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On the Importance of Shrub Encroachment by Sprouters, Climate, Species Richness and Anthropic Factors for Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Semi-arid Mediterranean Ecosystems

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Abstract

One of the most important changes taking place in drylands worldwide is the increase of the cover and dominance of shrubs in areas formerly devoid of them (shrub encroachment). A large body of research has evaluated the causes and consequences of shrub encroachment for both ecosystem structure and functioning. However, there are virtually no studies evaluating how shrub encroachment affects the ability of ecosystems to maintain multiple functions and services simultaneously (multifunctionality). We aimed to do so by gathering data from ten ecosystem functions linked to the maintenance of primary production and nutrient cycling and storage (organic C, activity of β-glucosidase, pentoses, hexoses, total N, total available N, amino acids, proteins, available inorganic P, and phosphatase activity), and summarizing them in a multifunctionality index (M). We assessed how climate, species richness, anthropic factors (distance to the nearest town, sandy and asphalted road, and human population in the nearest town at several historical periods) and encroachment by sprouting shrubs impacted both the functions in isolation and M along a regional (ca. 350 km) gradient in Mediterranean grasslands and shrublands dominated by a non-sprouting shrub. Values of M were higher in those grasslands and shrublands containing sprouting shrubs (43 and 62%, respectively). A similar response was found when analyzing the different functions in isolation, as encroachment by sprouting shrubs increased functions by 2–80% compared to unencroached areas. Encroachment was the main driver of changes in M along the regional gradient evaluated, followed by anthropic factors and species richness. Climate had little effects on M in comparison to the other factors studied. Similar responses were observed when evaluating the functions in isolation. Overall, our results showed that M was higher at sites with higher sprouting shrub cover, longer distance to roads and higher perennial plant species richness. Our study is the first documenting that ecosystem multifunctionality in shrublands is enhanced by encroaching shrubs differing in size and leaf attributes. Our findings reinforce the idea that encroachment effects on ecosystem functioning cannot be generalized, and that are largely dependent on the traits of the encroaching shrub relative to those of the species being replaced.

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Acknowledgments

We thank B. Gozalo, E. Valencia, M. Berdugo, MD. Puche, A. Gallardo, C. Alelly and A. Prado for their help with the laboratory analyses, A. Puche, C. Escolar and J.G. Illán for their help with field surveys, and Ann Kinzing and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on previous versions of this manuscript. This research was funded by the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC Grant agreement No. 242658 (BIOCOM) awarded to FTM. JLQ acknowledges support from the BIOCOM project. MDB was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government, Grant No. CGL2010-21381. FTM also acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación (“Salvador de Madariaga program”, PR2010-0230) during the writing of the MS.

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  1. Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, c/ Tulipán s/n, 28933, Móstoles, Spain

    José L. Quero, Fernando T. Maestre, Victoria Ochoa & Miguel García-Gómez

  2. Departamento de Ingeniería Forestal, Campus de Rabanales Universidad de Córdoba, Carretera N km 396, 14071, Córdoba, Spain

    José L. Quero

  3. Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Carretera de Utrera km 1, 41013, Sevilla, Spain

    Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo

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  1. José L. Quero
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Correspondence to José L. Quero.

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FTM and JLQ conceived the study; JLQ, FTM, VO, MGG, and MDB performed research; JLQ and MDB analyzed data; and JLQ and FTM wrote the paper.

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Quero, J.L., Maestre, F.T., Ochoa, V. et al. On the Importance of Shrub Encroachment by Sprouters, Climate, Species Richness and Anthropic Factors for Ecosystem Multifunctionality in Semi-arid Mediterranean Ecosystems. Ecosystems 16, 1248–1261 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9683-y

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