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Li C, Chen J, Liao X, Ramus AP, Angelini C, Liu L, Silliman BR, Bertness MD, He Q. Shorebirds-driven trophic cascade helps restore coastal wetland multifunctionality. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8076. [PMID: 38057308 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43951-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecosystem restoration has traditionally focused on re-establishing vegetation and other foundation species at basal trophic levels, with mixed outcomes. Here, we show that threatened shorebirds could be important to restoring coastal wetland multifunctionality. We carried out surveys and manipulative field experiments in a region along the Yellow Sea affected by the invasive cordgrass Spartina alterniflora. We found that planting native plants alone failed to restore wetland multifunctionality in a field restoration experiment. Shorebird exclusion weakened wetland multifunctionality, whereas mimicking higher predation before shorebird population declines by excluding their key prey - crab grazers - enhanced wetland multifunctionality. The mechanism underlying these effects is a simple trophic cascade, whereby shorebirds control crab grazers that otherwise suppress native vegetation recovery and destabilize sediments (via bioturbation). Our findings suggest that harnessing the top-down effects of shorebirds - through habitat conservation, rewilding, or temporary simulation of consumptive or non-consumptive effects - should be explored as a nature-based solution to restoring the multifunctionality of degraded coastal wetlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunming Li
- Coastal Ecology Lab, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Jianshe Chen
- Coastal Ecology Lab, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Xiaolin Liao
- College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210037, China
| | - Aaron P Ramus
- Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA
| | - Christine Angelini
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC, 28516, USA
| | - Mark D Bertness
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA
| | - Qiang He
- Coastal Ecology Lab, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China.
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Xu C, Silliman BR, Chen J, Li X, Thomsen MS, Zhang Q, Lee J, Lefcheck JS, Daleo P, Hughes BB, Jones HP, Wang R, Wang S, Smith CS, Xi X, Altieri AH, van de Koppel J, Palmer TM, Liu L, Wu J, Li B, He Q. Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally. Science 2023; 382:589-594. [PMID: 37917679 DOI: 10.1126/science.add2814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Restoring vegetation in degraded ecosystems is an increasingly common practice for promoting biodiversity and ecological function, but successful implementation is hampered by an incomplete understanding of the processes that limit restoration success. By synthesizing terrestrial and aquatic studies globally (2594 experimental tests from 610 articles), we reveal substantial herbivore control of vegetation under restoration. Herbivores at restoration sites reduced vegetation abundance more strongly (by 89%, on average) than those at relatively undegraded sites and suppressed, rather than fostered, plant diversity. These effects were particularly pronounced in regions with higher temperatures and lower precipitation. Excluding targeted herbivores temporarily or introducing their predators improved restoration by magnitudes similar to or greater than those achieved by managing plant competition or facilitation. Thus, managing herbivory is a promising strategy for enhancing vegetation restoration efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changlin Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Jianshe Chen
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xincheng Li
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mads S Thomsen
- Marine Ecology Research Group and Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Qun Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Juhyung Lee
- Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, MA, USA
- Department of Oceanography and Marine Research Institute, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jonathan S Lefcheck
- Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network and MarineGEO Program, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD, USA
| | - Pedro Daleo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), UNMdP, CONICETC, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Brent B Hughes
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA
| | - Holly P Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Rong Wang
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Carter S Smith
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Xinqiang Xi
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Andrew H Altieri
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Yerseke, Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Todd M Palmer
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jihua Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, and College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Bo Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Qiang He
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Erofeeva EA. Environmental hormesis of non-specific and specific adaptive mechanisms in plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 804:150059. [PMID: 34508935 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Adaptive responses of plants are important not only for local processes in populations and communities but also for global processes in the biosphere through the primary production of ecosystems. In recent years, the concept of environmental hormesis has been increasingly used to explain the adaptive responses of living organisms, including plants, to low doses of natural factors, both abiotic and biotic, as well as various anthropogenic impacts. However, the issues of whether plant hormesis is similar/different when it is induced by mild stressors having different specific effects and what is the contribution of hormetic stimulation of non-specific and specific adaptive mechanisms in plant resilience to strong stressors (i.e., preconditioning) remains unclear. This paper analyses hormetic stimulation of non-specific and specific adaptive mechanisms in plants and its significance for preconditioning, the phenomenon of the hormetic trade-off for these mechanisms, and the position of hormetic stimulation of non-specific and specific adaptive mechanisms in the system of plant adaptations to environmental challenges. The analysis has shown that both non-specific and specific adaptive mechanisms of plants can be stimulated hormetically by mild stressors and are important for plant preconditioning. Due to limited plant resources, non-specific and specific adaptive mechanisms have hormetic trades-offs 1 (hormesis accompanied by the deterioration of some plant traits) and 2 (hormesis of some plant traits with the invariability of others). At the same time, hormetic trade-off 2 is observed much more often than hormetic trade-off 1, at least, this was demonstrated here for non-specific adaptive responses of plants. The hormetic stimulation of non-specific and specific adaptive mechanisms is part of the inducible adaptation of plants caused by stress factors and is an adaptation to random (unpredictable) changes in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena A Erofeeva
- Department of Ecology, Institute of Biology and Biomedicine, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, 23 Gagarina Pr, Nizhni Novgorod 603950, Russian Federation.
