Intensive agriculture is dominated by monocultures of high\uffe2\uff80\uff90yielding plants that receive large applications of nitrogen (N) fertilizers to boost plant productivity. However, these systems have low N use efficiency (NUE) as fertilized plants generally take up less than half of the N applied. A large fraction of the remainder N is susceptible to be lost from the agroecosystem generating a cascade of environmental and socio\uffe2\uff80\uff90economic problems. Climate change and projected global increases in fertilizer use pose further risks to N losses and yield stability.
We review and translate concepts from ecology in natural systems to demonstrate that NUE in intensive agroecosystems can be strongly increased by fine\uffe2\uff80\uff90tuning the traits of the plant communities to the levels of N fertilization intensity.
We present key plant traits of importance for N\uffe2\uff80\uff90cycling (architectural, morphological and physiological traits, as well as symbiotic associations and exudation patterns); discuss ecological (with soil fauna and N\uffe2\uff80\uff90cycling microbial communities) and agronomic interactions of this approach; propose interdisciplinary methodologies for future research ranging from pot to global scales; and highlight possible solutions leading to an optimal balance between N fertilizer use and productivity.
Synthesis and applications. By showing the strong links between plant traits and nitrogen (N) cycling, our work opens possibilities to test ecologically informed hypotheses across gradients of soil fertility and N fertilizer management intensity, setting a research agenda for the coming years. Accordingly, the choice of plant species based on their functional traits will play a central role for the development of modern and productive agroecosystems that retain and use N more efficiently.
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as floods, requires management strategies that promote resilience of grassland productivity. Mixtures of plant species may better resist and recover from flooding than monocultures, as they could combine species with stress\uffe2\uff80\uff90coping and resource acquisition traits. This has not yet been tested in intensively managed grasslands despite its relevance for enhancing agroecosystem resilience.
Using intact soil cores from an 18\uffe2\uff80\uff90month\uffe2\uff80\uff90old field experiment, we tested how 11 plant communities (Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne, Poa trivialis and Trifolium repens in monoculture, two\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and four\uffe2\uff80\uff90species mixtures) resist and recover from repeated flooding in a 4\uffe2\uff80\uff90month greenhouse experiment.
We found that plant community composition, not whether the community was a mixture or monoculture, influenced the community's resistance to flooding, although most communities were able to resist and recover from both floods.
The plant community's position on the leaf economic spectrum in flooded conditions was related to its resistance to and recovery from flooding. Resistance to and recovery from a severe flood were related to flood\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced intraspecific trait variation, causing a shift in the community's position on the leaf resource economic spectrum. In flooded conditions, resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90conservative communities (characterized by low specific leaf area, low leaf nitrogen content and high leaf dry matter content) better resisted and recovered from flooding. The community's position on the root resource economic spectrum was less connected to the community's resistance and recovery.
Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that in flooded conditions, resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90conservative plant communities are more resilient to flooding than resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90acquisitive communities in an intensively managed grassland. This suggests that plant community position on the leaf economic spectrum, as well as species\uffe2\uff80\uff99 flood\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced intraspecific variation, should be considered when designing grasslands to withstand increasing flood frequency and severity.
Root functional traits are known to influence soil properties that underpin ecosystem functioning. Yet few studies have explored how root traits simultaneously influence physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil, or how these responses are modified by common grassland perturbations that shape roots, such as defoliation and fertilisation.
Here, we explored how root traits of a wide range of grassland plant species with contrasting resource acquisition strategies (i.e. conservative vs. exploitative strategy plant species) respond to defoliation and fertilisation individually and in combination, and examined cascading impacts on a range of soil abiotic and biotic properties that underpin ecosystem functioning.
We found that the amplitude of the response of root traits to defoliation and fertilisation varied among plant species, in most cases independently of plant resource acquisition strategies. However, the direction of the root trait responses (increase or decrease) to perturbations was consistent across all plant species, with defoliation and fertilisation exerting opposing effects on root traits. Specific root length increased relative to non\uffe2\uff80\uff90perturbed control in response to defoliation, while root biomass, root mass density, and root length density decreased. Fertilisation induced the opposite responses. We also found that both defoliation and fertilisation individually enhanced the role of root traits in regulating soil biotic and abiotic properties, especially soil aggregate stability.
