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Seed limitation interacts with biotic and abiotic causes to constrain novel species' impact on community biomass and richness
  • Noémie Pichon,
  • Elina Kaarlejärvi,
  • Anu Eskelinen
Noémie Pichon
University of Oulu

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Elina Kaarlejärvi
University of Helsinki
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Anu Eskelinen
University of Oulu
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Abstract

Seed limitation can narrow down the number of coexisting plant species and limit plant community productivity. It is also likely to constrain community responses to changing environmental and biotic conditions. In a 10-year full-factorial experiment of seed addition, fertilisation, warming and herbivore exclusion, we tested how seed addition alters community richness and biomass, and how its effects depend on seed origin and environmental and biotic context. We found that seed addition increased richness in all treatments, and increased community biomass depending on nutrient addition and warming. Novel seeded species, originally absent from the communities, increased biomass the most, especially in fertilised plots and in the absence of herbivores, while adding seeds of local species did not affect biomass. Our results show that dispersal limitation can constrain the invasion of novel species and their effects on community biomass, and demonstrate that these relationships are contingent on trophic interactions and environmental conditions.
08 Sep 2022Submitted to Ecology Letters
09 Sep 2022Submission Checks Completed
09 Sep 2022Assigned to Editor
16 Sep 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
23 Oct 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
26 Oct 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Major
06 Jan 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
06 Jan 20231st Revision Received
09 Jan 2023Submission Checks Completed
09 Jan 2023Assigned to Editor
09 Jan 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
09 Feb 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
17 Feb 20232nd Revision Received
17 Feb 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
17 Feb 2023Submission Checks Completed
17 Feb 2023Assigned to Editor
22 Feb 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
24 Feb 20233rd Revision Received
24 Feb 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
24 Feb 2023Submission Checks Completed
24 Feb 2023Assigned to Editor
24 Feb 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
10 Mar 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
14 Mar 20234th Revision Received
14 Mar 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
15 Mar 2023Submission Checks Completed
15 Mar 2023Assigned to Editor
15 Mar 2023Editorial Decision: Accept