4.8 Article

Plant species' origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores in global grasslands

Journal

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 6, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8710

Keywords

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Funding

  1. National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network [NSF-DEB-1042132]
  2. Long Term Ecological Research [NSF-DEB-1234162]
  3. Institute on the Environment [DG-0001-13]
  4. Natural Environment Research Council [ceh010010] Funding Source: researchfish
  5. Direct For Biological Sciences
  6. Division Of Environmental Biology [1027341] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
  7. Division Of Environmental Biology
  8. Direct For Biological Sciences [1440484] Funding Source: National Science Foundation

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Exotic species dominate many communities; however the functional significance of species' biogeographic origin remains highly contentious. This debate is fuelled in part by the lack of globally replicated, systematic data assessing the relationship between species provenance, function and response to perturbations. We examined the abundance of native and exotic plant species at 64 grasslands in 13 countries, and at a subset of the sites we experimentally tested native and exotic species responses to two fundamental drivers of invasion, mineral nutrient supplies and vertebrate herbivory. Exotic species are six times more likely to dominate communities than native species. Furthermore, while experimental nutrient addition increases the cover and richness of exotic species, nutrients decrease native diversity and cover. Native and exotic species also differ in their response to vertebrate consumer exclusion. These results suggest that species origin has functional significance, and that eutrophication will lead to increased exotic dominance in grasslands.

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