Divergent plant and nematode community responses to long-term nitrogen enrichment in a meadow steppe

TY - JOUR

T1 - Divergent plant and nematode community responses to long-term nitrogen enrichment in a meadow steppe

AU - Ruofei, L.

AU - Han, Xingguo

AU - Ochoa-Hueso, Raúl

AU - Su, Jishuai

AU - Su, Jiao

AU - Wang, Jing

AU - Yu, Lingfei

AU - Xiao-Tao, L.

AU - Yang, Guojiao

AU - Jiang, Liangchao

AU - Zhang, Haiyang

AU - Wei, Cunzheng

N1 - Data archiving: no NIOO data

PY - 2026/2/17

Y1 - 2026/2/17

N2 - Increased nitrogen (N) deposition due to industrial and agricultural activities poses a significant threat to global biodiversity, disrupting ecosystem functions and services. Above- and belowground communities are closely interdependent and both respond to N enrichment, yet they are frequently studied separately. Whether the biodiversity of these communities responds similarly or synchronously to N inputs remains underexplored. Using a decade-long N addition experiment in a meadow steppe ecosystem, we explored the effects of a gradient of N addition levels (from 0 to 50 g N m−2 year−1) on the diversity of aboveground plants and belowground nematodes at second, sixth, and tenth years after the initiation of the experiment. Our findings revealed asynchronous responses of above- and belowground biodiversity. Plant diversity showed a progressive, time-dependent decline that intensified with both increasing N concentrations and experimental duration. In contrast, nematode diversity exhibited a threshold response: an initial decline at low N levels (<10 g N m−2 year−1) followed by stabilization across higher N concentrations, with no significant temporal intensification of this pattern over the course of the decade-long study. Plant richness declined primarily due to rapid species loss, especially among forbs, with little compensatory gain. In contrast, nematode diversity exhibited a more balanced response, driven by species replacements in which gains offset losses. Bacterivores and omnivores-predators were the most negatively affected nematode groups. This study advances our understanding of ecological responses to nitrogen enrichment by revealing the contrasting long-term dynamics of above- and belowground communities in a meadow steppe ecosystem. While plant diversity deteriorates with increased N input, nematode diversity shows signs of resilience via compensatory turnover, highlighting the potential for belowground biota to buffer ecosystem-level biodiversity loss under chronic N deposition. Our findings underscore the critical need to consider both plant and soil biota simultaneously when assessing the impacts of N deposition on biodiversity.

AB - Increased nitrogen (N) deposition due to industrial and agricultural activities poses a significant threat to global biodiversity, disrupting ecosystem functions and services. Above- and belowground communities are closely interdependent and both respond to N enrichment, yet they are frequently studied separately. Whether the biodiversity of these communities responds similarly or synchronously to N inputs remains underexplored. Using a decade-long N addition experiment in a meadow steppe ecosystem, we explored the effects of a gradient of N addition levels (from 0 to 50 g N m−2 year−1) on the diversity of aboveground plants and belowground nematodes at second, sixth, and tenth years after the initiation of the experiment. Our findings revealed asynchronous responses of above- and belowground biodiversity. Plant diversity showed a progressive, time-dependent decline that intensified with both increasing N concentrations and experimental duration. In contrast, nematode diversity exhibited a threshold response: an initial decline at low N levels (<10 g N m−2 year−1) followed by stabilization across higher N concentrations, with no significant temporal intensification of this pattern over the course of the decade-long study. Plant richness declined primarily due to rapid species loss, especially among forbs, with little compensatory gain. In contrast, nematode diversity exhibited a more balanced response, driven by species replacements in which gains offset losses. Bacterivores and omnivores-predators were the most negatively affected nematode groups. This study advances our understanding of ecological responses to nitrogen enrichment by revealing the contrasting long-term dynamics of above- and belowground communities in a meadow steppe ecosystem. While plant diversity deteriorates with increased N input, nematode diversity shows signs of resilience via compensatory turnover, highlighting the potential for belowground biota to buffer ecosystem-level biodiversity loss under chronic N deposition. Our findings underscore the critical need to consider both plant and soil biota simultaneously when assessing the impacts of N deposition on biodiversity.

U2 - 10.1002/eap.70173

DO - 10.1002/eap.70173

M3 - Article

C2 - 41700415

AN - SCOPUS:105030244646

SN - 1051-0761

VL - 36

JO - Ecological Applications

JF - Ecological Applications

IS - 1

M1 - e70173

ER -