Nitrogen inputs suppress plant diversity by overriding consumer control
Data files
Mar 21, 2025 version files 69.74 KB
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ARTHROPOD_SURVEY_DATA_FOR_DRYAD.xlsx
28.69 KB
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GRASSHOPPER_ID_DATA_FOR_DRYAD.xlsx
11.47 KB
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PLANT_COMMUNITY_DATA_FOR_DRYAD.xlsx
14.31 KB
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README.md
1.13 KB
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TRAIT_DATA_FOR_DRYAD.xlsx
14.13 KB
Abstract
Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition presents a global threat with significant ramifications for ecosystem functions. In terrestrial ecosystems, N-deposition is predicted to increase plant productivity but reduce diversity by bolstering dominant plants that suppress subordinate species. However, herbivores are predicted to offset these effects by consuming excess biomass produced by N-deposition. This archive contains data from a multifactorial field experiment in a grassland ecosystem showing that N-addition can actually eliminate rather than enhance top-down control by herbivores to impact plant biomass and diversity.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kkwh70sb8
Description of the data and file structure
This dataset is organized into four separate excel files, each with a tab containing data and another tab containing a detailed description of each data field, including the units and scale of sampling.
The datafiles are as follows:
1) plant community data - pre-treatment and post-treatment measures of plant group abundance and diversity in grasshopper mesocosms
2) arthropod survey data - arthropod counts by taxonomic group sampled in each of three post-treatment years in nitrogen treatment plots
3) grasshopper id data - counts of adult grasshoppers by species sampled in each of three post-treatment years in nitrogen treatment plots
4) trait data - traits of plants, arthropods, and their interactions measured in nitrogen treatment plots in the final treatment year
Sharing/Access information
Data was derived from the following sources:
- all data were collected in the field at the study location.
These data were collected in the field over three years to represent conditions in experimental nitrogen and embedded grasshopper treatments. Data are organized into four files to represent metrics related to 1) plant communities (measured in grasshopper mesocosms) 2) and 3) arthropod surveys (two separate efforts, measured in nitrogen treatment plots); and 4) traits pertinent to plants, arthropods, and their interactions (measured in nitrogen treatment plots). The sampling design varied with the variable assessed, as described in detail in the Methods section of the publication. Data are organized into four datafiles described further in the Methods and in the README tab associated with each datafile.