Karger, Dirk N.

AU - Kattge, Jens

AU - Lenoir, Jonathan

AU - Lens, Frederic

AU - Loos, Jaqueline

AU - Niinemets, Ülo

AU - Overbeck, Gerhard E.

AU - Ozinga, Wim A.

AU - Penuelas, Josep

AU - Peyre, Gwendolyn

AU - Phillips, Oliver

AU - Reich, Peter B.

AU - Römermann, Christine

AU - Sandel, Brody

AU - Schmidt, Marco

AU - Schrodt, Franziska

AU - Velez-Martin, Eduardo

AU - Violle, Cyrille

AU - Pillar, Valério

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Global Ecology and Biogeography published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2023/5/1

Y1 - 2023/5/1

N2 - Aim: Theoretical, experimental and observational studies have shown that biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships are influenced by functional community structure through two mutually non-exclusive mechanisms: (1) the dominance effect (which relates to the traits of the dominant species); and (2) the niche partitioning effect [which relates to functional diversity (FD)]. Although both mechanisms have been studied in plant communities and experiments at small spatial extents, it remains unclear whether evidence from small-extent case studies translates into a generalizable macroecological pattern. Here, we evaluate dominance and niche partitioning effects simultaneously in grassland systems world-wide. Location: Two thousand nine hundred and forty-one grassland plots globally. Time period: 2000–2014. Major taxa studied: Vascular plants. Methods: We obtained plot-based data on functional community structure from the global vegetation plot database “sPlot”, which combines species composition with plant trait data from the “TRY” database. We used data on the community-weighted mean (CWM) and FD for 18 ecologically relevant plant traits. As an indicator of primary productivity, we extracted the satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from MODIS. Using generalized additive models and deviation partitioning, we estimated the contributions of trait CWM and FD to the variation in annual maximum NDVI, while controlling for climatic variables and spatial structure. Results: Grassland communities dominated by relatively tall species with acquisitive traits had higher NDVI values, suggesting the prevalence of dominance effects for BEF relationships. We found no support for niche partitioning for the functional traits analysed, because NDVI remained unaffected by FD. Most of the predictive power of traits was shared by climatic predictors and spatial coordinates. This highlights the importance of community assembly processes for BEF relationships in natural communities. Main conclusions: Our analysis provides empirical evidence that plant functional community structure and global patterns in primary productivity are linked through the resource economics and size traits of the dominant species. This is an important test of the hypotheses underlying BEF relationships at the global scale.

AB - Aim: Theoretical, experimental and observational studies have shown that biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships are influenced by functional community structure through two mutually non-exclusive mechanisms: (1) the dominance effect (which relates to the traits of the dominant species); and (2) the niche partitioning effect [which relates to functional diversity (FD)]. Although both mechanisms have been studied in plant communities and experiments at small spatial extents, it remains unclear whether evidence from small-extent case studies translates into a generalizable macroecological pattern. Here, we evaluate dominance and niche partitioning effects simultaneously in grassland systems world-wide. Location: Two thousand nine hundred and forty-one grassland plots globally. Time period: 2000–2014. Major taxa studied: Vascular plants. Methods: We obtained plot-based data on functional community structure from the global vegetation plot database “sPlot”, which combines species composition with plant trait data from the “TRY” database. We used data on the community-weighted mean (CWM) and FD for 18 ecologically relevant plant traits. As an indicator of primary productivity, we extracted the satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from MODIS. Using generalized additive models and deviation partitioning, we estimated the contributions of trait CWM and FD to the variation in annual maximum NDVI, while controlling for climatic variables and spatial structure. Results: Grassland communities dominated by relatively tall species with acquisitive traits had higher NDVI values, suggesting the prevalence of dominance effects for BEF relationships. We found no support for niche partitioning for the functional traits analysed, because NDVI remained unaffected by FD. Most of the predictive power of traits was shared by climatic predictors and spatial coordinates. This highlights the importance of community assembly processes for BEF relationships in natural communities. Main conclusions: Our analysis provides empirical evidence that plant functional community structure and global patterns in primary productivity are linked through the resource economics and size traits of the dominant species. This is an important test of the hypotheses underlying BEF relationships at the global scale.

KW - biodiversity

KW - biodiversity–ecosystem functioning

KW - community-weighted mean

KW - ecosystem functioning

KW - functional diversity

KW - sPlot

KW - traits

KW - vegetation

KW - Biology

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149324032&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/1ae87e64-7031-3246-a506-ee564772c153/

U2 - 10.1111/geb.13644

DO - 10.1111/geb.13644

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85149324032

VL - 32

SP - 695

EP - 706

JO - Global Ecology and Biogeography

JF - Global Ecology and Biogeography

SN - 1466-822X

IS - 5

ER -

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DOI