Synthesis: Our results indicate that defoliation and fertilisation, two common grassland perturbations, have contrasting impacts on root traits of grassland plant species, with direct and indirect short\uffe2\uff80\uff90term consequences for a wide range of soil abiotic and biotic properties that underpin ecosystem functioning.
", "keywords": ["Plant traits", "Soil nutrients", "0106 biological sciences", "Plant-soil interactions", "Growth strategy", "Soil microbial community", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Perturbations", "01 natural sciences", "Soil aggregates", "Research Articles"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14215"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/1365-2745.14215", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/1365-2745.14215", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/1365-2745.14215"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2023-10-25T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/gcb.13827", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-21T16:17:34Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2017-07-20", "title": "What plant functional traits can reduce nitrous oxide emissions from intensively managed grasslands?", "description": "AbstractPlant species exert a dominant control over the nitrogen (N) cycle of natural and managed grasslands. Although in intensively managed systems that receive large external N inputs the emission of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) is a crucial component of this cycle, a mechanistic relationship between plant species and N2O emissions has not yet been established. Here we use a plant functional trait approach to study the relation between plant species strategies and N2O emissions from soils. Compared to species with conservative strategies, species with acquisitive strategies have higher N uptake when there is ample N in the soil, but also trigger N mineralization when soil N is limiting. Therefore, we hypothesized that (1) compared to conservative species, species with acquisitive traits reduce N2O emissions after a high N addition; and (2) species with conservative traits have lower N2O emissions than acquisitive plants if there is no high N addition. This was tested in a greenhouse experiment using monocultures of six grass species with differing above\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and below\uffe2\uff80\uff90ground traits, growing across a gradient of soil N availability. We found that acquisitive species reduced N2O emissions at all levels of N availability, produced higher biomass and showed larger N uptake. As such, acquisitive species had 87% lower N2O emissions per unit of N uptake than conservative species (p\uffc2\uffa0<\uffc2\uffa0.05). Structural equation\uffc2\uffa0modelling revealed that specific leaf area and root length density were key traits regulating the effects of plants on N2O emission and biomass productivity. These results provide the first framework to understand the mechanisms through which plants modulate N2O emissions, pointing the way to develop productive grasslands that contribute optimally to climate change mitigation.
", "keywords": ["Plant traits", "2. Zero hunger", "Air Pollutants", "Nitrous oxide", "Nitrogen", "Climate Change", "Nitrous Oxide", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Plants", "15. Life on land", "Poaceae", "Grassland", "Soil", "Species Specificity", "13. Climate action", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Biomass", "Fertilizers", "Plant-microbe interactions", "Functional traits"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.13827"}, {"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13827"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/gcb.13827", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/gcb.13827", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/gcb.13827"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2017-08-17T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/gcb.14839", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-21T16:17:34Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-09-13", "title": "Multiple trade-offs regulate the effects of woody plant removal on biodiversity and ecosystem functions in global rangelands", "description": "AbstractWoody plant encroachment is a major land management issue. Woody removal often aims to restore the original grassy ecosystem, but few studies have assessed the role of woody removal on ecosystem functions and biodiversity at global scales. We collected data from 140 global studies and evaluated how different woody plant removal methods affected biodiversity (plant and animal diversity) and ecosystem functions (plant production, hydrological function, soil carbon) across global rangelands. Our results indicate that the impact of removal is strongly context dependent, varying with the specific response variable, removal