Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory

Forbs ("wildflowers") are important contributors to grassland biodiversity but are vulnerable to environmental changes. In a factorial experiment at 94 sites on 6 continents, we test the global generality of several broad predictions: (1) Forb cover and richness decline under nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen enrichment. (2) Forb cover and richness increase under herbivory by large mammals. (3) Forb richness and cover are less affected by nutrient enrichment and herbivory in more arid climates, because water limitation reduces the impacts of competition with grasses. (4) Forb families will respond differently to nutrient enrichment and mammalian herbivory due to differences in nutrient requirements. We find strong evidence for the first, partial support for the second, no support for the third, and support for the fourth prediction. Our results underscore that anthropogenic nitrogen addition is a major threat to grassland forbs, but grazing under high herbivore intensity can offset these nutrient effects.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Biology
Published
2025-03-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07882-7
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
20.82

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article

Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory

Maria C. Caldeira, Lucíola Santos Lannes, Brooke B. Osborne, Pedro M. Tognetti et al.
9 citations
Communications Biology
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
20.82
article

Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory

Maria C. Caldeira, Lucíola Santos Lannes, Brooke B. Osborne, Pedro M. Tognetti, Nicholas G. Smith, W. Stanley Harpole, Juan Pablo Cancela, Holly M. Martinson, Rebecca A. Nelson, Risto Virtanen, Pamela Graff, Kenneth J. Elgersma, Aleksandra Dolezal, Daniel S. Gruner, Andrew S. MacDougall, Nico Eisenhauer, Jane A. Catford, Peter B. Adler, Carly Stevens, Nicole Hagenah, Anu Eskelinen, Susan Harrison, Anke Jentsch, Sylvia Haider, Miguel N. Bugalho, Mani Shrestha, Lauren L. Sullivan, Amelia A. Wolf, Elizabeth T. Borer, Catalina Estrada, Glenda M. Wardle, Magda Garbowski, G. F. Veen, Xavier Raynaud, Erika I. Hersch‐Green, Eric W. Seabloom, Anita C. Risch, Pablo L. Peri, Sally A. Power, Sally E. Koerner, Ian Donohue, Chris R. Dickman, Harry Olde Venterink, Devyn Orr, Alyssa L. Young, Anne Ebeling, Luísa G. Carvalheiro, Lori Biederman, Yann Hautier, John W. Morgan, Nicolina Johanson
article en
9 citations

Abstract

Forbs ("wildflowers") are important contributors to grassland biodiversity but are vulnerable to environmental changes. In a factorial experiment at 94 sites on 6 continents, we test the global generality of several broad predictions: (1) Forb cover and richness decline under nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen enrichment. (2) Forb cover and richness increase under herbivory by large mammals. (3) Forb richness and cover are less affected by nutrient enrichment and herbivory in more arid climates, because water limitation reduces the impacts of competition with grasses. (4) Forb families will respond differently to nutrient enrichment and mammalian herbivory due to differences in nutrient requirements. We find strong evidence for the first, partial support for the second, no support for the third, and support for the fourth prediction. Our results underscore that anthropogenic nitrogen addition is a major threat to grassland forbs, but grazing under high herbivore intensity can offset these nutrient effects.

Communications BiologyVol. 8(1)
New Mexico State University (US), Leuphana University of Lüneburg (DE), Universidade dos Açores (PT), Australian National University (AU), University of Northern Iowa (US), Michigan Technological University (US), Utah State University (US), Texas Tech University (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), The University of Sydney (AU), University of Minnesota (US), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE), University of Lisbon (PT), McDaniel College (US), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), National Taiwan University (TW), University of North Carolina at Greensboro (US), Iowa State University (US), King's College London (GB), Utrecht University (NL), La Trobe University (AU), Université Paris-Est Créteil (FR), Université Paris Cité (FR), Trinity College Dublin (IE), Eastern Oregon University (US), Universidad de Buenos Aires (AR), Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (CH), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE), National University of Austral Patagonia (AR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Agricultural Plant Physiology and Ecology Research Institute (AR), Institute for Biodiversity (DE), Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NL), Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (FR), National Agricultural Technology Institute (AR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Imperial College London (GB), University of Bayreuth (DE), Western Sydney University (AU), University of Maryland, College Park (US), Lancaster University (GB), Universidade Federal de Goiás (BR), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE), University of Pretoria (ZA), University of Guelph (CA), University of California, Davis (US), The University of Texas at Austin (US), Michigan State University (US), Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (BR), Leipzig University (DE), University of Oulu (FI)
National Science Foundation
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
20.82
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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