TY - JOUR
T1 - Plant diversity enhances ecosystem responses to elevated CO2 and nitrogen deposition
AU - Reich, Peter B.
AU - Knops, Jean
AU - Tilman, David
AU - Craine, Joseph
AU - Ellsworth, David
AU - Tjoelker, Mark
AU - Lee, Tali
AU - Wedin, David
AU - Naeem, Shahid
AU - Bahauddin, Dan
AU - Hendrey, George
AU - Jose, Shibu
AU - Wrage, Keith
AU - Goth, Jenny
AU - Bengston, Wendy
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2001/4/12
Y1 - 2001/4/12
N2 - Human actions are causing declines in plant biodiversity, increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and increases in nitrogen deposition; however, the interactive effects of these factors on ecosystem processes are unknown. Reduced biodiversity has raised numerous concerns, including the possibility that ecosystem functioning may be affected negatively, which might be particularly important in the face of other global changes. Here we present results of a grassland field experiment in Minnesota, USA, that tests the hypothesis that plant diversity and composition influence the enhancement of biomass and carbon acquisition in ecosystems subjected to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations and nitrogen deposition. The study experimentally controlled plant diversity (1, 4, 9 or 16 species), soil nitrogen (unamended versus deposition of 4 g of nitrogen per m2 per yr) and atmospheric CO2 concentrations using free-air CO2 enrichment (ambient, 368 μmol mol-1, versus elevated, 560 μmol mol-1). We found that the enhanced biomass accumulation in response to elevated levels of CO2 or nitrogen, or their combination, is less in species-poor than in species-rich assemblages.
AB - Human actions are causing declines in plant biodiversity, increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and increases in nitrogen deposition; however, the interactive effects of these factors on ecosystem processes are unknown. Reduced biodiversity has raised numerous concerns, including the possibility that ecosystem functioning may be affected negatively, which might be particularly important in the face of other global changes. Here we present results of a grassland field experiment in Minnesota, USA, that tests the hypothesis that plant diversity and composition influence the enhancement of biomass and carbon acquisition in ecosystems subjected to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations and nitrogen deposition. The study experimentally controlled plant diversity (1, 4, 9 or 16 species), soil nitrogen (unamended versus deposition of 4 g of nitrogen per m2 per yr) and atmospheric CO2 concentrations using free-air CO2 enrichment (ambient, 368 μmol mol-1, versus elevated, 560 μmol mol-1). We found that the enhanced biomass accumulation in response to elevated levels of CO2 or nitrogen, or their combination, is less in species-poor than in species-rich assemblages.
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U2 - 10.1038/35071062
DO - 10.1038/35071062
M3 - Article
C2 - 11298447
AN - SCOPUS:0035848882
VL - 410
SP - 809
EP - 812
JO - Nature
JF - Nature
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 6830
ER -