Dryness weakens the positive effects of plant and fungal β diversities on above‐ and belowground biomass

作者：Ruiyang Zhang, Dashuan Tian, Jinsong Wang, Junxiao Pan, Juntao Zhu, Yang Li, Yingjie Yan, Lei Song, Song Wang, Chen Chen, Shuli Niu · 发表于：Global Change Biology · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.1111/gcb.16405 · 被引用次数：38 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions、Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Plant and microbial diversity are key to determine ecosystem functioning. Despite the well-known role of local-scale α diversity in affecting vegetation biomass, the effects of community heterogeneity (β diversity) of plants and soil microbes on above- and belowground biomass (AGB and BGB) across contrasting environments still remain unclear. Here, we conducted a dryness-gradient transect survey over 3000 km across grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau. We found that plant β diversity was more dominant than α diversity in maintaining higher levels of AGB, while soil fungal β diversity was the key driver in enhancing BGB. However, these positive effects of plant and microbial β diversity on AGB and BGB were strongly weakened by increasing climatic dryness, mainly because higher soil available phosphorus caused by increasing dryness reduced both plant and soil fungal β diversities. Overall, these new findings highlight the critical role of above- and belowground β diversity in sustaining grassland biomass, raising our awareness to the ecological risks of large-scale biotic homogenization under future climate change.