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1. Residents manage dynamic plant communities: Change over time in urban vegetation

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.944803  

   Wheeler, Megan M.; Larson, Kelli L.; Cook, Elizabeth M.; Hall, Sharon J. (December 2022, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution)

   Introduction Integrated social and ecological processes shape urban plant communities, but the temporal dynamics and potential for change in these managed communities have rarely been explored. In residential yards, which cover about 40% of urban land area, individuals make decisions that control vegetation outcomes. These decisions may lead to relatively static plant composition and structure, as residents seek to expend little effort to maintain stable landscapes. Alternatively, residents may actively modify plant communities to meet their preferences or address perceived problems, or they may passively allow them to change. In this research, we ask, how and to what extent does residential yard vegetation change over time? Methods We conducted co-located ecological surveys of yards (in 2008, 2018, and 2019) and social surveys of residents (in 2018) in four diverse neighborhoods of Phoenix, Arizona. Results 94% of residents had made some changes to their front or back yards since moving in. On average, about 60% of woody vegetation per yard changed between 2008 and 2018, though the number of species present did not differ significantly. In comparison, about 30% of woody vegetation changed in native Sonoran Desert reference areas over 10 years. In yards, about 15% of woody vegetation changed on average in a single year, with up to 90% change in some yards. Greater turnover was observed for homes that were sold, indicating a “pulse” of management. Additionally, we observed greater vegetation turnover in the two older, lawn-dominated neighborhoods surveyed despite differences in neighborhood socioeconomic factors. Discussion These results indicate that residential plant communities are dynamic over time. Neighborhood age and other characteristics may be important drivers of change, while socioeconomic status neither promotes nor inhibits change at the neighborhood scale. Our findings highlight an opportunity for management interventions, wherein residents may be open to making conservation-friendly changes if they are already altering the composition of their yards. 

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2. Residential yard management and landscape cover affect urban bird community diversity across the continental USA

   https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2455  

   Lerman, Susannah B.; Narango, Desirée L.; Avolio, Meghan L.; Bratt, Anika R.; Engebretson, Jesse M.; Groffman, Peter M.; Hall, Sharon J.; Heffernan, James B.; Hobbie, Sarah E.; Larson, Kelli L.; et al (September 2021, Ecological Applications)

   Brunton, Dianne (Ed.)

   Urbanization has a homogenizing effect on biodiversity and leads to communities with fewer native species and lower conservation value. However, few studies have explored whether or how land management by urban residents can ameliorate the deleterious effects of this homogenization on species composition. We tested the effects of local (land management) and neighborhood-scale (impervious surface and tree canopy cover) features on breeding bird diversity in six US metropolitan areas that differ in regional species pools and climate. We used a Bayesian multiregion community model to assess differences in species richness, functional guild richness, community turnover, population vulnerability, and public interest in each bird community in six land management types: two natural area park types (separate and adjacent to residential areas), two yard types with conservation features (wildlife-certified and water conservation) and two lawn-dominated yard types (high- and low-fertilizer application), and surrounding neighborhood-scale features. Species richness was higher in yards compared with parks; however, parks supported communities with high conservation scores while yards supported species of high public interest. Bird communities in all land management types were composed of primarily native species. Within yard types, species richness was strongly and positively associated with neighborhood-scale tree canopy cover and negatively associated with impervious surface. At a continental scale, community turnover between cities was lowest in yards and highest in parks. Within cities, however, turnover was lowest in high-fertilizer yards and highest in wildlife-certified yards and parks. Our results demonstrate that, across regions, preserving natural areas, minimizing impervious surfaces and increasing tree canopy are essential strategies to conserve regionally important species. However, yards, especially those managed for wildlife support diverse, heterogeneous bird communities with high public interest and potential to support species of conservation concern. Management approaches that include the preservation of protected parks, encourage wildlife-friendly yards and acknowledge how public interest in local birds can advance successful conservation in American residential landscapes. 

