Plant diversity enhances ecosystem responses to elevated CO2 and nitrogen deposition

Peter B. Reich (), Jean Knops, David Tilman, Joseph Craine, David Ellsworth, Mark Tjoelker, Tali Lee, David Wedin, Shahid Naeem, Dan Bahauddin, George Hendrey, Shibu Jose, Keith Wrage, Jenny Goth and Wendy Bengston
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Peter B. Reich: University of Minnesota
Jean Knops: Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota
David Tilman: Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota
Joseph Craine: University of California
David Ellsworth: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Mark Tjoelker: University of Minnesota
Tali Lee: University of Minnesota
David Wedin: School of Natural Resource Sciences, University of Nebraska
Shahid Naeem: Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota
Dan Bahauddin: University of Minnesota
George Hendrey: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Shibu Jose: University of Minnesota
Keith Wrage: University of Minnesota
Jenny Goth: University of Minnesota
Wendy Bengston: University of Minnesota

Nature, 2001, vol. 410, issue 6830, 809-810

Abstract: Abstract 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 unknown1,2. Reduced biodiversity has raised numerous concerns, including the possibility that ecosystem functioning may be affected negatively1,2,3,4, which might be particularly important in the face of other global changes5,6. 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.

Date: 2001
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DOI: 10.1038/35071062

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