Long-term nitrogen deposition reduces the diversity of nitrogen-fixing plants

Biological nitrogen fixation is a fundamental part of ecosystem functioning. Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition and climate change may, however, limit the competitive advantage of nitrogen-fixing plants, leading to reduced relative diversity of nitrogen-fixing plants. Yet, assessments of changes of n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science advances 2024-10, Vol.10 (42)
Main Authors: Moreno-García, Pablo, Montaño-Centellas, Flavia, Liu, Yu, Reyes-Mendez, Evelin Y., Jha, Rohit Raj, Guralnick, Robert P., Folk, Ryan, Waller, Donald M., Verheyen, Kris, Baeten, Lander, Becker-Scarpitta, Antoine, Berki, Imre, Bernhardt-Römermann, Markus, Brunet, Jörg, van Calster, Hans, Chudomelová, Markéta, Closset, Deborah, de Frenne, Pieter, Decocq, Guillaume, Gilliam, Frank S., Grytnes, John-Arvid, Hédl, Radim, Heinken, Thilo, Jaroszewicz, Bogdan, Kopecký, Martin, Lenoir, Jonathan, Macek, Martin, Máliš, František, Naaf, Tobias, Orczewska, Anna, Petřík, Petr, Reczyńska, Kamila, Schei, Fride Høistad, Schmidt, Wolfgang, Stachurska-Swakoń, Alina, Standovár, Tibor, Świerkosz, Krzysztof, Teleki, Balázs, Vild, Ondřej, Li, Daijiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural sciences
Biodiversity and Ecology
Ecology, environment
Ecosystems
Environmental Sciences
Life Sciences
Soil study
Vegetal Biology
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Summary:Biological nitrogen fixation is a fundamental part of ecosystem functioning. Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition and climate change may, however, limit the competitive advantage of nitrogen-fixing plants, leading to reduced relative diversity of nitrogen-fixing plants. Yet, assessments of changes of nitrogen-fixing plant long-term community diversity are rare. Here, we examine temporal trends in the diversity of nitrogen-fixing plants and their relationships with anthropogenic nitrogen deposition while accounting for changes in temperature and aridity. We used forest-floor vegetation resurveys of temperate forests in Europe and the United States spanning multiple decades. Nitrogen-fixer richness declined as nitrogen deposition increased over time but did not respond to changes in climate. Phylogenetic diversity also declined, as distinct lineages of N-fixers were lost between surveys, but the "winners" and "losers" among nitrogen-fixing lineages varied among study sites, suggesting that losses are context dependent. Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition reduces nitrogen-fixing plant diversity in ways that may strongly affect natural nitrogen fixation.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adp7953