Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-15-2025
Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract
Forbs (“wildflowers”) are important contributors to grassland biodiversity but are vulnerable to environmental changes. In a factorial experiment at 94 sites on 6 continents, we test the global generality of several broad predictions: (1) Forb cover and richness decline under nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen enrichment. (2) Forb cover and richness increase under herbivory by large mammals. (3) Forb richness and cover are less affected by nutrient enrichment and herbivory in more arid climates, because water limitation reduces the impacts of competition with grasses. (4) Forb families will respond differently to nutrient enrichment and mammalian herbivory due to differences in nutrient requirements. We find strong evidence for the first, partial support for the second, no support for the third, and support for the fourth prediction. Our results underscore that anthropogenic nitrogen addition is a major threat to grassland forbs, but grazing under high herbivore intensity can offset these nutrient effects.
Publication Title
Communications Biology
Recommended Citation
Nelson, R.,
Sullivan, L.,
Hersch-Green, E.,
Seabloom, E.,
Borer, E.,
Tognetti, P.,
&
et al.
(2025).
Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory.
Communications Biology,
8(1).
http://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07882-7
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p2/1494
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
© The Author(s) 2025. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07882-7