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3. Residential yard management and landscape cover affect urban bird community diversity across the continental USA

   Lerman, Susannah B.; Narango, Desiree. L.; Avolio, Meghan L.; Bratt, Anika R.; Engebretson, Jesse M.; Groffman, Peter M.; Hall, Sharon J.; Hefferenan, James B.; Hobbie, Sarah E.; Larson, Kelli L.; et al (January 2021, Ecological applications)

   Urbanization has a homogenizing effect on biodiversity and leads to communities with fewer native species and lower conservation value. However, few studies have explored whether or how land management by urban residents can ameliorate the deleterious effects of this homogenization on species composition. We tested the effects of local (land management) and neighborhood-scale (impervious surface and tree canopy cover) features on breeding bird diversity in six US metropolitan areas that differ in regional species pools and climate. We used a Bayesian multiregion community model to assess differences in species richness, functional guild richness, community turnover, population vulnerability, and public interest in each bird community in six land management types: two natural area park types (separate and adjacent to residential areas), two yard types with conservation features (wildlife-certified and water conservation) and two lawn-dominated yard types (high- and low-fertilizer application), and surrounding neighborhood-scale features. Species richness was higher in yards compared with parks; however, parks supported communities with high conservation scores while yards supported species of high public interest. Bird communities in all land management types were composed of primarily native species. Within yard types, species richness was strongly and positively associated with neighborhood-scale tree canopy cover and negatively associated with impervious surface. At a continental scale, community turnover between cities was lowest in yards and highest in parks. Within cities, however, turnover was lowest in high-fertilizer yards and highest in wildlife-certified yards and parks. Our results demonstrate that, across regions, preserving natural areas, minimizing impervious surfaces and increasing tree canopy are essential strategies to conserve regionally important species. However, yards, especially those managed for wildlife support diverse, heterogeneous bird communities with high public interest and potential to support species of conservation concern. Management approaches that include the preservation of protected parks, encourage wildlife-friendly yards and acknowledge how public interest in local birds can advance successful conservation in American residential landscapes. 

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4. General destabilizing effects of eutrophication on grassland productivity at multiple spatial scales

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19252-4  

   Hautier, Yann; Zhang, Pengfei; Loreau, Michel; Wilcox, Kevin R.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Byrnes, Jarrett E.; Koerner, Sally E.; Komatsu, Kimberly J.; Lefcheck, Jonathan S.; et al (December 2020, Nature Communications)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract Eutrophication is a widespread environmental change that usually reduces the stabilizing effect of plant diversity on productivity in local communities. Whether this effect is scale dependent remains to be elucidated. Here, we determine the relationship between plant diversity and temporal stability of productivity for 243 plant communities from 42 grasslands across the globe and quantify the effect of chronic fertilization on these relationships. Unfertilized local communities with more plant species exhibit greater asynchronous dynamics among species in response to natural environmental fluctuations, resulting in greater local stability (alpha stability). Moreover, neighborhood communities that have greater spatial variation in plant species composition within sites (higher beta diversity) have greater spatial asynchrony of productivity among communities, resulting in greater stability at the larger scale (gamma stability). Importantly, fertilization consistently weakens the contribution of plant diversity to both of these stabilizing mechanisms, thus diminishing the positive effect of biodiversity on stability at differing spatial scales. Our findings suggest that preserving grassland functional stability requires conservation of plant diversity within and among ecological communities. 

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5. Multiple dimensions of plant diversity predict microbial community composition in grassland soils

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70564  

   Juliano, Alec; Jones, Holly P; Baker, Kaleb; Blackburn, Ryan C; Farrell, Anna K; Fliginger, Jessica; Heise, J Allen; Klimek, Desirae; Rowland‐Schaefer, Erin; Small, Lizzy; et al (March 2026, Ecosphere)

   Abstract Soil microbial communities play important roles in regulating ecosystems, but understanding the factors that shape their composition is challenging, in part because of their high diversity. Plants can influence soil communities through environmental effects and the introduction of organic material through litter and root exudates. This suggests that plant diversity may promote soil microbial diversity, but these patterns may depend on how diversity is measured. Here, we used two multi‐year datasets to examine relationships between plant and microbial (bacterial and archaeal, excluding fungi) communities in managed grasslands. At a management‐relevant scale, we examined both alpha and beta diversity components and described plant diversity through taxonomic, trait, and phylogenetic dimensions. We found consistent relationships between plant and microbial beta diversity, but not alpha diversity. These patterns occurred for taxonomic, trait, and phylogenetic plant diversity, indicating that plant communities sharing many species, or comprising plants with similar trait distributions or evolutionary histories, supported soil communities that also exhibited wide taxonomic overlap. That these patterns occurred over large areas suggests that management strategies focused on landscape‐scale plant diversity have the potential to promote microbe‐driven soil functional diversity in grassland ecosystems. Further studies that focus on finer spatial scales and incorporate fungal diversity may further clarify these relationships and their underlying mechanisms. 

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