Plant diversity modifies multi-trophic interactions in croplands, grasslands and forests

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plant diversity modifies multi-trophic interactions in croplands, grasslands and forests

AU - Wan, Nian Feng

AU - Li, Muyao

AU - Shen, Siyuan

AU - Zhou, Jun Xiang

AU - Zhu, Yu-Tong

AU - Woodcock, Ben A.

AU - Hu, Yue Qing

AU - Nakagawa, Shinichi

AU - Tilman, David

AU - Hector, Andy

AU - Loreau, Michel

AU - Reich, Peter B.

AU - Dainese, Matteo

AU - Isbell, Forest

AU - Schmid, Bernhard

AU - Wyckhuys, Kris A.G.

AU - Gurr, Geoff M.

AU - Wan, Linsheng

AU - Eisenhauer, Nico

AU - Hautier, Yann

AU - Eskelinen, Anu

AU - Bardgett, Richard D.

AU - Kardol, Paul

AU - Fraser, Lauchlan H.

AU - Su, Qi

AU - Qiu, Shiyun

AU - Aartsma, Yavanna

AU - Albajes, Ramon

AU - Albrecht, Matthias

AU - Ali, Md Panna

AU - Alvarez, Hugo Alejandro

AU - Anagonou, Corinne

AU - Axmacher, Jan Christoph

AU - Bahauddin, Dan

AU - Bai, Yongfei

AU - Bakker, Elisabeth S.

AU - Batáry, Péter

AU - Bianchi, Felix J.J.A.

AU - Boetzl, Fabian A.

AU - Brandmeier, Jana

AU - Bruelheide, Helge

AU - Butcher, Buntika Areekul

AU - Butt, Abida

AU - Cai, Zhiping

AU - Campbell, Alistair John

AU - Cao, Fengqin

AU - Cesarz, Simone

AU - Chamorro-Lorenzo, Lourdes

AU - Chen, Fajun

AU - Chen, Jing Ting

AU - Chen, Julian

AU - Chen, Li Lin

AU - Chen, Yiying

AU - Clemente-Orta, Gemma

AU - Croijmans, Luuk

AU - Crowder, David

AU - da Silva Pachú, Jéssica Karina

AU - Dassou, Anicet

AU - de Sousa Ramalho, Francisco

AU - Döring, Thomas F.

AU - Ebeling, Anne

AU - Fernandes, Francisco Sales

AU - Geisen, Stefan

AU - Gidey, Tesfay

AU - Godoy, Wesley Augusto Conde

AU - Guo, Jingwei

AU - Hatt, Séverin

AU - Heimpel, George

AU - Heinze, Johannes

AU - Helzer, Chris

AU - Horgan, Finbarr G.

AU - Hu, Xiaoli

AU - Huang, Zixuan

AU - Jacobsen, Stine Kramer

AU - Jactel, Hervé

AU - Joern, Anthony

AU - Jonsson, Mattias

AU - Kiriga, Agnes Waringa

AU - Kosmala, Margaret

AU - Kuang, Luhui

AU - Kumar, Sarwan

AU - Latiberi, Minoo Heidari

AU - Li, Chaoxu

AU - Li, Feng Rui

AU - Li, Frank Yonghong

AU - Li, Jinhua

AU - Li, Likun

AU - Li, Qi

AU - Li, Xiaofei

AU - Li, Yi

AU - Li, Yingbin

AU - Liu, Ji Liang

AU - Liu, Jushan

AU - Liu, Wei Jia

AU - Liu, Yinzhan

AU - Liu, Zhanfeng

AU - Losapio, Gianalberto

AU - Lu, Xiaoming

AU - Lundin, Ola

AU - Ma, Quanhui

AU - Madeira, Filipe

AU - Malaquias, José Bruno

AU - Moghaddam, Mostafa Ghafouri

AU - Monmany-Garzia, Ana Carolina

AU - Moreira, Xoaquín

AU - Morente, Marina

AU - Mutua, Bretor Katuku

AU - Mutyambai, Daniel Munyao

AU - Nakano, Yuta

AU - Novotny, Vojtech

AU - Ochieng, Lawrence O.

AU - Pappagallo, Silvia

AU - Paredes, Daniel

AU - Petermann, Jana S.

AU - Poelman, Erik H.

AU - Portal, Orelvis

AU - Qu, Ming Jing

AU - Ramos, Yordanys

AU - Rizvi, Syed

AU - Ruano, Francisca

AU - Sang, Weiguo

AU - Sans-Serra, F. Xavier

AU - Sattler, Cornelia

AU - Schöb, Christian

AU - Schrader, Julian

AU - Schuldt, Andreas

AU - Settele, Josef

AU - Shang, Jing

AU - Sigsgaard, Lene

AU - Sosa-Gómez, Daniel Ricardo

AU - Staab, Michael

AU - Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf

AU - Stevenson, Philip C.

