{
  "abstract": "Disturbance regimes and nutrient inputs are changing worldwide, with consequences for the structure and functioning of plant communities. Life-history theory predicts that disturbance should shift communities from long-lived perennials toward short-lived annuals, and that nutrient enrichment may amplify this shift. However, these predictions have not been tested experimentally across broad environmental gradients. Here, using a global grassland experiment spanning 37 sites, we tested how severe physical disturbance (vegetation removal and shallow soil tillage) and fertilisation alter the annual-perennial balance, and whether disturbance expands the climatic envelope of annual dominance. Disturbance increased annual species share from 15% to 29% and relative annual cover from 9% to 29%, whereas fertilisation had little influence and did not interact with disturbance. The disturbance-driven shift arose through contrasting pathways: in graminoids and legumes, perennial cover declined, while in forbs, annual cover expanded. In the absence of disturbance, annual dominance was restricted to systems with extremely hot and dry summers, yet disturbance consistently increased annual prevalence across climatic gradients and doubled the extent of climate space in which annuals dominated. During repeated disturbance, annuals may help maintain vegetation cover, but their expansion also signals loss of perennial cover and associated ecosystem functions.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2607.08251",
  "author_total": 57,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Niv DeMalach"
    },
    {
      "name": "Roberto Salguero-Gomez"
    },
    {
      "name": "Oded Hollander"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jane Lucas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alexander T. Strauss"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tilak Chaudhary"
    },
    {
      "name": "Y. Anny Chung"
    },
    {
      "name": "James K. McCarthy"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bruno Moreira"
    },
    {
      "name": "Laís Petri"
    },
    {
      "name": "Rachael Thornley"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ingrid J. Slette"
    },
    {
      "name": "Elizabeth T. Borer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Eric W. Seabloom"
    },
    {
      "name": "Joe Atkinson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Karen H. Beard"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lars A. Brudvig"
    },
    {
      "name": "Christopher P. Catano"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jane A. Catford"
    },
    {
      "name": "Aimee Classen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Adam Thomas Clark"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ciara Dwyer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Charles Fenster"
    },
    {
      "name": "Oscar Godoy"
    },
    {
      "name": "Or Gross"
    },
    {
      "name": "Elizabeth Gusmán-Montalaván"
    },
    {
      "name": "W. Stanley Harpole"
    },
    {
      "name": "Erika Hersch-Green"
    },
    {
      "name": "Petr Holub"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anke Jentsch"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gaurav Kandlikar"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kevin Kirkman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sally E. Koerner"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrew Kulmatiski"
    },
    {
      "name": "Daijiang Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrew S. MacDougall"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pierre Mariotte"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jason P. Martina"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pablo A. Meglioli"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jonathan Millett"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lydia O'Halloran"
    },
    {
      "name": "Raúl Ochoa-Hueso"
    },
    {
      "name": "Romà Ogaya"
    },
    {
      "name": "Brooke Osborne"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kalpana K. Patabendige"
    },
    {
      "name": "Josep Peñuelas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pablo Peri"
    },
    {
      "name": "Steven C. Pennings"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anita C. Risch"
    },
    {
      "name": "Christiane Roscher"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nathan J. Sanders"
    },
    {
      "name": "Carly Stevens"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lauren Sullivan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pedro M. Tognetti"
    },
    {
      "name": "Diego Vélez-Mora"
    },
    {
      "name": "Cameron Wagg"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chhaya Werner"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1ysnvvbp0rqx8.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2607.08251",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1ysnvvbp0rqx8",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.08251",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "q-bio.OT"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2309|Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7167908092",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2607.08251",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-03",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1ysnvvbp0rqx8.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:21:30Z",
      "native_id": "2607.08251",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.08251"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2309|Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Physical disturbance expands the climatic envelope of annual plant dominance",
  "title_text": "Physical disturbance expands the climatic envelope of annual plant dominance",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T18:21:04Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1ysnvvbp0rqx8",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}