Interactions Among Nutrients Govern the Global Grassland Biomass–Precipitation Relationship

Authors

• Philip A. Fay, United States Department of Agriculture
• Laureano A. Gherardi, University of California
• Laura Yahdjian, Universidad de Buenos Aires
• Peter B. Adler, Utah State University
• Jonathan D. Bakker, University of Washington
• Siddharth Bharath, University of Minnesota
• Elizabeth T. Borer, University of Minnesota
• W. Stanley Harpole, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
• Erika Hersch-Green, Michigan Technological University
• Travis E. Huxman, University of California
• Andrew S. MacDougall, University of Guelph
• Anita C. Risch, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest
• Eric W. Seabloom, University of Minnesota
• Sumanta Bagchi, Indian Institute of Science
• Isabel C. Barrio, Agricultural University of Iceland
• Lori Biederman, Iowa State University
• Yvonne M. Buckley, Trinity College Dublin
• Miguel N. Bugalho, University of Lisbon
• Maria C. Caldeira, University of Lisbon
• Jane A. Catford, Australian National University
• QingQing Chen, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
• Elsa E. Cleland, University of California San Diego
• Scott L. Collins, University of New Mexico
• Pedro Daleo, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
• Chris R. Dickman, The University of Sydney
• Ian Donohue, Trinity College Dublin
• Mary Ellyn DuPre, MPG Ranch
• Nico Eisenhauer, Leipzig University
• Anu Eskelinen, University of Oulu
• Nicole Hagenah, University of Pretoria
• Yann Hautier, Utrecht University
• Robert W. Heckman, University of North Carolina
• Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir, University of Iceland
• Johannes M. H. Knops, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
• Ramesh Laungani, Marist College
• Jason P. Martina, Texas State University
• Rebecca L. McCulley, University of Kentucky
• John W. Morgan, La Trobe University
• Harry Olde Venterink, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
• Pablo L. Peri, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral-Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
• Sally A. Power, Western Sydney University
• Xavier Raynaud, Sorbonne Université
• Zhengwei Ren, Lanzhou University
• Christiane Roscher, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research
• Melinda D. Smith, Colorado State University
• Marie Spohn, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
• Carly J. Stevens, Lancaster University
• Michelle Tedder, University of KwaZulu-Natal
• Risto Virtanen, University of Oulu
• Glenda M. Wardle, The University of Sydney
• George R. Wheeler, Michigan Technological University

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Author ORCID Identifier

Philip A. Fay https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8291-6316

Laura Yahdjian https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9635-1221

Peter B. Adler https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4216-4009

Jonathan D. Bakker https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8973-2771

Elizabeth T. Borer https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2259-5853

W. Stanley Harpole https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3404-9174

Erika I. Hersch-Green https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3887-0768

Travis E. Huxman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0801-3442

Eric W. Seabloom https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6780-9259

Sumanta Bagchi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4841-6748

Isabel C. Barrio https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8120-5248

Yvonne M. Buckley https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7599-3201

Miguel N. Bugalho https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7081-657X

Maria C. Caldeira https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3586-8526

Jane A. Catford https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0582-5960

Qingqing Chen https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1957-3848

Scott L. Collins https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0193-2892

Pedro Daleo https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9759-1203

Chris R. Dickman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1067-3730

Ian Donohue https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4698-6448

Mary Ellyn DuPre https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1567-2681

Nico Eisenhauer https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0371-6720

Anu Eskelinen https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1707-5263

Yann Hautier https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4347-7741

Robert W. Heckman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2281-3091

Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3804-7077

Jason P. Martina https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3912-4911

Harry Olde Venterink https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8963-1153

Pablo L. Peri https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5398-4408

Xavier Raynaud https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9065-2867

Zhengwei Ren https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4911-0716

Christiane Roscher https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9301-7909

Melinda D. Smith https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4920-6985

Marie Spohn https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1010-7317

Michelle Tedder https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8021-0929

Glenda M. Wardle https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0189-1899

George R. Wheeler https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3975-9826

Volume

122

Issue

15

Publisher

National Academy of Sciences

Publication Date

4-11-2025

Journal Article Version

Version of Record

First Page

1

Last Page

9

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

Ecosystems are experiencing changing global patterns of mean annual precipitation (MAP) and enrichment with multiple nutrients that potentially colimit plant biomass production. In grasslands, mean aboveground plant biomass is closely related to MAP, but how this relationship changes after enrichment with multiple nutrients remains unclear. We hypothesized the global biomass–MAP relationship becomes steeper with an increasing number of added nutrients, with increases in steepness corresponding to the form of interaction among added nutrients and with increased mediation by changes in plant community diversity. We measured aboveground plant biomass production and species diversity in 71 grasslands on six continents representing the global span of grassland MAP, diversity, management, and soils. We fertilized all sites with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium with micronutrients in all combinations to identify which nutrients limited biomass at each site. As hypothesized, fertilizing with one, two, or three nutrients progressively steepened the global biomass–MAP relationship. The magnitude of the increase in steepness corresponded to whether sites were not limited by nitrogen or phosphorus, were limited by either one, or were colimited by both in additive, or synergistic forms. Unexpectedly, we found only weak evidence for mediation of biomass–MAP relationships by plant community diversity because relationships of species richness, evenness, and beta diversity to MAP and to biomass were weak or opposing. Site-level properties including baseline biomass production, soils, and management explained little variation in biomass–MAP relationships. These findings reveal multiple nutrient colimitation as a defining feature of the global grassland biomass–MAP relationship.

Recommended Citation

P.A. Fay, L.A. Gherardi, L. Yahdjian, P.B. Adler, J.D. Bakker, S. Bharath, E.T. Borer, W.S. Harpole, E. Hersch-Green, T.E. Huxman, A.S. MacDougall, A.C. Risch, E.W. Seabloom, S. Bagchi, I.C. Barrio, L. Biederman, Y.M. Buckley, M.N. Bugalho, M.C. Caldeira, J.A. Catford, Q. Chen, E.E. Cleland, S.L. Collins, P. Daleo, C.R. Dickman, I. Donohue, M.E. DuPre, N. Eisenhauer, A. Eskelinen, N. Hagenah, Y. Hautier, R.W. Heckman, I.S. Jónsdóttir, J.M.H. Knops, R. Laungani, J.P. Martina, R.L. McCulley, J.W. Morgan, H. Olde Venterink, P.L. Peri, S.A. Power, X. Raynaud, Z. Ren, C. Roscher, M.D. Smith, M. Spohn, C.J. Stevens, M.J. Tedder, R. Virtanen, G.M. Wardle, & G.R. Wheeler, Interactions among nutrients govern the global grassland biomass–precipitation relationship, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (15) e2410748122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2410748122 (2025).