AU - Straub, Cory

AU - Sujii, Edison Ryoiti

AU - Sutter, Louis

AU - Szefer, Piotr

AU - Tahir, Hafiz Muhammad

AU - Tan, Xiaoling

AU - Tanada, Aimi

AU - Togni, Pedro Henrique Brum

AU - Török, Edina

AU - Tous-Fandos, Alba

AU - Tovignan, Silvère

AU - Tschumi, Matthias

AU - Twerski, Alina

AU - Utsumi, Shunsuke

AU - van Apeldoorn, Dirk F.

AU - Vogel, Cassandra

AU - Wäckers, Felix L.

AU - Wang, Deli

AU - Wang, Lianjie

AU - Wang, Ling

AU - Wang, Ming Qiang

AU - Wang, Su

AU - Wang, Xiaodong

AU - Wang, Xinyu

AU - Wang, Yadong

AU - Wang, Yong Zhen

AU - Weisser, Wolfgang W.

AU - Welti, Ellen A.R.

AU - Wenda-Piesik, Anna

AU - Wu, Wenjia

AU - Xi, Xinqiang

AU - Xu, Qingxuan

AU - Xu, Zhenzhu

AU - Yi, Huimin

AU - Zhang, Lixia

AU - Zhang, Xiaoke

AU - Zhang, Xiaoming

AU - Zhang, Zhengqun

AU - Zhong, Zhiwei

AU - Zhu, Chao Dong

AU - Zhu, Hui

AU - Zhu, Pingyang

AU - Zhu, Yu

AU - Zou, Yi

AU - Scherber, Christoph

N1 - Data archiving: no NIOO data

PY - 2026/7/23

Y1 - 2026/7/23

N2 - Multitrophic interactions can strongly influence the structure and functioning of ecosystems, but how plant diversity influences the direction and predictability of multitrophic interactions across agricultural and natural ecosystems remains unclear. Using 149 field studies across five continents, we found that, on average, increasing plant diversity tended to exert differential top-down and bottom-up effects in croplands versus grasslands and forests. Organic and nonorganic croplands exhibited 846 and 148% higher invertebrate natural enemy-to-herbivore abundance ratios under increased plant diversity, consistent with top-down control patterns where predator gains cause herbivore declines, enhancing crop outcomes. In grasslands and forests, increasing plant diversity was associated with bottom-up effects where enhanced productivity increased both herbivore and predator populations, with the enemy-to-herbivore ratio increasing 4.73% for grasslands and 21.2% for forests. Our findings suggest that biodiversity effects on productivity are not solely explained by direct plant-plant interactions and the resulting biodiversity-productivity relationship. Rather, they reveal patterns consistent with the framework of top-down and bottom-up effects, the relative balance of which may vary depending on ecosystem and management type. The magnitude of the effects of diversified farming on crop pests suggests that crop diversification may be an important avenue for managing crop pests preventatively and thereby enhancing agricultural sustainability.

AB - Multitrophic interactions can strongly influence the structure and functioning of ecosystems, but how plant diversity influences the direction and predictability of multitrophic interactions across agricultural and natural ecosystems remains unclear. Using 149 field studies across five continents, we found that, on average, increasing plant diversity tended to exert differential top-down and bottom-up effects in croplands versus grasslands and forests. Organic and nonorganic croplands exhibited 846 and 148% higher invertebrate natural enemy-to-herbivore abundance ratios under increased plant diversity, consistent with top-down control patterns where predator gains cause herbivore declines, enhancing crop outcomes. In grasslands and forests, increasing plant diversity was associated with bottom-up effects where enhanced productivity increased both herbivore and predator populations, with the enemy-to-herbivore ratio increasing 4.73% for grasslands and 21.2% for forests. Our findings suggest that biodiversity effects on productivity are not solely explained by direct plant-plant interactions and the resulting biodiversity-productivity relationship. Rather, they reveal patterns consistent with the framework of top-down and bottom-up effects, the relative balance of which may vary depending on ecosystem and management type. The magnitude of the effects of diversified farming on crop pests suggests that crop diversification may be an important avenue for managing crop pests preventatively and thereby enhancing agricultural sustainability.

U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.aeb8680

DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aeb8680

M3 - Article

C2 - 42490425

AN - SCOPUS:105046117223

SN - 2375-2548

VL - 12

JO - Science Advances

JF - Science Advances

IS - 30

M1 - eaeb8680

ER -