The diversity-productivity relationship in a permanent temperate grassland: negative diversity effect, dominant influence of management regime

Plant Ecology and Diversity

Volumn 5, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 265-274

  Rose, Laura ^a,b   Leuschner, Christoph ^b  

^a GOETHE UNIVERSITY   (Germany)

^b UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN   (Germany)

Author keywords

below ground niche complementarity; GrassMan experiment; herbicide application; land use intensification; mowing frequency; N fertilisation; root biomass; specific root length

Indexed keywords

EID: 84871356398     PISSN: 17550874     EISSN: 17551668     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/17550874.2012.723763     Document Type: Article

References (68)

1. Bardgett, RD and Wardle, DA. 2010. Aboveground-belowground linkages: biotic interactions, ecosystem processes and global change, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
2. Bernhardt-Römermann, M, Römermann, C, Sperlich, S and Schmidt, W. 2011. Explaining grassland biomass - the contribution of climate, species and functional diversity depends on fertilization and mowing frequency. Journal of Applied Ecology, 48: 1088-1097.
3. Bullock, JM, Pywell, RF, Burke, MJW and Walker, KJ. 2001. Restoration of biodiversity enhances agricultural production. Ecology Letters, 4: 185-189.
4. Bullock, JM, Pywell, RF and Walker, KJ. 2007. Long-term enhancement of agricultural production by restoration of biodiversity. Journal of Applied Ecology, 44: 6-12.
5. Chase, JM and Leibold, MA. 2002. Spatial scale dictates the productivity-biodiversity relationship. Nature, 416: 427-430.
6. Coomes, DA and Grubb, PJ. 2000. Impacts of root competition in forests and woodlands: A theoretical framework and review of experiments. Ecological Monographs, 70: 171-207.
7. Dierschke, H and Briemle, G. 2002. Kulturgrasland, Stuttgart, Germany: Ulmer Verlag.
8. Díaz, S, Symstad, AJ, Chapin, FS, Wardle, DA and Huenneke, LF. 2003. Functional diversity revealed by removal experiments. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 18: 140-146.
9. Eissenstat, DM. 1992. Costs and benefits of constructing roots of small diameter. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 15: 763-782.
10. Eissenstat, DM, Wells, CE, Yanai, RD and Whitbeck, JL. 2000. Building roots in a changing environment: implications for root longevity. New Phytologist, 147: 33-42.
11. Ellenberg, H and Ch, Leuschner. 2010. Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen, 6th, Stuttgart, Germany: Ulmer Verlag.
12. Flombaum, P and Sala, OE. 2008. Higher effect of plant species diversity on productivity in natural than artificial ecosystems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105: 6087-6090.
13. From T, Petersen U, Isselstein J. 2011. Productivity and forage quality of a phytodiverse semi-natural grassland under various management regimes. Available from Nature Proceedings http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/npre.2011.6622.1
14. Grace, JB, Anderson, TM, Smith, MD, Seabloom, E, Andelman, SJ, Meche, G, Weiher, E, Allain, LK, Jutila, HSankaran, M. 2007. Does species diversity limit productivity in natural grassland communities? Ecology Letters, 10: 680-689.
15. Grime, JP. 1973. Competitive exclusion in herbaceous vegetation. Nature, 242: 344-347.
16. Grime, JP. 1997. Biodiversity and ecosystem function: the debate deepens. Science, 277: 1260-1261.
17. Gross, N, Bloor, JMG, Louault, F, Maire, V and Soussana, JF. 2009. Effects of land-use change on productivity depend on small-scale plant species diversity. Basic and Applied Ecology, 10: 687-696.
18. Hautier, Y, Niklaus, PA and Hector, A. 2009. Competition for light causes plant biodiversity loss after eutrophication. Science, 324: 636-638.
19. Hector, A. 2001. "Biodiversity and functioning of grassland ecosystems: multi-site comparison". In The functional consequences of biodiversity: empirical progress and theoretical extensions, Edited by: Kinzig, AP, Pacala, SW and Tilman, D. 71-95. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p.
20. Hector, A and Bagchi, R. 2007. Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. Nature, 448: 188-190.
21. Hector, A, Schmid, B, Beierkuhnlein, C, Caldeira, MC, Diemer, M, Dimitrakopoulos, PG, Finn, JA, Freitas, H, Giller, PSGood, J. 1999. Plant diversity and productivity experiments in European grasslands. Science, 286: 1123-1127.
