Plant species’ origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores in global grasslands

Authors

Eric W. Seabloom, University of MinnesotaFollow
Elizabeth T. Borer, University of Minnesota - Twin CitiesFollow
Yvonne Buckley, University of QueenslandFollow
Elsa E. Cleland, University of California - San DiegoFollow
Kendi F. Davies, University of Colorado, BoulderFollow
Jennifer Firn, Queensland University of Technology
W. Stanley Harpole, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)Follow
Yann Hautier, University of MinnesotaFollow
Eric M. Lind, University of MinnesotaFollow
Andrew Macdougall, University of Guelph
John L. Orrock, University of WisconsinFollow
Suzanne M. Prober, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences
Peter B. Adler, Utah State University
T. Michael Anderson, Wake Forest UniversityFollow
Jonathan D. Bakker, University of WashingtonFollow
Lori A. Biederman, Iowa State UniversityFollow
Dana M. Blumenthal, USDA-ARSFollow
Cynthia S. Brown, Colorado State University
Lars A. Brudvig, Michigan State University
Marc W. Cadotte, University of Toronto
Chengjin Chu, Lanzhou University
Kathryn L. Cottingham, Dartmouth College
Michael J. Crawley, Imperial College London
Ellen I. Damschen, University of Wisconsin - MadisonFollow
Carla M. Dantonio, University of California, Santa Barbara
Nicole M. DeCrappeo, U.S. Geological Survey
Guozhen Du, Lanzhou University
Philip A. Fay, USDA-ARSFollow
Paul Frater, Iowa State University
Daniel S. Gruner, University of Maryland at College ParkFollow
Nicole Hagenah, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Andy Hector, University of Oxford
Helmut Hillebrand, Carl-von-Ossietzky University
Kirsten S. Hofmockel, Iowa State University
Hope Humphries, University of ColoradoFollow
Virginia L. Jin, USDA-ARSFollow
Adam Kay, University of St. Thomas, Saint Paul
Kevin P. Kirkman, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaFollow
Julia A. Klein, Colorado State University - Fort Collins
Johannes M. H. Knops, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Kimberly J. La Pierre, University of California - Berkeley
Laura M. Ladwig, University of New Mexico
John G. Lambrinos, Oregon State University
Qi Li, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wei Li, Southwest Forestry University
Robin Marushia, University of Toronto
Rebecca McCulley, University of KentuckyFollow
Brett Melbourne, University of Colorado BoulderFollow
Charles E. Mitchell, University of North CarolinaFollow
Joslin L. Moore, University of Melbourne
John Morgan, La Trobe University
Brent Mortensen, Iowa State University
Lydia R. O'Halloran, Oregon State University
David A. Pyke, U.S. Geological SurveyFollow
Anita C. Risch, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest
Mahesh Sankaran, National Centre for Biological Sciences
Martin Schuetz, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest
Anna Simonsen, University of Toronto
Melinda D. Smith, Colorado State University - Fort CollinsFollow
Carly J. Stevens, Lancaster UniversityFollow
Lauren L. Sullivan, Iowa State UniversityFollow
Elizabeth M. Wolkovich, University of British ColumbiaFollow
Peter D. Wragg, University of MinnesotaFollow
Justin Wright, Duke UniversityFollow
Louie Yang, University of California, DavisFollow

Date of this Version

2015

Citation

Seabloom, E.W. et al. Plant species’ origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores in global grasslands. Nat. Commun. 6:7710 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8710 (2015).

Comments

Open Access.

Abstract

Exotic species dominate many communities; however the functional significance of species’ biogeographic origin remains highly contentious. This debate is fuelled in part by the lack of globally replicated, systematic data assessing the relationship between species provenance, function and response to perturbations. We examined the abundance of native and exotic plant species at 64 grasslands in 13 countries, and at a subset of the sites we experimentally tested native and exotic species responses to two fundamental drivers of invasion, mineral nutrient supplies and vertebrate herbivory. Exotic species are six times more likely to dominate communities than native species. Furthermore, while experimental nutrient addition increases the cover and richness of exotic species, nutrients decrease native diversity and cover. Native and exotic species also differ in their response to vertebrate consumer exclusion. These results suggest that species origin has functional significance, and that eutrophication will lead to increased exotic dominance in grasslands.