Physical disturbance expands the climatic envelope of annual plant dominance
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.
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BibTeX
@misc{demalach2026physical,
title = {{Physical disturbance expands the climatic envelope of annual plant dominance}},
author = {Niv DeMalach and Roberto Salguero-Gomez and Oded Hollander and Jane Lucas and Alexander T. Strauss and Tilak Chaudhary and Y. Anny Chung and James K. McCarthy and Bruno Moreira and Laís Petri and Rachael Thornley and Ingrid J. Slette and Elizabeth T. Borer and Eric W. Seabloom and Joe Atkinson and Karen H. Beard and Lars A. Brudvig and Christopher P. Catano and Jane A. Catford and Aimee Classen and Adam Thomas Clark and Ciara Dwyer and Charles Fenster and Oscar Godoy and Or Gross and Elizabeth Gusmán-Montalaván and W. Stanley Harpole and Erika Hersch-Green and Petr Holub and Anke Jentsch and Gaurav Kandlikar and Kevin Kirkman and Sally E. Koerner and Andrew Kulmatiski and Daijiang Li and Andrew S. MacDougall and Pierre Mariotte and Jason P. Martina and Pablo A. Meglioli and Jonathan Millett and Lydia O'Halloran and Raúl Ochoa-Hueso and Romà Ogaya and Brooke Osborne and Kalpana K. Patabendige and Josep Peñuelas and Pablo Peri and Steven C. Pennings and Anita C. Risch and Christiane Roscher and Nathan J. Sanders and Carly Stevens and Lauren Sullivan and Pedro M. Tognetti and Diego Vélez-Mora and Cameron Wagg and Chhaya Werner},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2607.08251},
eprint = {2607.08251},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.08251},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Physical disturbance expands the climatic envelope of annual plant dominance
AU - Niv DeMalach
AU - Roberto Salguero-Gomez
AU - Oded Hollander
AU - Jane Lucas
AU - Alexander T. Strauss
AU - Tilak Chaudhary
AU - Y. Anny Chung
AU - James K. McCarthy
AU - Bruno Moreira
AU - Laís Petri
AU - Rachael Thornley
AU - Ingrid J. Slette
AU - Elizabeth T. Borer
AU - Eric W. Seabloom
AU - Joe Atkinson
AU - Karen H. Beard
AU - Lars A. Brudvig
AU - Christopher P. Catano
AU - Jane A. Catford
AU - Aimee Classen
AU - Adam Thomas Clark
AU - Ciara Dwyer
AU - Charles Fenster
AU - Oscar Godoy
AU - Or Gross
AU - Elizabeth Gusmán-Montalaván
AU - W. Stanley Harpole
AU - Erika Hersch-Green
AU - Petr Holub
AU - Anke Jentsch
AU - Gaurav Kandlikar
AU - Kevin Kirkman
AU - Sally E. Koerner
AU - Andrew Kulmatiski
AU - Daijiang Li
AU - Andrew S. MacDougall
AU - Pierre Mariotte
AU - Jason P. Martina
AU - Pablo A. Meglioli
AU - Jonathan Millett
AU - Lydia O'Halloran
AU - Raúl Ochoa-Hueso
AU - Romà Ogaya
AU - Brooke Osborne
AU - Kalpana K. Patabendige
AU - Josep Peñuelas
AU - Pablo Peri
AU - Steven C. Pennings
AU - Anita C. Risch
AU - Christiane Roscher
AU - Nathan J. Sanders
AU - Carly Stevens
AU - Lauren Sullivan
AU - Pedro M. Tognetti
AU - Diego Vélez-Mora
AU - Cameron Wagg
AU - Chhaya Werner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2607.08251
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.08251
AB - 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.
ER -