Differential Mechanisms Drive Species Loss Under Artificial Shade and Fertilization in the Alpine Meadow of the Tibetan Plateau.

ABSTRACT: Fertilization is an effective management strategy to promote community biomass but can simultaneously reduce species diversity in many grassland systems. Shifts in competition for resources have been proposed to explain the decline in plant species diversity due to fertilization, yet the underlying mechanism driving species loss remains controversial. This uncertainty may be driven by variation in aboveground and belowground resource availability. However, experiments simultaneously manipulating both light availability and soil nutrients are rare. Using a 6-year field experiment to manipulate light availability (via shade cloth) and soil nutrients (via fertilizer addition), we tested this resource competition hypothesis in a species-rich alpine meadow by examining the variati

SUBMITTER: Li J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8860893 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature