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Biodiversity, photosynthetic mode, and ecosystem services differ between native and novel ecosystems

  • Global change ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Human activities have caused non-native plant species with novel ecological interactions to persist on landscapes, and it remains controversial whether these species alter multiple aspects of communities and ecosystems. We tested whether native and exotic grasslands differ in species diversity, ecosystem services, and an important aspect of functional diversity (C3:C4 proportions) by sampling 42 sites along a latitudinal gradient and conducting a controlled experiment. Exotic-dominated grasslands had drastically lower plant diversity and slightly higher tissue N concentrations and forage quality compared to native-dominated sites. Exotic sites were strongly dominated by C4 species at southern and C3 species at northern latitudes with a sharp transition at 36–38°, whereas native sites contained C3:C4 mixtures. Large differences in C3:C4 proportions and temporal niche partitioning were found between native and exotic mixtures in the experiment, implying that differences in C3:C4 proportions along the latitudinal gradient are caused partially by species themselves. Our results indicate that the replacement of native- by exotic-dominated grasslands has created a management tradeoff (high diversity versus high levels of certain ecosystem services) and that models of global change impacts and C3/C4 distribution should consider effects of exotic species.

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Acknowledgments

This publication was developed under STAR Fellowship Assistance Agreement no. 91722701-0 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It has not been formally reviewed by the EPA. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors, and EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication. The field experiment was funded by the NSF (DEB-0639417). We thank The Nature Conservancy, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Guthrie County Conservation Board (Iowa), Missouri Department of Conservation, University of Kansas Field Station, Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, USDA ARS, and private landowners for providing sites. Jim Raich and Brad Nelson provided laboratory assistance.

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  1. Leanne M. Martin

    Present address: Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas, 2101 Constant Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66047, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, 253 Bessey Hall, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Leanne M. Martin & Brian J. Wilsey

  2. USDA-ARS, Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory, 808 E. Blackland Road, Temple, TX, 76502, USA

    H. Wayne Polley

  3. Department of Biology, Monmouth University, 173 Edison Hall, West Long Branch, NJ, 07764, USA

    Pedram P. Daneshgar

  4. Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, 105 Science II, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Mary A. Harris

  5. Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, 105 Science II, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Mary A. Harris

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  1. Leanne M. Martin
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Communicated by Joy K. Ward.

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Martin, L.M., Polley, H.W., Daneshgar, P.P. et al. Biodiversity, photosynthetic mode, and ecosystem services differ between native and novel ecosystems. Oecologia 175, 687–697 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-014-2911-0

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