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Research article2024Peer reviewedOpen access

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

Moreno-Garcia, Pablo; Montano-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-Roemermann, Markus; Brunet, Joerg; Van Calster, Hans; Chudomelova, Marketa; Closset, Deborah; De Frenne, Pieter; Decocq, Guillaume; Gilliam, Frank S.; Grytnes, John-Arvid; Hedl, Radim; Heinken, Thilo; Jaroszewicz, Bogdan; Kopecky, Martin; Lenoir, Jonathan; Macek, Martin; Malis, Frantisek; Naaf, Tobias; Orczewska, Anna; Petrik, Petr; Reczynska, Kamila; Schei, Fride Hoistad; Schmidt, Wolfgang; Stachurska-Swakon, Alina; Standovar, Tibor; Swierkosz, Krzysztof; Teleki, Balazs; Vild, Ondrej; Li, Daijiang
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Abstract

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.

Published in

Science Advances
2024, volume: 10, number: 42, article number: eadp7953
Publisher: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp7953

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/139381