Journal article

Authors list: Neyret, Margot; Le Provost, Gaetane; Boesing, Andrea Larissa; Schneider, Florian D.; Baulechner, Dennis; Bergmann, Joana; de Vries, Franciska T.; Fiore-Donno, Anna Maria; Geisen, Stefan; Goldmann, Kezia; Merges, Anna; Saifutdinov, Ruslan A.; Simons, Nadja K.; Tobias, Joseph A.; Zaitsev, Andrey S.; Gossner, Martin M.; Jung, Kirsten; Kandeler, Ellen; Krauss, Jochen; Penone, Caterina; Schloter, Michael; Schulz, Stefanie; Staab, Michael; Wolters, Volkmar; Apostolakis, Antonios; Birkhofer, Klaus; Boch, Steffen; Boeddinghaus, Runa S.; Bolliger, Ralph; Bonkowski, Michael; Buscot, Francois; Dumack, Kenneth; Fischer, Markus; Gan, Huei Ying; Heinze, Johannes; Hoelzel, Norbert; John, Katharina; Klaus, Valentin H.; Kleinebecker, Till; Marhan, Sven; Mueller, Joerg; Renner, Swen C.; Rillig, Matthias C.; Schenk, Noelle V.; Schoening, Ingo; Schrumpf, Marion; Seibold, Sebastian; Socher, Stephanie A.; Solly, Emily F.; Teuscher, Miriam; van Kleunen, Mark; Wubet, Tesfaye; Manning, Peter

Publication year: 2024

Journal: Nature Communications

Volume number: 15

Issue number: 1

eISSN: 2041-1723

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45113-5

Publisher: Nature Research

Abstract: 
Organismal functional strategies form a continuum from slow- to fast-growing organisms, in response to common drivers such as resource availability and disturbance. However, whether there is synchronisation of these strategies at the entire community level is unclear. Here, we combine trait data for >2800 above- and belowground taxa from 14 trophic guilds spanning a disturbance and resource availability gradient in German grasslands. The results indicate that most guilds consistently respond to these drivers through both direct and trophically mediated effects, resulting in a 'slow-fast' axis at the level of the entire community. Using 15 indicators of carbon and nutrient fluxes, biomass production and decomposition, we also show that fast trait communities are associated with faster rates of ecosystem functioning. These findings demonstrate that 'slow' and 'fast' strategies can be manifested at the level of whole communities, opening new avenues of ecosystem-level functional classification.

Harvard Citation style: Neyret, M., Le Provost, G., Boesing, A., Schneider, F., Baulechner, D., Bergmann, J., et al. (2024) A slow-fast trait continuum at the whole community level in relation to land-use intensification, Nature Communications, 15(1), Article 1251. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45113-5

APA Citation style: Neyret, M., Le Provost, G., Boesing, A., Schneider, F., Baulechner, D., Bergmann, J., de Vries, F., Fiore-Donno, A., Geisen, S., Goldmann, K., Merges, A., Saifutdinov, R., Simons, N., Tobias, J., Zaitsev, A., Gossner, M., Jung, K., Kandeler, E., Krauss, J., ...Manning, P. (2024). A slow-fast trait continuum at the whole community level in relation to land-use intensification. Nature Communications. 15(1), Article 1251. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45113-5