Publications by authors named "F Isbell"
Article Synopsis
- Rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N) in the atmosphere impact plant communities, with nitrogen deposition leading to local biodiversity loss.
- An open-air experiment over 24 years showed that while nitrogen initially had a smaller effect on species richness at higher CO2 levels, this reversed over time, with elevated CO2 increasing the negative impact of nitrogen on plant diversity.
- The study suggests that increased levels of CO2 could worsen the detrimental effects of nitrogen on grassland biodiversity, raising concerns for global conservation efforts.
As global temperatures rise, droughts are becoming more frequent and severe. To predict how drought might affect plant communities, ecologists have traditionally designed drought experiments with controlled watering regimes and rainout shelters. Both treatments have proven effective for simulating soil drought.
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- Plant functional groups (FGs) respond differently to global changes, but species within those groups also show variability in their responses due to interspecific interactions.
- A long-term experiment revealed that differences in biomass responses to atmospheric CO and nitrogen (N) inputs were more pronounced in species mixtures than in monocultures, highlighting the influence of these interactions.
- Findings suggest that studies focusing solely on monocultures may underestimate the effects of global change on diverse communities, which could lead to changes in community composition and ecosystem functions over time.
Article Synopsis
- Natural ecosystems capture significant carbon by using biological diversity to create durable structures, like tree bark and roots.
- Current carbon sequestration models often overlook how important biodiversity is for effective carbon storage, leading to potential inaccuracies in projections.
- The loss of plant diversity due to climate and land use changes could result in significant carbon losses, reinforcing a cycle that worsens climate change, while conserving biodiversity can aid in mitigating its effects.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines how plant diversity affects grassland productivity (or overyielding) in relation to nitrogen (N) addition, revealing that nutrient enrichment does not change overyielding rates overall, despite altering its driving factors.
- It finds that as nitrogen is added over time, the positive interactions between different plant species (complementarity effects) decrease while the success of certain dominant species (selection effects) increases.
- The results highlight the need to understand cumulative N addition's role in grassland ecosystems, which is crucial for biodiversity conservation and maintaining ecosystem resilience against rising nitrogen levels.