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Intense solar radiation constrains plant species richness in global grasslands

Spohn, Marie ; Arnillas, Carlos Alberto ; Bakker, Jonathan D. ; Borer, Elizabeth T. ; Bråthen, Kari Anne ; Cadotte, Marc W. ; Carbutt, Clinton ; Catford, Jane A. ; DuPre, Mary E. and Dwyer, Ciara LU , et al. (2026) In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 123(6).
Abstract

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... (More)

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.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
environmental filters, grasslands, plant diversity, plant species richness, solar radiation
in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
volume
123
issue
6
article number
e2527128123
publisher
National Academy of Sciences
external identifiers
  • scopus:105029611012
  • pmid:41642984
ISSN
0027-8424
DOI
10.1073/pnas.2527128123
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
613771aa-2945-4a67-9da9-8b34ceb7bd8a
date added to LUP
2026-03-02 15:03:44
date last changed
2026-03-03 12:36:28
@article{613771aa-2945-4a67-9da9-8b34ceb7bd8a,
  abstract     = {{<p>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.</p>}},
  author       = {{Spohn, Marie and Arnillas, Carlos Alberto and Bakker, Jonathan D. and Borer, Elizabeth T. and Bråthen, Kari Anne and Cadotte, Marc W. and Carbutt, Clinton and Catford, Jane A. and DuPre, Mary E. and Dwyer, Ciara and Eisenhauer, Nico and Estrada, Catalina and Hagenah, Nicole and Haider, Sylvia and Harms, Kyle E. and Hautier, Yann and Hersch-Green, Erika I. and Knops, Johannes M.H. and Laanisto, Lauri and Laungani, Ramesh and Macek, Peter and Martinson, Holly and Millett, Jonathan and Pärtel, Meelis and Pennings, Steven C. and Peri, Pablo L. and Power, Sally A. and Risch, Anita C. and Roscher, Christiane and Seabloom, Eric W. and Smith, Nicholas G. and Stevens, Carly and Virtanen, Risto and Wardle, Glenda M. and Zhang, Pengfei}},
  issn         = {{0027-8424}},
  keywords     = {{environmental filters; grasslands; plant diversity; plant species richness; solar radiation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  publisher    = {{National Academy of Sciences}},
  series       = {{Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}},
  title        = {{Intense solar radiation constrains plant species richness in global grasslands}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2527128123}},
  doi          = {{10.1073/pnas.2527128123}},
  volume       = {{123}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}