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Abstract Sodium (Na) is an essential element for all animals, but not for plants. Soil Na supplies vary geographically. Animals that primarily consume plants thus have the potential to be Na limited and plants that uptake Na may be subject to higher rates of herbivory, but their high Na content also may attract beneficial partners such as pollinators and seed dispersers.To test for the effects of Na biogeochemistry on herbivory, we conducted distributed Na press experiments (monthly Na application across the growing season) in four North American grasslands.Na addition increased soil and plant Na concentrations at all sites. Grasses in Na addition plots had significantly higher herbivore damage by leaf miners and fungal pathogens than those in control plots. Forbs with higher foliar Na concentrations had significantly more chewing insect herbivore and fungal damage.While no pattern was evident across all species, several forb species had higher Na concentrations in inflorescences compared to leaves, suggesting they may allocate Na to attract beneficial partners.The uptake of Na by plants, and animal responses, has implications for the salinification in the Anthropocene. Increased use of road salt, irrigation with saline groundwater, rising sea levels and increasing temperatures and evapotranspiration rates with climate change can all increase inputs of Na into terrestrial ecosystems.Our results suggest increasing terrestrial Na availability will benefit insect herbivores and plant fungal pathogens. A freePlain Language Summarycan be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
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This content will become publicly available on November 1, 2025
Planning for the future: Grasslands, herbivores, and nature‐based solutions
Abstract Global interest and investment in nature‐based solutions (NbS) are rapidly increasing because of the potential of this approach to concurrently counter biodiversity loss, provide cost‐effective measures for climate change adaptations, and maintain natural processes that underpin human health and wellbeing.Recognition is growing that grasslands in many regions will protect carbon stores more effectively than forests in the warmer, drier, more fire‐prone conditions of the future while also serving as hotspots for biodiversity. Yet grasslands have received less attention for their NbS potential. Despite the wide‐ranging goals of this approach, many investments in nature‐based solutions also have focused narrowly on using plants to meet climate pledges, often without considering plant interactions with herbivores and the abiotic environment that jointly control ecosystem functioning and underpin the success of nature‐based solutions.Here, we review the roles that large and small vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores play in the ability of the world's grasslands to provide nature‐based solutions, with a focus on wild herbivore impacts on biodiversity and carbon storage.Synthesis. Planning for nature‐based solutions with a holistic, ecologically informed view that includes the role of herbivores and their interaction with plants and the environment will allow NbS investments to more likely achieve successful, sustainable outcomes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1831944
- PAR ID:
- 10556775
- Publisher / Repository:
- John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Ecology
- Volume:
- 112
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 0022-0477
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2442 to 2450
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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