Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory

作者：Rebecca A. Nelson, Lauren L. Sullivan, Erika I. Hersch‐Green, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Pedro M. Tognetti, Peter B. Adler, Lori Biederman, Miguel N. Bugalho, Maria C. Caldeira, Juan Pablo Cancela, Luísa G. Carvalheiro, Jane A. Catford, Chris R. Dickman, Aleksandra Dolezal, Ian Donohue, Anne Ebeling, Nico Eisenhauer, Kenneth J. Elgersma, Anu Eskelinen, Catalina Estrada, Magda Garbowski, Pamela Graff, Daniel S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Sylvia Haider, W. Stanley Harpole, Yann Hautier, Anke Jentsch, Nicolina Johanson, Sally E. Koerner, Lucíola Santos Lannes, Andrew S. MacDougall, Holly M. Martinson, John W. Morgan, Harry Olde Venterink, Devyn Orr, Brooke B. Osborne, Pablo L. Peri, Sally A. Power, Xavier Raynaud, Anita C. Risch, Mani Shrestha, Nicholas G. Smith, Carly Stevens, G. F. Veen, Risto Virtanen, Glenda M. Wardle, Amelia A. Wolf, Alyssa L. Young, Susan Harrison · 发表于：Communications Biology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1038/s42003-025-07882-7 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Wildlife Ecology and Conservation、Plant and animal studies

Forbs ("wildflowers") are important contributors to grassland biodiversity but are vulnerable to environmental changes. In a factorial experiment at 94 sites on 6 continents, we test the global generality of several broad predictions: (1) Forb cover and richness decline under nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen enrichment. (2) Forb cover and richness increase under herbivory by large mammals. (3) Forb richness and cover are less affected by nutrient enrichment and herbivory in more arid climates, because water limitation reduces the impacts of competition with grasses. (4) Forb families will respond differently to nutrient enrichment and mammalian herbivory due to differences in nutrient requirements. We find strong evidence for the first, partial support for the second, no support for the third, and support for the fourth prediction. Our results underscore that anthropogenic nitrogen addition is a major threat to grassland forbs, but grazing under high herbivore intensity can offset these nutrient effects.