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Increasing Soil Nutrient Loads of European Semi-natural Grasslands Strongly Alter Plant Functional Diversity Independently of Species Loss

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Abstract

Anthropogenically increased input of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) have led to a severe reduction of plant species richness in European semi-natural grasslands. Although it is well established that this species loss is not trait neutral, a thorough analysis of the effects of nutrient addition on trait based functional diversity and functional composition, independently of species loss, is lacking so far. We compiled data on the plant species abundance (relevé’s) of 279 Nardus grasslands from nine European countries, across a gradient of soil N and P content. Functional diversity (Petchy and Gaston’s FDc, weighted FDc and quadratic entropy) and mean trait composition were calculated for each relevé, based on 21 functional traits. Differences in functional diversity and functional composition were related to differences in soil N, atmospheric N deposition, soil P and pH, while controlling for geographic location and species richness. All functional diversity measures decreased with increasing soil N, with wFDc also decreased by soil P, independent of species loss. This was accompanied by clear shifts in functional trait composition, associated with shifts from below-ground competition for nutrients to above-ground competition for light. This resulted in a decrease in insect-pollinated therophytes and chamaephytes and an increase in long-lived, clonal graminoids and hemicryptophytes under increasing soil N and P. These functional community changes can be expected to alter both ecosystem functioning and service provisioning of the studied grasslands. Our research emphasizes the importance of a reduction of both N and P emission throughout Europe for sustainable conservation of these communities.

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Acknowledgments

This paper was written when K.H. held a Grant from the Flemish Fund for Scientific Research (FWO). We would like to thank local managers who allowed access and sampling in the different nature reserves and all authors that granted access to the large European dataset of Nardus grasslands (Ecological Archives E092-128). We thank David Celis of VMM (Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij) for modelling the N deposition levels for grasslands located in the northern part of Belgium. We are also grateful for the field and laboratory assistance of Tijl Vereenooghe, Kris Malefason and Kasper Van Acker.

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  1. Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Biology Department, University of Leuven, Arenbergpark 31, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Kenny Helsen, Tobias Ceulemans & Olivier Honnay

  2. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom

    Carly J. Stevens

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  1. Kenny Helsen
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Correspondence to Kenny Helsen.

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Author Contribution. KH conceived study, analyzed data, wrote manuscript; TC and CJS collected data; OH conceived study and contributed new methods; all authors discussed the results and commented on and revised the manuscript.

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Helsen, K., Ceulemans, T., Stevens, C.J. et al. Increasing Soil Nutrient Loads of European Semi-natural Grasslands Strongly Alter Plant Functional Diversity Independently of Species Loss. Ecosystems 17, 169–181 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-013-9714-8

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