Webbläsaren som du använder stöds inte av denna webbplats. Alla versioner av Internet Explorer stöds inte längre, av oss eller Microsoft (läs mer här: * https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Var god och använd en modern webbläsare för att ta del av denna webbplats, som t.ex. nyaste versioner av Edge, Chrome, Firefox eller Safari osv.

Foto på Ciara Dwyer

Ciara Dwyer

Affilierad

Foto på Ciara Dwyer

Intense solar radiation constrains plant species richness in global grasslands

Författare

  • Marie Spohn
  • Carlos Alberto Arnillas
  • Jonathan D. Bakker
  • Elizabeth T. Borer
  • Kari Anne Bråthen
  • Marc W. Cadotte
  • Clinton Carbutt
  • Jane A. Catford
  • Mary E. DuPre
  • Ciara Dwyer
  • Nico Eisenhauer
  • Catalina Estrada
  • Nicole Hagenah
  • Sylvia Haider
  • Kyle E. Harms
  • Yann Hautier
  • Erika I. Hersch-Green
  • Johannes M.H. Knops
  • Lauri Laanisto
  • Ramesh Laungani
  • Peter Macek
  • Holly Martinson
  • Jonathan Millett
  • Meelis Pärtel
  • Steven C. Pennings
  • Pablo L. Peri
  • Sally A. Power
  • Anita C. Risch
  • Christiane Roscher
  • Eric W. Seabloom
  • Nicholas G. Smith
  • Carly Stevens
  • Risto Virtanen
  • Glenda M. Wardle
  • Pengfei Zhang
Visa allt

Summary, in English

The search for predictors of plant diversity has challenged scientists for decades. Here we identify intense photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) as a major factor constraining plant species richness in global grasslands. We show that the strength of the negative relationship between species richness and PAR increases with increasing elevation and that species richness is more strongly correlated with intense PAR than with UV-B radiation, climate variables, and atmospheric nitrogen deposition. In addition to species richness, plant biomass was also negatively correlated with PAR at higher elevations, indicating that intense PAR also constrains plant biomass in montane grasslands. Furthermore, we show that the decrease in plant species richness with increasing PAR is mainly caused by a decrease in species richness of forbs, sedges, and rushes. In contrast, species richness of grasses was only negatively correlated with PAR at high elevations, and species richness of legumes was not significantly correlated with PAR. Our results suggest that PAR constrains plant species richness in global grasslands and limits the extent to which plant species of specific functional groups can migrate uphill in response to climate warming.

Avdelning/ar

  • Miljö- och geovetenskapliga institutionen (MGeo)
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
  • Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC)

Publiceringsår

2026

Språk

Engelska

Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Volym

123

Avvikelse

6

Dokumenttyp

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift

Förlag

National Academy of Sciences

Ämne

  • Ecology (including Biodiversity Conservation)

Nyckelord

  • environmental filters
  • grasslands
  • plant diversity
  • plant species richness
  • solar radiation
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action

Aktiv

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt

  • ISSN: 0027-8424