Nutrient-induced shifts of dominant species reduce ecosystem stability via increases in species synchrony and population variability.

ABSTRACT: The mechanisms underlying nutrient-induced diversity-stability relationships have been examined extensively. However, the effects of nutrient-induced shifts of dominant species on ecosystem stability have rarely been evaluated. We compiled a dataset from a long-term nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) enrichment experiment conducted in an alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau to test the effects of nutrient-induced shifts of dominant species on stability. Our results show that N enrichment increased synchrony among the dominant species, which contributed to a significant increase in synchrony of the whole community. Meanwhile, N-induced shifts in dominant species composition significantly increased population variability. Increases in species synchrony and population variability resulted in

SUBMITTER: Song MH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6698194 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature