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Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation

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Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation. / Borer, Elizabeth T.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Gruner, Daniel S. et al.
In: Nature, Vol. 508, No. 7497, 24.04.2014, p. 517-520.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Borer, ET, Seabloom, EW, Gruner, DS, Harpole, WS, Hillebrand, H, Lind, EM, Adler, PB, Alberti, J, Anderson, TM, Bakker, JD, Biederman, L, Blumenthal, D, Brown, CS, Brudvig, LA, Buckley, YM, Cadotte, M, Chu, C, Cleland, EE, Crawley, MJ, Daleo, P, Damschen, EI, Davies, KF, DeCrappeo, NM, Du, G, Firn, J, Hautier, Y, Heckman, RW, Hector, A, HilleRisLambers, J, Iribarne, O, Klein, JA, Knops, JMH, La Pierre, KJ, Leakey, ADB, Li, W, MacDougall, AS, McCulley, RL, Melbourne, BA, Mitchell, CE, Moore, JL, Mortensen, B, O'Halloran, LR, Orrock, JL, Pascual, J, Prober, SM, Pyke, DA, Risch, AC, Schuetz, M, Smith, MD, Stevens, CJ, Sullivan, LL, Williams, RJ, Wragg, PD, Wright, JP & Yang, LH 2014, 'Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation', Nature, vol. 508, no. 7497, pp. 517-520. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13144

APA

Borer, E. T., Seabloom, E. W., Gruner, D. S., Harpole, W. S., Hillebrand, H., Lind, E. M., Adler, P. B., Alberti, J., Anderson, T. M., Bakker, J. D., Biederman, L., Blumenthal, D., Brown, C. S., Brudvig, L. A., Buckley, Y. M., Cadotte, M., Chu, C., Cleland, E. E., Crawley, M. J., ... Yang, L. H. (2014). Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation. Nature, 508(7497), 517-520. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13144

Vancouver

Borer ET, Seabloom EW, Gruner DS, Harpole WS, Hillebrand H, Lind EM et al. Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation. Nature. 2014 Apr 24;508(7497):517-520. Epub 2014 Mar 9. doi: 10.1038/nature13144

Author

Borer, Elizabeth T. ; Seabloom, Eric W. ; Gruner, Daniel S. et al. / Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation. In: Nature. 2014 ; Vol. 508, No. 7497. pp. 517-520.

Bibtex

@article{6ba1b8ac841247019f90f5b3ce33c040,
title = "Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation",
abstract = "Human alterations to nutrient cycles(1,2) and herbivore communities(3-7) are affecting global biodiversity dramatically(2). Ecological theory predicts these changes should be strongly counteractive: nutrient addition drives plant species loss through intensified competition for light, whereas herbivores prevent competitive exclusion by increasing ground-level light, particularly in productive systems(8,9). Here we use experimental data spanning a globally relevant range of conditions to test the hypothesis that herbaceous plant species losses caused by eutrophication may be offset by increased light availability due to herbivory. This experiment, replicated in 40 grasslands on 6 continents, demonstrates that nutrients and herbivores can serve as counteracting forces to control local plant diversity through light limitation, independent of site productivity, soil nitrogen, herbivore type and climate. Nutrient addition consistently reduced local diversity through light limitation, and herbivory rescued diversity at sites where it alleviated light limitation. Thus, species loss from anthropogenic eutrophication can be ameliorated in grasslands where herbivory increases ground-level light.",
keywords = "SPECIES-DIVERSITY, RESOURCE CONTROL, COMPETITION, GROWTH, ENVIRONMENTS, VEGETATION, CONSUMER, DEFENSE, DEPENDS, IMPACT",
author = "Borer, {Elizabeth T.} and Seabloom, {Eric W.} and Gruner, {Daniel S.} and Harpole, {W. Stanley} and Helmut Hillebrand and Lind, {Eric M.} and Adler, {Peter B.} and Juan Alberti and Anderson, {T. Michael} and Bakker, {Jonathan D.} and Lori Biederman and Dana Blumenthal and Brown, {Cynthia S.} and Brudvig, {Lars A.} and Buckley, {Yvonne M.} and Marc Cadotte and Chengjin Chu and Cleland, {Elsa E.} and Crawley, {Michael J.} and Pedro Daleo and Damschen, {Ellen I.} and Davies, {Kendi F.} and DeCrappeo, {Nicole M.} and Guozhen Du and Jennifer Firn and Yann Hautier and Heckman, {Robert W.} and Andy Hector and Janneke HilleRisLambers and Oscar Iribarne and Klein, {Julia A.} and Knops, {Johannes M. H.} and {La Pierre}, {Kimberly J.} and Leakey, {Andrew D. B.} and Wei Li and MacDougall, {Andrew S.} and McCulley, {Rebecca L.} and Melbourne, {Brett A.} and Mitchell, {Charles E.} and Moore, {Joslin L.} and Brent Mortensen and O'Halloran, {Lydia R.} and Orrock, {John L.} and Jesus Pascual and Prober, {Suzanne M.} and Pyke, {David A.} and Risch, {Anita C.} and Martin Schuetz and Smith, {Melinda D.} and Stevens, {Carly J.} and Sullivan, {Lauren L.} and Williams, {Ryan J.} and Wragg, {Peter D.} and Wright, {Justin P.} and Yang, {Louie H.}",
year = "2014",
month = apr,
day = "24",
doi = "10.1038/nature13144",
language = "English",
volume = "508",
pages = "517--520",
journal = "Nature",
issn = "0028-0836",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "7497",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation

AU - Borer, Elizabeth T.

AU - Seabloom, Eric W.

AU - Gruner, Daniel S.

AU - Harpole, W. Stanley

AU - Hillebrand, Helmut

AU - Lind, Eric M.

AU - Adler, Peter B.

AU - Alberti, Juan

AU - Anderson, T. Michael

AU - Bakker, Jonathan D.

AU - Biederman, Lori

AU - Blumenthal, Dana

AU - Brown, Cynthia S.

AU - Brudvig, Lars A.

AU - Buckley, Yvonne M.

AU - Cadotte, Marc

AU - Chu, Chengjin

AU - Cleland, Elsa E.

AU - Crawley, Michael J.

AU - Daleo, Pedro

AU - Damschen, Ellen I.

AU - Davies, Kendi F.

AU - DeCrappeo, Nicole M.

AU - Du, Guozhen

AU - Firn, Jennifer

AU - Hautier, Yann

AU - Heckman, Robert W.

AU - Hector, Andy

AU - HilleRisLambers, Janneke

AU - Iribarne, Oscar

AU - Klein, Julia A.

AU - Knops, Johannes M. H.

AU - La Pierre, Kimberly J.

AU - Leakey, Andrew D. B.

AU - Li, Wei

AU - MacDougall, Andrew S.

AU - McCulley, Rebecca L.

AU - Melbourne, Brett A.

AU - Mitchell, Charles E.

AU - Moore, Joslin L.

AU - Mortensen, Brent

AU - O'Halloran, Lydia R.

AU - Orrock, John L.

AU - Pascual, Jesus

AU - Prober, Suzanne M.

AU - Pyke, David A.

AU - Risch, Anita C.

AU - Schuetz, Martin

AU - Smith, Melinda D.

AU - Stevens, Carly J.

AU - Sullivan, Lauren L.

AU - Williams, Ryan J.

AU - Wragg, Peter D.

AU - Wright, Justin P.

AU - Yang, Louie H.

PY - 2014/4/24

Y1 - 2014/4/24

N2 - Human alterations to nutrient cycles(1,2) and herbivore communities(3-7) are affecting global biodiversity dramatically(2). Ecological theory predicts these changes should be strongly counteractive: nutrient addition drives plant species loss through intensified competition for light, whereas herbivores prevent competitive exclusion by increasing ground-level light, particularly in productive systems(8,9). Here we use experimental data spanning a globally relevant range of conditions to test the hypothesis that herbaceous plant species losses caused by eutrophication may be offset by increased light availability due to herbivory. This experiment, replicated in 40 grasslands on 6 continents, demonstrates that nutrients and herbivores can serve as counteracting forces to control local plant diversity through light limitation, independent of site productivity, soil nitrogen, herbivore type and climate. Nutrient addition consistently reduced local diversity through light limitation, and herbivory rescued diversity at sites where it alleviated light limitation. Thus, species loss from anthropogenic eutrophication can be ameliorated in grasslands where herbivory increases ground-level light.

AB - Human alterations to nutrient cycles(1,2) and herbivore communities(3-7) are affecting global biodiversity dramatically(2). Ecological theory predicts these changes should be strongly counteractive: nutrient addition drives plant species loss through intensified competition for light, whereas herbivores prevent competitive exclusion by increasing ground-level light, particularly in productive systems(8,9). Here we use experimental data spanning a globally relevant range of conditions to test the hypothesis that herbaceous plant species losses caused by eutrophication may be offset by increased light availability due to herbivory. This experiment, replicated in 40 grasslands on 6 continents, demonstrates that nutrients and herbivores can serve as counteracting forces to control local plant diversity through light limitation, independent of site productivity, soil nitrogen, herbivore type and climate. Nutrient addition consistently reduced local diversity through light limitation, and herbivory rescued diversity at sites where it alleviated light limitation. Thus, species loss from anthropogenic eutrophication can be ameliorated in grasslands where herbivory increases ground-level light.

KW - SPECIES-DIVERSITY

KW - RESOURCE CONTROL

KW - COMPETITION

KW - GROWTH

KW - ENVIRONMENTS

KW - VEGETATION

KW - CONSUMER

KW - DEFENSE

KW - DEPENDS

KW - IMPACT

U2 - 10.1038/nature13144

DO - 10.1038/nature13144

M3 - Journal article

VL - 508

SP - 517

EP - 520

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

SN - 0028-0836

IS - 7497

ER -