TY  - JOUR
A1  - Busch, Verena
A1  - Klaus, Valentin H.
A1  - Penone, Caterina
A1  - Schäfer, Deborah
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Niinemets, Ülo
A1  - Penuelas, Josep
A1  - Hölzel, Norbert
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Kleinebecker, Till
T1  - Nutrient stoichiometry and land use rather than species richness determine plant functional diversity
JF  - Ecology and evolution
N2  - Plant functional traits reflect individual and community ecological strategies. They allow the detection of directional changes in community dynamics and ecosystemic processes, being an additional tool to assess biodiversity than species richness. Analysis of functional patterns in plant communities provides mechanistic insight into biodiversity alterations due to anthropogenic activity. Although studies have consi-dered of either anthropogenic management or nutrient availability on functional traits in temperate grasslands, studies combining effects of both drivers are scarce. Here, we assessed the impacts of management intensity (fertilization, mowing, grazing), nutrient stoichiometry (C, N, P, K), and vegetation composition on community-weighted means (CWMs) and functional diversity (Rao's Q) from seven plant traits in 150 grasslands in three regions in Germany, using data of 6 years. Land use and nutrient stoichiometry accounted for larger proportions of model variance of CWM and Rao's Q than species richness and productivity. Grazing affected all analyzed trait groups; fertilization and mowing only impacted generative traits. Grazing was clearly associated with nutrient retention strategies, that is, investing in durable structures and production of fewer, less variable seed. Phenological variability was increased. Fertilization and mowing decreased seed number/mass variability, indicating competition-related effects. Impacts of nutrient stoichiometry on trait syndromes varied. Nutrient limitation (large N:P, C:N ratios) promoted species with conservative strategies, that is, investment in durable plant structures rather than fast growth, fewer seed, and delayed flowering onset. In contrast to seed mass, leaf-economics variability was reduced under P shortage. Species diversity was positively associated with the variability of generative traits. Synthesis. Here, land use, nutrient availability, species richness, and plant functional strategies have been shown to interact complexly, driving community composition, and vegetation responses to management intensity. We suggest that deeper understanding of underlying mechanisms shaping community assembly and biodiversity will require analyzing all these parameters.
KW  - biodiversity exploratories
KW  - fertilization
KW  - leaf economics
KW  - mowing
KW  - nutrient availability
KW  - nutrient ratios
KW  - phosphorus
KW  - plant functional traits
KW  - plant strategies
KW  - seed mass
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3609
SN  - 2045-7758
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
SP  - 601
EP  - 616
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Penone, Caterina
A1  - Allan, Eric
A1  - Soliveres, Santiago
A1  - Felipe-Lucia, Maria R.
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Seibold, Sebastian
A1  - Simons, Nadja K.
A1  - Schall, Peter
A1  - van der Plas, Fons
A1  - Manning, Peter
A1  - Manzanedo, Ruben D.
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Ammer, Christian
A1  - Bauhus, Juergen
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Ehbrecht, Martin
A1  - Goldmann, Kezia
A1  - Jung, Kirsten
A1  - Mueller, Joerg
A1  - Mueller, Joerg C.
A1  - Pena, Rodica
A1  - Polle, Andrea
A1  - Renner, Swen C.
A1  - Ruess, Liliane
A1  - Schoenig, Ingo
A1  - Schrumpf, Marion
A1  - Solly, Emily F.
A1  - Tschapka, Marco
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
A1  - Wubet, Tesfaye
A1  - Fischer, Markus
T1  - Specialisation and diversity of multiple trophic groups are promoted by different forest features
JF  - Ecology letters
N2  - While forest management strongly influences biodiversity, it remains unclear how the structural and compositional changes caused by management affect different community dimensions (e.g. richness, specialisation, abundance or completeness) and how this differs between taxa. We assessed the effects of nine forest features (representing stand structure, heterogeneity and tree composition) on thirteen above- and belowground trophic groups of plants, animals, fungi and bacteria in 150 temperate forest plots differing in their management type. Canopy cover decreased light resources, which increased community specialisation but reduced overall diversity and abundance. Features increasing resource types and diversifying microhabitats (admixing of oaks and conifers) were important and mostly affected richness. Belowground groups responded differently to those aboveground and had weaker responses to most forest features. Our results show that we need to consider forest features rather than broad management types and highlight the importance of considering several groups and community dimensions to better inform conservation.
KW  - biodiversity exploratories
KW  - dark diversity
KW  - forest management
KW  - global change
KW  - land-use
KW  - multidiversity
KW  - specialisation
KW  - temperate forests
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13182
SN  - 1461-023X
SN  - 1461-0248
VL  - 22
IS  - 1
SP  - 170
EP  - 180
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Lewinsohn, Thomas M.
A1  - Kahl, Tiemo
A1  - Grassein, Fabrice
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Birkhofer, Klaus
A1  - Renner, Swen C.
A1  - Sikorski, Johannes
A1  - Wubet, Tesfaye
A1  - Arndt, Hartmut
A1  - Baumgartner, Vanessa
A1  - Blaser, Stefan
A1  - Blüthgen, Nico
A1  - Börschig, Carmen
A1  - Buscot, Francois
A1  - Diekötter, Tim
A1  - Jorge, Leonardo Re
A1  - Jung, Kirsten
A1  - Keyel, Alexander C.
A1  - Klein, Alexandra-Maria
A1  - Klemmer, Sandra
A1  - Krauss, Jochen
A1  - Lange, Markus
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Overmann, Jörg
A1  - Pasalic, Esther
A1  - Penone, Caterina
A1  - Perovic, David J.
A1  - Purschke, Oliver
A1  - Schall, Peter
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Sonnemann, Ilja
A1  - Tschapka, Marco
A1  - Tscharntke, Teja
A1  - Türke, Manfred
A1  - Venter, Paul Christiaan
A1  - Weiner, Christiane N.
A1  - Werner, Michael
A1  - Wolters, Volkmar
A1  - Wurst, Susanne
A1  - Westphal, Catrin
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
A1  - Allan, Eric
T1  - Land-use intensification causes multitrophic homogenization of grassland communities
JF  - Nature : the international weekly journal of science
N2  - Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss(1,2). Alongside reductions in local species diversity, biotic homogenization at larger spatial scales is of great concern for conservation. Biotic homogenization means a decrease in beta-diversity (the compositional dissimilarity between sites). Most studies have investigated losses in local (alpha)-diversity(1,3) and neglected biodiversity loss at larger spatial scales. Studies addressing beta-diversity have focused on single or a few organism groups (for example, ref. 4), and it is thus unknown whether land-use intensification homogenizes communities at different trophic levels, above-and belowground. Here we show that even moderate increases in local land-use intensity (LUI) cause biotic homogenization across microbial, plant and animal groups, both above- and belowground, and that this is largely independent of changes in alpha-diversity. We analysed a unique grassland biodiversity dataset, with abundances of more than 4,000 species belonging to 12 trophic groups. LUI, and, in particular, high mowing intensity, had consistent effects on beta-diversity across groups, causing a homogenization of soil microbial, fungal pathogen, plant and arthropod communities. These effects were nonlinear and the strongest declines in beta-diversity occurred in the transition from extensively managed to intermediate intensity grassland. LUI tended to reduce local alpha-diversity in aboveground groups, whereas the alpha-diversity increased in belowground groups. Correlations between the alpha-diversity of different groups, particularly between plants and their consumers, became weaker at high LUI. This suggests a loss of specialist species and is further evidence for biotic homogenization. The consistently negative effects of LUI on landscape-scale biodiversity underscore the high value of extensively managed grasslands for conserving multitrophic biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Indeed, biotic homogenization rather than local diversity loss could prove to be the most substantial consequence of land-use intensification.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20575
SN  - 0028-0836
SN  - 1476-4687
VL  - 540
SP  - 266
EP  - +
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - London
ER  -