Open AccessAssessing the roles of nitrogen, biomass, and niche dimensionality as drivers of species loss in grassland communities
Author(s) -
Nir Band,
Ronen Kadmon,
Micha Mandel,
Niv DeMalach
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2112010119
Subject(s) - biomass (ecology) , eutrophication , niche , ecology , abiotic component , competition (biology) , grassland , niche differentiation , ecosystem , phosphorus , environmental science , biodiversity , biology , nutrient , chemistry , organic chemistry
Significance Nutrient enrichment of natural ecosystems is a primary characteristic of the Anthropocene and a known cause of biodiversity loss, particularly in grasslands. In a global meta-analysis of 630 resource addition experiments, we conduct a simultaneous test of the three most prominent explanations of this phenomenon. Our results conclusively indicate that nitrogen is the leading cause of species loss. This result is important because of the increase in nitrogen deposition and the frequent use of nitrogen-based fertilizers worldwide. Our findings provide global-scale, experimental evidence that minimizing nitrogen inputs to ecological systems may help to conserve the diversity of grassland ecosystems.