1. Major shifts in species’ relative abundance in grassland mixtures alongside positive effects of species diversity in yield: a continental-scale experiment
- Author
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Brophy, Caroline, Finn, John A., Lüscher, Andreas, Suter, Matthias, Kirwan, Laura, Sebastià, Maria-Teresa, Helgadóttir, Áslaug, Baadshaug, Ole H., Bélanger, Gilles, Black, Alistair, Collins, Rosemary P., Čop, Jure, Dalmannsdottir, Sigridur, Delgado, Ignacio, Elgersma, Anjo, Fothergill, Michael, Frankow-Lindberg, Bodil E., Ghesquiere, An, Golinska, Barbara, Golinski, Piotr, Grieu, Philippe, Gustavsson, Anne-Maj, Höglind, Mats, Huguenin-Elie, Olivier, Jørgensen, Marit, Kadziuliene, Zydre, Kurki, Päivi, Llurba, Rosa, Lunnan, Tor, Porqueddu, Claudio, Thumm, Ulrich, Connolly, John, Cornelissen, Hans, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse - Toulouse INP (FRANCE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - INRA (FRANCE), Department of Mathematics and Statistics [Montréal], McGill University = Université McGill [Montréal, Canada], Environm Res Ctr, Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Forage Prod & Grassland Syst, Agroscope, Inst Food & Hlth, UCD, Gp GAMES, ETSEA-Dept HBJ, Universitat de Lleida, Lab ECOFUN, Centre de Ciència i Tecnologia Forestal de Catalunya (CTFC), Agricultural University of Iceland, Dept Plant Sci, University of California [Davis] (UC Davis), University of California-University of California, Agriculture and Agri-Food [Ottawa] (AAFC), Teagasc Food Research Centre [Fermoy, Ireland], Fac Agr & Life Sci, Lincoln University, Aberystwyth University, Biotechn Fac, University of Ljubljana, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria, Plant Sci Grp, Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Independent, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Research Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Poznan University of Life Sciences, AGroécologie, Innovations, teRritoires (AGIR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Natural resources institute Finland, Istituto per il Sistema Produzione Animale in Ambiente Mediterraneo (ISPAAM ), University of Hohenheim, and University College Dublin [Dublin] (UCD)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Multi-species communities ,Climate ,legumes ,Biodiversity ,Plant Science ,01 natural sciences ,Grassland ,Species composition ,Abundance (ecology) ,relative growth rate ,2. Zero hunger ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Ecology ,VDP::Landbruks- og Fiskerifag: 900 ,sward dynamics ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,Legumes ,determinants of plant community diversity and structure ,Relative growth rate ,stabilising processes ,diversity effects ,Sward dynamics ,Determinants of plant community diversity and structure ,Biology ,010603 evolutionary biology ,Ecosystem ,Grasses ,Relative species abundance ,Diversity effects ,climate ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,geography ,species composition ,Sowing ,Species diversity ,15. Life on land ,Plant Sciences Group ,Amélioration des plantes ,[SDV.BV.AP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Plant breeding ,grasses ,Agronomy ,Stabilising processes ,multi-species communities ,040103 agronomy & agriculture ,0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ,Monoculture ,human activities - Abstract
International audience; Increased species diversity promotes ecosystem function; however, the dynamics of multi‐species grassland systems over time and their role in sustaining higher yields generated by increased diversity are still poorly understood. We investigated the development of species’ relative abundances in grassland mixtures over 3 years to identify drivers of diversity change and their links to yield diversity effects. A continental‐scale field experiment was conducted at 31 sites using 11 different four‐species mixtures each sown at two seed abundances. The four species consisted of two grasses and two legumes, of which one was fast establishing and the other temporally persistent. We modelled the dynamics of the four‐species mixtures, and tested associations with diversity effects on yield. We found that species’ dynamics were primarily driven by differences in the relative growth rates (RGR s) of competing species, and secondarily by density dependence and climate. The temporally persistent grass species typically had the highest RGR s and hence became dominant over time. Density dependence sometimes induced stabilising processes on the dominant species and inhibited shifts to monoculture. Legumes persisted at most sites at low or medium abundances and persistence was improved at sites with higher annual minimum temperature. Significant diversity effects were present at the majority of sites in all years and the strength of diversity effects was improved with higher legume abundance in the previous year. Observed diversity effects, when legumes had declined, may be due to (i) important effects of legumes even at low abundance, (ii) interaction between the two grass species or (iii) a store of N because of previous presence of legumes. Synthesis . Alongside major compositional changes driven by RGR differences, diversity effects were observed at most sites, albeit at reduced strength as legumes declined. This evidence strongly supports the sowing of multi‐species mixtures that include legumes over the long‐standing practice of sowing grass monocultures. Careful and strategic selection of the identity of the species used in mixtures is suggested to facilitate the maintenance of species diversity and especially persistence of legumes over time, and to preserve the strength of yield increases associated with diversity.
- Published
- 2017
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