method, and traits of the target species. Over all treatments, woody plant removal increased grass biomass and total groundstorey diversity. Physical and chemical removal methods increased grass biomass and total groundstorey biomass (i.e., non\uffe2\uff80\uff90woody plants, including grass biomass), but burning reduced animal diversity. The impact of different treatment methods declined with time since removal, particularly for total groundstorey biomass. Removing pyramid\uffe2\uff80\uff90shaped woody plants increased total groundstorey biomass and hydrological function but reduced total groundstorey diversity. Environmental context (e.g., aridity and soil texture) indirectly controlled the effect of removal on biomass and biodiversity by influencing plant traits such as plant shape, allelopathic, or roots types. Our study demonstrates that a one\uffe2\uff80\uff90size\uffe2\uff80\uff90fits\uffe2\uff80\uff90all approach to woody plant removal is not appropriate, and that consideration of woody plant identity, removal method, and environmental context is critical for optimizing removal outcomes. Applying this knowledge is fundamental for maintaining diverse and functional rangeland ecosystems as we move toward a drier and more variable climate.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "Rangeland management", "Biodiversity", "Plants", "15. Life on land", "Poaceae", "Wood", "01 natural sciences", "Encroachment", "", "Removal method", "raits", "Woody plant traits", "Shrub removal", "13. Climate action", "XXXXXX - Unknown", "Meta\u2010analysis", "Animals", "Thickening", "Biomass", "Global synthesis", "Ecosystem"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14839"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/gcb.14839", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/gcb.14839", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/gcb.14839"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-10-06T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/jvs.12317", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-21T16:17:52Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2015-06-24", "title": "Large Herbivores Change The Direction Of Interactions Within Plant Communities Along A Salt Marsh Stress Gradient", "description": "AbstractQuestionHow multiple abiotic stress factors combined with herbivory affect interactions within plant communities is poorly understood. We ask how large herbivore grazing affects the direction of plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93plant interactions along an environmental gradient in a salt marsh.
LocationGrazed (cattle) and ungrazed salt marshes of the Dutch Wadden Sea island Schiermonnikoog. Here, patches of tall plant communities, dominated by the tough, unpalatable species Juncus maritimus Lam., are found alternating with low\uffe2\uff80\uff90statured, intensively grazed plant communities.
MethodsAlong the inundation gradient, we measured plant species composition and plant species traits (specific leaf area, specific root length, maximum height and abundance) inside and outside J.\uffc2\uffa0maritimus patches in grazed and ungrazed areas. In addition, we measured soil structure parameters (bulk density, soil porosity, clay depth), multiple limiting conditions for plant growth (soil salinity, soil redox, plant canopy light interception), plant biomass, presence of herbivores and abundance of soil macro\uffe2\uff80\uff90detritivores.
ResultsUnder grazing, the palatable grasses Elytrigia atherica (Link) Kergu\uffc3\uffa9len and Festuca rubra L. were positively associated with J.\uffc2\uffa0maritimus, while shade\uffe2\uff80\uff90intolerant Puccinellia maritima (Huds.) Parl. and Juncus gerardii\uffc2\uffa0 Loisel. were negatively associated with this species. Furthermore, macro\uffe2\uff80\uff90detritivore presence was higher inside J.\uffc2\uffa0maritimus patches. In ungrazed areas E.\uffc2\uffa0atherica and F.\uffc2\uffa0rubra were negatively associated with J.\uffc2\uffa0maritimus, while P.\uffc2\uffa0maritima and J.\uffc2\uffa0gerardii were rare. In both grazed and ungrazed conditions the directions of species associations were independent of the inundation gradient. Analysis of species traits and abiotic conditions suggested that associational resistance (a facilitation type) was important in grazed areas. In ungrazed areas, light competition was the likely dominant process.
ConclusionsThe direction of species associations within these salt marsh communities was strongly affected by grazing, not by the underlying stress gradient. Measurement of species traits indicated that plant\uffe2\uff80\uff93plant interactions shifted from competitive to facilitative under grazing. Besides grazing, cross\uffe2\uff80\uff90trophic facilitation of soil disturbing macro\uffe2\uff80\uff90detritivores may play an important \uffe2\uff80\uff93 thus far ignored \uffe2\uff80\uff93 role in structuring plant communities.