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Qian W, Chen J, Zhang Q, Wu C, Ma Q, Silliman BR, Wu J, Li B, He Q. Top-down control of foundation species recovery during coastal wetland restoration. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 769:144854. [PMID: 33486186 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2020] [Revised: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Restoration has been increasingly adopted to halt trends in coastal wetland loss globally. Existing restoration often assumes that once abiotic stress is relieved, disturbances are prevented, and invasive species are eradicated, coastal wetlands will recover if propagules of native species are supplied either through natural dispersal or planting. Whether other factors including consumers can help explain the often suboptimal performance of existing restoration remains poorly understood. In a series of field experiments in the Yangtze estuary, we examined the relative importance of abiotic stress and crab grazing in regulating the recovery of the native foundation plant species Scirpus mariqueter in salt marsh areas where exotic cordgrass was successfully eradicated. We found that grazing by herbivorous crabs, rather than abiotic stress, was the primary obstacle restricting the recovery of planted Scirpus. This negative effect of crab grazing varied predictably across elevation and was strongest at low elevations where abiotic conditions were positive for Scirpus. These findings highlight that i) measures to control crab grazing are needed to enhance the success of Scirpus restoration, even in areas where abiotic conditions are set to be optimal, and ii) restoration measures purely focused on reducing abiotic stress could be ineffective or suboptimal in field conditions, likely jeopardizing restoration investment and success. Since top-down control of foundation plant species is common in many coastal wetlands and can be especially important in degraded systems where herbivores are abundant, we urge that future coastal wetland restoration assesses for the impacts of grazers and, when present, apply intervention measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanqing Qian
- Coastal Ecology Lab, National Observation and Research Station for Shanghai Yangtze Estuarine Wetland Ecosystems, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jianshe Chen
- Coastal Ecology Lab, National Observation and Research Station for Shanghai Yangtze Estuarine Wetland Ecosystems, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Qun Zhang
- Coastal Ecology Lab, National Observation and Research Station for Shanghai Yangtze Estuarine Wetland Ecosystems, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China; Shanghai Academy of Landscape Architecture Science and Planning, NO. 899 Longwu Road, Shanghai 200232, China
| | - Changlu Wu
- Coastal Ecology Lab, National Observation and Research Station for Shanghai Yangtze Estuarine Wetland Ecosystems, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Qiang Ma
- Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve, Shanghai 202183, China
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke Unviersity, Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA
| | - Jihua Wu
- Coastal Ecology Lab, National Observation and Research Station for Shanghai Yangtze Estuarine Wetland Ecosystems, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Bo Li
- Coastal Ecology Lab, National Observation and Research Station for Shanghai Yangtze Estuarine Wetland Ecosystems, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Qiang He
- Coastal Ecology Lab, National Observation and Research Station for Shanghai Yangtze Estuarine Wetland Ecosystems, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China.
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Yang D, Miao XY, Wang B, Jiang RP, Wen T, Liu MS, Huang C, Xu C. System-Specific Complex Interactions Shape Soil Organic Carbon Distribution in Coastal Salt Marshes. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2020; 17:ijerph17062037. [PMID: 32204427 PMCID: PMC7142412 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17062037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Revised: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Coastal wetlands provide many critical ecosystem services including carbon storage. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the most important component of carbon stock in coastal salt marshes. However, there are large uncertainties when estimating SOC stock in coastal salt marshes at large spatial scales. So far, information on the spatial heterogeneity of SOC distribution and determinants remains limited. Moreover, the role of complex ecological interactions in shaping SOC distribution is poorly understood. Here, we report detailed field surveys on plant, soil and crab burrowing activities in two inter-tidal salt marsh sites with similar habitat conditions in Eastern China. Our between-site comparison revealed slight differences in SOC storage and a similar vertical SOC distribution pattern across soil depths of 0–60 cm. Between the two study sites, we found substantially different effects of biotic and abiotic factors on SOC distribution. Complex interactions involving indirect effects between soil, plants and macrobenthos (crabs) may influence SOC distribution at a landscape scale. Marked differences in the SOC determinants between the study sites indicate that the underlying driving mechanisms of SOC distribution are strongly system-specific. Future work taking into account complex interactions and spatial heterogeneity is needed for better estimating of blue carbon stock and dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; (D.Y.); (X.-Y.M.); (B.W.); (R.-P.J.); (C.H.)
| | - Xin-Yu Miao
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; (D.Y.); (X.-Y.M.); (B.W.); (R.-P.J.); (C.H.)
| | - Bo Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; (D.Y.); (X.-Y.M.); (B.W.); (R.-P.J.); (C.H.)
| | - Ren-Ping Jiang
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; (D.Y.); (X.-Y.M.); (B.W.); (R.-P.J.); (C.H.)
| | - Teng Wen
- School of Geography Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China;
| | - Mao-Song Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; (D.Y.); (X.-Y.M.); (B.W.); (R.-P.J.); (C.H.)
- Correspondence: (M.-S.L.); (C.X.)
| | - Cheng Huang
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; (D.Y.); (X.-Y.M.); (B.W.); (R.-P.J.); (C.H.)
| | - Chi Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; (D.Y.); (X.-Y.M.); (B.W.); (R.-P.J.); (C.H.)
- Correspondence: (M.-S.L.); (C.X.)
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