Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity
Abstract Grazing by domestic herbivores is the most widespread land use on the planet, and also a major global change driver in grasslands. Yet, experimental evidence on the long-term impacts of livestock grazing on biodiversity and function is largely lacking. Here, we report results from a network...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40809-6 |
| _version_ | 1797558455839490048 |
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| author | Minna Zhang Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo Guangyin Li Forest Isbell Yue Wang Yann Hautier Yao Wang Yingli Xiao Jinting Cai Xiaobin Pan Ling Wang |
| author_facet | Minna Zhang Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo Guangyin Li Forest Isbell Yue Wang Yann Hautier Yao Wang Yingli Xiao Jinting Cai Xiaobin Pan Ling Wang |
| author_sort | Minna Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Grazing by domestic herbivores is the most widespread land use on the planet, and also a major global change driver in grasslands. Yet, experimental evidence on the long-term impacts of livestock grazing on biodiversity and function is largely lacking. Here, we report results from a network of 10 experimental sites from paired grazed and ungrazed grasslands across an aridity gradient, including some of the largest remaining native grasslands on the planet. We show that aridity partly explains the responses of biodiversity and multifunctionality to long-term livestock grazing. Grazing greatly reduced biodiversity and multifunctionality in steppes with higher aridity, while had no effects in steppes with relatively lower aridity. Moreover, we found that long-term grazing further changed the capacity of above- and below-ground biodiversity to explain multifunctionality. Thus, while plant diversity was positively correlated with multifunctionality across grasslands with excluded livestock, soil biodiversity was positively correlated with multifunctionality across grazed grasslands. Together, our cross-site experiment reveals that the impacts of long-term grazing on biodiversity and function depend on aridity levels, with the more arid sites experiencing more negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. We also highlight the fundamental importance of conserving soil biodiversity for protecting multifunctionality in widespread grazed grasslands. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:31:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-78baf02499984e03b65abc38088b864f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:31:40Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-78baf02499984e03b65abc38088b864f2023-11-20T10:00:10ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232023-08-011411810.1038/s41467-023-40809-6Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridityMinna Zhang0Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo1Guangyin Li2Forest Isbell3Yue Wang4Yann Hautier5Yao Wang6Yingli Xiao7Jinting Cai8Xiaobin Pan9Ling Wang10Institute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal UniversityLaboratorio de Biodiversidad y Funcionamiento Ecosistémico. Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS), CSICInstitute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal UniversityDepartment of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of MinnesotaInstitute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal UniversityEcology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht UniversityInstitute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal UniversityInstitute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal UniversityInstitute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal UniversityInstitute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal UniversityInstitute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal UniversityAbstract Grazing by domestic herbivores is the most widespread land use on the planet, and also a major global change driver in grasslands. Yet, experimental evidence on the long-term impacts of livestock grazing on biodiversity and function is largely lacking. Here, we report results from a network of 10 experimental sites from paired grazed and ungrazed grasslands across an aridity gradient, including some of the largest remaining native grasslands on the planet. We show that aridity partly explains the responses of biodiversity and multifunctionality to long-term livestock grazing. Grazing greatly reduced biodiversity and multifunctionality in steppes with higher aridity, while had no effects in steppes with relatively lower aridity. Moreover, we found that long-term grazing further changed the capacity of above- and below-ground biodiversity to explain multifunctionality. Thus, while plant diversity was positively correlated with multifunctionality across grasslands with excluded livestock, soil biodiversity was positively correlated with multifunctionality across grazed grasslands. Together, our cross-site experiment reveals that the impacts of long-term grazing on biodiversity and function depend on aridity levels, with the more arid sites experiencing more negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. We also highlight the fundamental importance of conserving soil biodiversity for protecting multifunctionality in widespread grazed grasslands.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40809-6 |
| spellingShingle | Minna Zhang Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo Guangyin Li Forest Isbell Yue Wang Yann Hautier Yao Wang Yingli Xiao Jinting Cai Xiaobin Pan Ling Wang Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity Nature Communications |
| title | Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity |
| title_full | Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity |
| title_fullStr | Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity |
| title_short | Experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity |
| title_sort | experimental impacts of grazing on grassland biodiversity and function are explained by aridity |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40809-6 |
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