Widening global variability in grassland biomass since the 1980s

Andrew S MacDougall; Ellen Esch; Qingqing Chen; Oliver Carroll; Colin Bonner; Timothy Ohlert; Matthias Siewert; John Sulik; Anna Schweiger; Elizabeth T Borer; Dilip Naidu; Sumanta Bagchi; Yann Hautier; Peter Wilfahrt; Keith Larson; Johan Olofsson; Elsa Cleland; Ranjan Muthukrishnan; Lydia O'Halloran; Juan Alberti; T Michael Anderson; Carlos A Arnillas; Jonathan D Bakker; Isabel C Barrio; Lori Biederman; Elizabeth H Boughton; Lars A Brudvig; Martin Bruschetti; Yvonne Buckley; Miguel N Bugalho; Marc W Cadotte; Maria C Caldeira; Jane A Catford; Carla D'Antonio; Kendi Davies; Pedro Daleo; Christopher R Dickman; Ian Donohue; Mary Ellyn DuPre; Kenneth Elgersma; Nico Eisenhauer; Anu Eskelinen; Catalina Estrada; Philip A Fay; Yanhao Feng; Daniel S Gruner; Nicole Hagenah; Sylvia Haider; W Stanley Harpole; Erika Hersch-Green; Anke Jentsch; Kevin Kirkman; Johannes M H Knops; Lauri Laanisto; Lucíola S Lannes; Ramesh Laungani; Ariuntsetseg Lkhagva; Petr Macek; Jason P Martina; Rebecca L McCulley; Brett Melbourne; Rachel Mitchell; Joslin L Moore; John W Morgan; Taofeek O Muraina; Yujie Niu; Meelis Pärtel; Pablo L Peri; Sally A Power; Jodi N Price; Suzanne M Prober; Zhengwei Ren; Anita C Risch; Nicholas G Smith; Grégory Sonnier; Rachel J Standish; Carly J Stevens; Michelle Tedder; Pedro Tognetti; G F Ciska Veen; Risto Virtanen; Glenda M Wardle; Elizabeth Waring; Amelia A Wolf; Laura Yahdjian; Eric W Seabloom

doi:10.1038/s41559-024-02500-x

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Widening global variability in grassland biomass since the 1980s

Journal article

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Widening global variability in grassland biomass since the 1980s

Andrew S MacDougall, Ellen Esch, Qingqing Chen, Oliver Carroll, Colin Bonner, Timothy Ohlert, Matthias Siewert, John Sulik, Anna Schweiger, Elizabeth T Borer, …

Nature ecology & evolution, Ahead-of-Print

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02500-x

PMID: 39103674

Abstract

Global change is associated with variable shifts in the annual production of aboveground plant biomass, suggesting localized sensitivities with unclear causal origins. Combining remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index data since the 1980s with contemporary field data from 84 grasslands on 6 continents, we show a widening divergence in site-level biomass ranging from +51% to −34% globally. Biomass generally increased in warmer, wetter and species-rich sites with longer growing seasons and declined in species-poor arid areas. Phenological changes were widespread, revealing substantive transitions in grassland seasonal cycling. Grazing, nitrogen deposition and plant invasion were prevalent in some regions but did not predict overall trends. Grasslands are undergoing sizable changes in production, with implications for food security, biodiversity and carbon storage especially in arid regions where declines are accelerating.

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Title: Widening global variability in grassland biomass since the 1980s
Authors/Creators: Andrew S MacDougall - University of Guelph
Ellen Esch - University of Guelph
Qingqing Chen - Peking University
Oliver Carroll - University of Guelph
Colin Bonner - University of Guelph
Timothy Ohlert - University of New Mexico
Matthias Siewert - Umeå University
John Sulik - University of Guelph
Anna Schweiger - Montana State University
Elizabeth T Borer - University of Minnesota
Dilip Naidu
Sumanta Bagchi - Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
Yann Hautier - Utrecht University
Peter Wilfahrt
Keith Larson - Umeå University
Johan Olofsson - Umeå University
Elsa Cleland - University of California San Diego
Ranjan Muthukrishnan - Boston University
Lydia O'Halloran - Clemson University
Juan Alberti - National University of Mar del Plata
T Michael Anderson - Wake Forest University
Carlos A Arnillas - The Scarborough Hospital
Jonathan D Bakker - University of Washington
Isabel C Barrio - Agricultural University of Iceland
Lori Biederman - Iowa State University
Elizabeth H Boughton - Archbold Biological Station
Lars A Brudvig - Michigan State University
Martin Bruschetti
Yvonne Buckley - Trinity College Dublin
Miguel N Bugalho - University of Lisbon
Marc W Cadotte - University of Toronto
Maria C Caldeira - University of Lisbon
Jane A Catford - King's College London
Carla D'Antonio
Kendi Davies - University of Colorado Boulder
Pedro Daleo - National University of Mar del Plata
Christopher R Dickman
Ian Donohue - Trinity College Dublin
Mary Ellyn DuPre
Kenneth Elgersma - University of Northern Iowa
Nico Eisenhauer - Leipzig University
Anu Eskelinen - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Catalina Estrada - Imperial College London
Philip A Fay - Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory
Yanhao Feng - Lanzhou University
Daniel S Gruner - University of Maryland, College Park
Nicole Hagenah - University of Pretoria
Sylvia Haider - Leuphana University of Lüneburg
W Stanley Harpole - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Erika Hersch-Green
Anke Jentsch - University of Bayreuth
Kevin Kirkman - University of KwaZulu-Natal
Johannes M H Knops - Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
Lauri Laanisto - Estonian University of Life Sciences
Lucíola S Lannes - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Ramesh Laungani - Marist College
Ariuntsetseg Lkhagva - National University of Mongolia
Petr Macek - Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Jason P Martina - Texas State University
Rebecca L McCulley - University of Kentucky
Brett Melbourne - University of Colorado Boulder
Rachel Mitchell - Northern Arizona University
Joslin L Moore - Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research
John W Morgan - La Trobe University
Taofeek O Muraina - Texas State University
Yujie Niu - Michigan Technological University
Meelis Pärtel - University of Tartu
Pablo L Peri - National University of Austral Patagonia
Sally A Power - Western Sydney University
Jodi N Price - Charles Sturt University
Suzanne M Prober - CSIRO Scientific Computing
Zhengwei Ren - Lanzhou University
Anita C Risch - Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Nicholas G Smith - Texas Tech University
Grégory Sonnier - Archbold Biological Station
Rachel J Standish - Murdoch University
Carly J Stevens - Lancaster University
Michelle Tedder - University of Bayreuth
Pedro Tognetti - Universidad de Buenos Aires
G F Ciska Veen - Netherlands Institute of Ecology
Risto Virtanen - University of Oulu
Glenda M Wardle - The University of Sydney
Elizabeth Waring - Northeastern State University
Amelia A Wolf - The University of Texas at Austin
Laura Yahdjian - Agricultural Plant Physiology and Ecology Research Institute
Eric W Seabloom - University of Minnesota
Publication Details: Nature ecology & evolution, Ahead-of-Print
Publisher: Springer Nature
Identifiers: 991005693472507891
Copyright: © 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
Murdoch Affiliation: Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.40 Forestry; 3.40.838 Rangeland Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas: Ecology; Evolutionary Biology
ESI research areas: Environment/Ecology

Widening global variability in grassland biomass since the 1980s

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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