", "keywords": ["Plant traits", "2. Zero hunger", "0106 biological sciences", "Salt marsh", "Macro-detritivores", "SUCCESSION", "Stress gradient hypothesis", "PREDICTIONS", "COMPETITION", "HALOPHYTES", "15. Life on land", "ALKALI GRASSLANDS", "FACILITATION", "01 natural sciences", "POSITIVE SPECIES INTERACTIONS", "Grazing", "Plant-plant interactions", "FUNCTIONAL TRAITS", "Trampling", "Orchestia gammarellus Pallas. 1766", "BIOTURBATION", "Facilitation", "Juncus maritimus Lam.", "VEGETATION", "Multiple stressors"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12317"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Vegetation%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/jvs.12317", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/jvs.12317", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/jvs.12317"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2015-06-24T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqmv", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-09-21T16:19:51Z", "type": "Dataset", "created": "2023-12-04", "title": "Effects of plant traits and ecosystem properties on wave attenuation and soil carbon content", "description": "unspecifiedMicrosoft Excel", "keywords": ["soil organic carbon", "Tidal marshes", "13. Climate action", "plant traits", "FOS: Biological sciences", "ecosystem properties", "estuarine vegetation", "15. Life on land", "ecosystem services", "wave attenuation"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Schulte Ostermann, Tilla, Heuner, Maike, Fuchs, Elmar, Temmerman, Stijn, Schoutens, Ken, Bouma, Tjeerd J., Minden, Vanessa,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqmv"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqmv", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqmv", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqmv"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2023-06-02T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.2139/ssrn.4210928", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-21T16:19:02Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2022-09-07", "title": "Field Evaluation of Selected Autochthonous Herbaceous Species for Cover Crops in Mediterranean Woody Crops", "description": "Open AccessPeer reviewed", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Phenology", "Ground cover", "Aerial biomass", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "Key plant traits", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "Fine root", "15. Life on land", "Cover crop mixtures", "01 natural sciences"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Soriano, Mar\u00eda-Auxiliadora, Cabezas, Jos\u00e9 Manuel, G\u00f3mez, Jos\u00e9 Alfonso,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4210928"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/SSRN%20Electronic%20Journal", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.2139/ssrn.4210928", "name": "item", "description": "10.2139/ssrn.4210928", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.2139/ssrn.4210928"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2022-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.n3s2m", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "unspecified", "updated": "2026-09-21T16:19:50Z", "type": "Dataset", "created": "2025-10-02", "title": "Data from: Urban trees reduce nutrient leaching to groundwater", "description": "unspecifiedMany urban waterways suffer from excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) feeding algal blooms, which cause lower water clarity and oxygen levels, bad odor and taste, and the loss of desirable species. Nutrient movement from land to water is likely to be influenced by urban vegetation, but there are few empirical studies addressing this. In this study, we examined whether or not urban trees can reduce nutrient leaching to groundwater, an important nutrient export pathway that has received less attention than stormwater. We characterized leaching beneath thirty-three trees of fourteen species, and seven open turfgrass areas, across three city parks in Saint Paul, Minnesota. We installed lysimeters at 60 cm depth to collect soil water approximately biweekly from July 2011 through October 2013, except during winter and drought periods, measured dissolved organic carbon (C), N, and P in soil water, and modeled water fluxes using the BROOK90 hydrologic model. We also measured soil nutrient pools (bulk C and N, KCl-extractable inorganic N, Brays-P), tree tissue nutrient concentrations (C, N, and P of green leaves, leaf litter, and roots), and canopy size parameters (leaf biomass, leaf area index) to explore correlations with nutrient leaching. Trees had similar or lower N leaching than turfgrass in 2012 but higher N leaching in 2013; trees reduced P leaching compared with turfgrass in both 2012 and 2013, with lower leaching under deciduous than evergreen trees. Scaling up our measurements to an urban subwatershed of the Mississippi River (~17,400 ha, containing roughly 1.5 million trees), we estimated that trees reduced P leaching to groundwater by 533 kg in 2012 (0.031 kg/ha or 3.1 kg/km2) and 1201 kg in 2013 (0.069 kg/ha or 6.9 kg/km2). Removing these same amounts of P using stormwater infrastructure would cost $2.2 million and $5.0 million per year (2012 and 2013 removal amounts, respectively).", "keywords": ["13. Climate action", "nutrient pollution", "plant traits", "11. Sustainability", "Anthropocene", "groundwater", "nutrient leaching", "Phosphorus", "15. Life on land", "urban trees", "Urban ecosystems", "6. Clean water"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Nidzgorski, Daniel A., Hobbie, Sarah E.