22. Hooper, DU, Chapin, FS, Ewel, JJ, Hector, A, Inchausti, P, Lavorel, S, Lawton, JH, Lodge, DM, Loreau, MNaeem, S. 2005. Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge. Ecological Monographs, 75: 3-35.
23. Hooper, DU and Vitousek, PM. 1997. The effects of plant composition and diversity on ecosystem processes. Science, 277: 1302-1305.
24. Huston, MA, Aarssen, LW, Austin, MP, Cade, BS, Fridley, JD, Garnier, E, Grime, JP, Hodgson, J, Lauenroth, WKThompson, K. 2000. No consistent effect of plant diversity on productivity. Science, 289: 1255
25. Isbell, F, Calcagno, V, Hector, A, Connolly, J, Harpole, WS, Reich, PB, Scherer-Lorenzen, M, Schmid, B, Tilman, Dvan Ruijven, J. 2011. High plant diversity is needed to maintain ecosystem services. Nature, 477: 199-203.
26. Isbell, FI, Polley, HW and Wilsey, BJ. 2009. Species interaction mechanisms maintain grassland plant species diversity. Ecology, 90: 1821-1830.
27. Kahmen, A, Perner, J, Audorff, V, Weisser, W and Buchmann, N. 2005. Effects of plant diversity, community composition and environmental parameters on productivity in montane European grasslands. Oecologia, 142: 606-615.
28. Kahmen, A, Renker, C, Unsicker, SB and Buchmann, N. 2006. Niche complementarity for nitrogen. An explanation for the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relationship? Ecology, 87: 1244-1255.
29. Kahmen, S, Poschlod, P and Schreiber, KF. 2002. Conservation management of calcareous grasslands. Changes in plant species composition and response of functional traits during 25 years. Biological Conservation, 104: 319-328.
30. Kato, Y, Kamoshita, A, Yamagishi, J, Imoto, H and Abe, J. 2007. Growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars under upland conditions with different levels of water supply. 3. Root system development, soil moisture change and plant water status. Plant Production Science, 10: 3-13.
31. Kenkel, NC, Peltzer, DA, Baluta, D and Pirie, D. 2000. Increasing plant diversity does not influence productivity: empirical evidence and potential mechanisms. Community Ecology, 1: 165-170.
32. Krahulec, F, Skálová, H, Herben, T, Hadincová, V, Wildová, R. and Pecháčková, S. 2001. Vegetation changes following sheep grazing in abandoned mountain meadows. Applied Vegetation Science, 4: 97-102.
33. Krause, B, Culmsee, H, Wesche, K, Bergmeier, E and Leuschner, C. 2011. Habitat loss of floodplain meadows in north Germany since the 1950s. Biodiversity and Conservation, 20: 2347-2364.
34. Lauenroth, WK, Wade, AA, Williamson, MA, Ross, BE, Kumar, S and Cariveau, DP. 2006. Uncertainty in calculations of net primary production for grasslands. Ecosystems, 9: 843-851.
35. Loreau, M and Hector, A. 2001. Partitioning selection and complementarity in biodiversity experiments. Nature, 412: 72-76.
36. Loreau, M, Naeem, S, Inchausti, P, Bengtsson, J, Grime, JP, Hector, A, Hooper, DU, Huston, MA, Raffaelli, DSchmid, B. 2001. Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: current knowledge and future challenges. Science, 294: 804-808.
37. Marquard, E, Weigelt, A, Temperton, VM, Roscher, C, Schumacher, J, Buchmann, N, Fischer, M, Weisser, WW and Schmid, B. 2009. Plant species richness and functional composition drive overyielding in a six-year grassland experiment. Ecology, 90: 3290-3302.
38. Maurer, K, Weyand, A, Fischer, M and Stöcklin, J. 2006. Old cultural traditions, in addition to land use and topography, are shaping plant diversity of grasslands in the Alps. Biological Conservation, 130: 438-446.
39. Mommer, L, van Ruijven, J, de Caluwe, H, Smit-Tiekstra, AE, Wagemaker, CAM, Ouborg, NJ, Bogemann, GM, van der Weerden, GM, Berendse, F and de Kroon, H. 2010. Unveiling below-ground species abundance in a biodiversity experiment: a test of vertical niche differentiation among grassland species. Journal of Ecology, 98: 1117-1127.
40. Naeem, S, Thompson, LJ, Lawler, SP, Lawton, JH and Woodfin, RM. 1994. Declining biodiversity can alter the performance of ecosystems. Nature, 368: 734-737.
41. Oomes, MJM. 1992. Yield and species density of grasslands during restoration management. Journal of Vegetation Science, 3: 271-274.
42. Petersen, U, Isselstein, J and Wrage, N. 2010. The effect of manipulated plant species diversity of semi-natural permanent grassland on forage production and quality. Grassland Science in Europe, 15: 824-826.
43. Petersen, U, Wrage, N, Köhler, L, Leuschner, C and Isselstein, J. 2012. Manipulating the species composition of permanent grasslands-a new approach to biodiversity experiments. Basic and Applied Ecology, 13: 1-9.