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n3s2m"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.n3s2m", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.n3s2m", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.n3s2m"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-04-05T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.s7867", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Open Access", "updated": "2026-09-21T16:19:52Z", "type": "Dataset", "title": "Data from: Simple measures of climate, soil properties and plant traits predict national scale grassland soil carbon stocks", "description": "Open Access1. Soil carbon (C) storage is a key ecosystem service. Soil C stocks play a vital role in soil fertility and climate regulation, but the factors that control these stocks at regional and national scales are unknown, particularly when their composition and stability are considered. As a result, their mapping relies on either unreliable proxy measures or laborious direct measurements. 2. Using data from an extensive national survey of English grasslands, we show that surface soil (0\u20137 cm) C stocks in size fractions of varying stability can be predicted at both regional and national scales from plant traits and simple measures of soil and climatic conditions. 3. Soil C stocks in the largest pool, of intermediate particle size (50\u2013250 \u03bcm), were best explained by mean annual temperature (MAT), soil pH and soil moisture content. The second largest C pool, highly stable physically and biochemically protected particles (0\u00b745\u201350 \u03bcm), was explained by soil pH and the community abundance-weighted mean (CWM) leaf nitrogen (N) content, with the highest soil C stocks under N-rich vegetation. The C stock in the small active fraction (250\u20134000 \u03bcm) was explained by a wide range of variables: MAT, mean annual precipitation, mean growing season length, soil pH and CWM specific leaf area; stocks were higher under vegetation with thick and/or dense leaves. 4. Testing the models describing these fractions against data from an independent English region indicated moderately strong correlation between predicted and actual values and no systematic bias, with the exception of the active fraction, for which predictions were inaccurate. 5. Synthesis and applications. Validation indicates that readily available climate, soils and plant survey data can be effective in making local- to landscape-scale (1\u2013100 000 km2) soil C stock predictions. Such predictions are a crucial component of effective management strategies to protect C stocks and enhance soil C sequestration.", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "particle size fractions", "plant traits", "soil organic matter", "15. Life on land", "Community weighted mean", "Soil carbon"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Manning, Peter, de Vries, Franciska T., Tallowin, Jerry R. B., Smith, Roger, Mortimer, Simon R., Pilgrim, Emma S., Harrison, Kate A., Wright, Daniel G., Quirk, Helen, Benson, Joseph, Shipley, Bill, Cornelissen, Johannes H. C., Kattge, Jens, B\u00f6nisch, Gerhard, Wirth, Christian, Bardgett, Richard D.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.s7867"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.s7867", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.s7867", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.s7867"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2016-06-11T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "1959.7/uws:64180", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"license": "Closed Access", "updated": "2026-09-21T16:22:30Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-09-13", "title": "Multiple trade\u2010offs regulate the effects of woody plant removal on biodiversity and ecosystem functions in global rangelands", "description": "AbstractWoody plant encroachment is a major land management issue. Woody removal often aims to restore the original grassy ecosystem, but few studies have assessed the role of woody removal on ecosystem functions and biodiversity at global scales. We collected data from 140 global studies and evaluated how different woody plant removal methods affected biodiversity (plant and animal diversity) and ecosystem functions (plant production, hydrological function, soil carbon) across global rangelands. Our results indicate that the impact of removal is strongly context dependent, varying with the specific response variable, removal method, and traits of the target species. Over all treatments, woody plant removal increased grass biomass and total groundstorey diversity. Physical and chemical removal methods increased grass biomass and total groundstorey biomass (i.e., non\uffe2\uff80\uff90woody plants, including grass biomass), but burning reduced animal diversity. The impact of different treatment methods declined with time since removal, particularly for total groundstorey biomass. Removing pyramid\uffe2\uff80\uff90shaped woody plants increased total groundstorey biomass and hydrological function but reduced total groundstorey diversity. Environmental context (e.g., aridity and soil texture) indirectly controlled the effect of removal on biomass and biodiversity by influencing plant traits such as plant shape, allelopathic, or roots types. Our study demonstrates that a one\uffe2\uff80\uff90size\uffe2\uff80\uff90fits\uffe2\uff80\uff90all approach to woody plant removal is not appropriate, and that consideration of woody plant identity, removal method, and environmental context is critical for optimizing removal outcomes. Applying this knowledge is fundamental for maintaining diverse and functional rangeland ecosystems as we move toward a drier and more variable climate.