44. Pinheiro, J, Bates, D, DebRoy, S, Sarkar, D and R Development Core Team. 2011. nlme: linear and nonlinear mixed effects models Vienna, Austria
45. Poorter, H, Vandevijver, CADM, Boot, RGA and Lambers, H. 1995. Growth and carbon economy of a fast-growing and a slow-growing grass species as dependent on nitrate supply. Plant and Soil, 171: 217-227.
46. R Development Core Team. 2011. R: A language and environment for statistical computing Vienna, Austria
47. Reich, PB, Walters, MB, Tjoelker, MG, Vanderklein, D and Buschena, C. 1998. Photosynthesis and respiration rates depend on leaf and root morphology and nitrogen concentration in nine boreal tree species differing in relative growth rate. Functional Ecology, 12: 395-405.
48. Reynolds, HL and D'Antonio, C. 1996. The ecological significance of plasticity in root weight ratio in response to nitrogen: opinion. Plant and Soil, 185: 75-97.
49. Roscher, C, Temperton, VM, Scherer-Lorenzen, M, Schmitz, M, Schumacher, J, Schmid, B, Buchmann, N, Weisser, WW and Schulze, ED. 2005. Overyielding in experimental grassland communities-irrespective of species pool or spatial scale. Ecology Letters, 8: 419-429.
50. Sala, OE, Chapin, FS, Armesto, JJ, Berlow, E, Bloomfield, J, Dirzo, R, Huber-Sanwald, E, Huenneke, LF, Jackson, RBKinzig, A. 2000. Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100. Science, 287: 1770-1774.
51. Schippers, P, Snoeijing, I and Kropff, MJ. 1999. Competition under high and low nutrient levels among three grassland species occupying different positions in a successional sequence. New Phytologist, 143: 547-559.
52. Schmid, B, Joshi, J and Schläpfer, F. 2001. "Empirical evidence for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships". In The functional consequences of biodiversity: empirical progress and theoretical extensions, Edited by: Kinzig, AP, Pacala, SW and Tilman, D. 120-150. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
53. Silvertown, J. 1980. The dynamics of a grassland ecosystem-botanical equilibrium in the Park Grass Experiment. Journal of Applied Ecology, 17: 491-504.
54. Smith, MD and Knapp, AK. 2003. Dominant species maintain ecosystem function with non-random species loss. Ecology Letters, 6: 509-517.
55. Speidel, B and Weiss, A. 1972. Zur ober- und unterirdischen Stoffproduktion einer Goldhaferwiese bei verschiedener Düngung. Angewandte Botanik, 46: 75-93.
56. Suding, KN, Miller, AE, Bechtold, H and Bowman, WD. 2006. The consequence of species loss on ecosystem nitrogen cycling depends on community compensation. Oecologia, 149: 141-149.
57. Tasser, E and Tappeiner, U. 2002. Impact of land use changes on mountain vegetation. Applied Vegetation Science, 5: 173-184.
58. Thompson, K, Askew, AP, Grime, JP, Dunnett, NP and Willis, AJ. 2005. Biodiversity, ecosystem function and plant traits in mature and immature plant communities. Functional Ecology, 19: 355-358.
59. Tilman, D. 1993. Species richness of experimental productivity gradients-how important is colonization limitation? Ecology, 74: 2179-2191.
60. Tilman, D and Downing, JA. 1994. Biodiversity and stability in grasslands. Nature, 367: 363-365.
61. Tilman, D, Knops, J, Wedin, D, Reich, P, Ritchie, M and Siemann, E. 1997. The influence of functional diversity and composition on ecosystem processes. Science, 277: 1300-1302.
62. Tilman, D, Wedin, DA and Knops, J. 1996. Productivity and sustainability influenced by biodiversity in grassland ecosystems. Nature, 379: 718-720.
63. Van Peer, L, Nijs, I, Reheul, D and De Cauwer, B. 2004. Species richness and susceptibility to heat and drought extremes in synthesized grassland ecosystems: compositional vs. physiological effects. Functional Ecology, 18: 769-778.
64. Verón, SR, Paruelo, JM and Oesterheld, M. 2011. Grazing-induced losses of biodiversity affect the transpiration of an arid ecosystem. Oecologia, 165: 501-510.
65. Waesch, G. 2003. Montane Graslandvegetation des Thüringer Waldes, Göttingen, Germany: Cuvillier Verlag.
66. Weigelt, A, Weisser, WW, Buchmann, N and Scherer-Lorenzen, M. 2009. Biodiversity for multifunctional grasslands: equal productivity in high-diversity low-input and low-diversity high-input systems. Biogeosciences, 6: 1695-1706.
67. Yachi, S and Loreau, M. 2007. Does complementary resource use enhance ecosystem functioning? A model of light competition in plant communities. Ecology Letters, 10: 54-62.
68. Zechmeister, HG, Schmitzberger, I, Steurer, B, Peterseil, J and Wrbka, T. 2003. The influence of land-use practices and economics on plant species richness in meadows. Biological Conservation, 114: 165-177.