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as floods, requires management strategies that promote resilience of grassland productivity. Mixtures of plant species may better resist and recover from flooding than monocultures, as they could combine species with stress\uffe2\uff80\uff90coping and resource acquisition traits. This has not yet been tested in intensively managed grasslands despite its relevance for enhancing agroecosystem resilience.
Using intact soil cores from an 18\uffe2\uff80\uff90month\uffe2\uff80\uff90old field experiment, we tested how 11 plant communities (Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne, Poa trivialis and Trifolium repens in monoculture, two\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and four\uffe2\uff80\uff90species mixtures) resist and recover from repeated flooding in a 4\uffe2\uff80\uff90month greenhouse experiment.
We found that plant community composition, not whether the community was a mixture or monoculture, influenced the community's resistance to flooding, although most communities were able to resist and recover from both floods.
The plant community's position on the leaf economic spectrum in flooded conditions was related to its resistance to and recovery from flooding. Resistance to and recovery from a severe flood were related to flood\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced intraspecific trait variation, causing a shift in the community's position on the leaf resource economic spectrum. In flooded conditions, resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90conservative communities (characterized by low specific leaf area, low leaf nitrogen content and high leaf dry matter content) better resisted and recovered from flooding. The community's position on the root resource economic spectrum was less connected to the community's resistance and recovery.
Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that in flooded conditions, resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90conservative plant communities are more resilient to flooding than resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90acquisitive communities in an intensively managed grassland. This suggests that plant community position on the leaf economic spectrum, as well as species\uffe2\uff80\uff99 flood\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced intraspecific variation, should be considered when designing grasslands to withstand increasing flood frequency and severity.
Plant species exert a dominant control over the nitrogen (N) cycle of natural and managed grasslands. Although in intensively managed systems that receive large external N inputs the emission of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) is a crucial component of this cycle, a mechanistic relationship between plant species and N2O emissions has not yet been established. Here we use a plant functional trait approach to study the relation between plant species strategies and N2O emissions from soils. Compared to species with conservative strategies, species with acquisitive strategies have higher N uptake when there is ample N in the soil, but also trigger N mineralization when soil N is limiting. Therefore, we hypothesized that (1) compared to conservative species, species with acquisitive traits reduce N2O emissions after a high N addition; and (2) species with conservative traits have lower N2O emissions than acquisitive plants if there is no high N addition. This was tested in a greenhouse experiment using monocultures of six grass species with differing above\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and below\uffe2\uff80\uff90ground traits, growing across a gradient of soil N availability. We found that acquisitive species reduced N2O emissions at all levels of N availability, produced higher biomass and showed larger N uptake. As such, acquisitive species had 87% lower N2O emissions per unit of N uptake than conservative species (p\uffc2\uffa0<\uffc2\uffa0.05). Structural equation\uffc2\uffa0modelling revealed that specific leaf area and root length density were key traits regulating the effects of plants on N2O emission and biomass productivity. These results provide the first framework to understand the mechanisms through which plants modulate N2O emissions, pointing the way to develop productive grasslands that contribute optimally to climate change mitigation.Plant species exert a dominant control over the nitrogen (N) cycle of natural and managed grasslands. Although in intensively managed systems that receive large external N inputs the emission of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) is a crucial component of this cycle, a mechanistic relationship between plant species and N2O emissions has not yet been established. Here we use a plant functional trait approach to study the relation between plant species strategies and N2O emissions from soils. Compared to species with conservative strategies, species with acquisitive strategies have higher N uptake when there is ample N in the soil, but also trigger N mineralization when soil N is limiting. Therefore, we hypothesized that (1) compared to conservative species, species with acquisitive traits reduce N2O emissions after a high N addition; and (2) species with conservative traits have lower N2O emissions than acquisitive plants if there is no high N addition. This was tested in a greenhouse experiment using monocultures of six grass species with differing above\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and below\uffe2\uff80\uff90ground traits, growing across a gradient of soil N availability. We found that acquisitive species reduced N2O emissions at all levels of N availability, produced higher biomass and showed larger N uptake. As such, acquisitive species had 87% lower N2O emissions per unit of N uptake than conservative species (p\uffc2\uffa0<\uffc2\uffa0.05). Structural equation\uffc2\uffa0modelling revealed that specific leaf area and root length density were key traits regulating the effects of plants on N2O emission and biomass productivity. These results provide the first framework to understand the mechanisms through which plants modulate N2O emissions, pointing the way to develop productive grasslands that contribute optimally to climate change mitigation.Intensive agriculture is dominated by monocultures of high\uffe2\uff80\uff90yielding plants that receive large applications of nitrogen (N) fertilizers to boost plant productivity. However, these systems have low N use efficiency (NUE) as fertilized plants generally take up less than half of the N applied. A large fraction of the remainder N is susceptible to be lost from the agroecosystem generating a cascade of environmental and socio\uffe2\uff80\uff90economic problems. Climate change and projected global increases in fertilizer use pose further risks to N losses and yield stability.
We review and translate concepts from ecology in natural systems to demonstrate that NUE in intensive agroecosystems can be strongly increased by fine\uffe2\uff80\uff90tuning the traits of the plant communities to the levels of N fertilization intensity.
We present key plant traits of importance for N\uffe2\uff80\uff90cycling (architectural, morphological and physiological traits, as well as symbiotic associations and exudation patterns); discuss ecological (with soil fauna and N\uffe2\uff80\uff90cycling microbial communities) and agronomic interactions of this approach; propose interdisciplinary methodologies for future research ranging from pot to global scales; and highlight possible solutions leading to an optimal balance between N fertilizer use and productivity.
Synthesis and applications. By showing the strong links between plant traits and nitrogen (N) cycling, our work opens possibilities to test ecologically informed hypotheses across gradients of soil fertility and N fertilizer management intensity, setting a research agenda for the coming years. Accordingly, the choice of plant species based on their functional traits will play a central role for the development of modern and productive agroecosystems that retain and use N more efficiently.
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as floods, requires management strategies that promote resilience of grassland productivity. Mixtures of plant species may better resist and recover from flooding than monocultures, as they could combine species with stress\uffe2\uff80\uff90coping and resource acquisition traits. This has not yet been tested in intensively managed grasslands despite its relevance for enhancing agroecosystem resilience.
Using intact soil cores from an 18\uffe2\uff80\uff90month\uffe2\uff80\uff90old field experiment, we tested how 11 plant communities (Festuca arundinacea, Lolium perenne, Poa trivialis and Trifolium repens in monoculture, two\uffe2\uff80\uff90 and four\uffe2\uff80\uff90species mixtures) resist and recover from repeated flooding in a 4\uffe2\uff80\uff90month greenhouse experiment.
We found that plant community composition, not whether the community was a mixture or monoculture, influenced the community's resistance to flooding, although most communities were able to resist and recover from both floods.
The plant community's position on the leaf economic spectrum in flooded conditions was related to its resistance to and recovery from flooding. Resistance to and recovery from a severe flood were related to flood\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced intraspecific trait variation, causing a shift in the community's position on the leaf resource economic spectrum. In flooded conditions, resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90conservative communities (characterized by low specific leaf area, low leaf nitrogen content and high leaf dry matter content) better resisted and recovered from flooding. The community's position on the root resource economic spectrum was less connected to the community's resistance and recovery.
Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that in flooded conditions, resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90conservative plant communities are more resilient to flooding than resource\uffe2\uff80\uff90acquisitive communities in an intensively managed grassland. This suggests that plant community position on the leaf economic spectrum, as well as species\uffe2\uff80\uff99 flood\uffe2\uff80\uff90induced intraspecific variation, should be considered when designing grasslands to withstand increasing flood frequency and severity.