Peer-reviewedCC BYScience Advances
Plant diversity modifies multi-trophic interactions in croplands, grasslands and forests
40 affiliations
- 1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- 2State Key Laboratory of Submarine Geoscience, School of Automation and Intelligent Sensing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Biostatistics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
- 4Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau, Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology & Observation and Research Station for the Typical Steppe Ecosystem of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
- 5UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK
- 6Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
- 7Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5131, USA
- 8Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
- 9Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3EL, UK
- 10Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- 11Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, 2 route du CNRS, Moulis, 09200 France
- 12Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
- 13Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales 2751, Australia
- 14Institute for Global Change Biology, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- 15Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 15, 37134 Verona, Italy
- 16Remote Sensing Laboratories, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
- 17Chrysalis Consulting, Danang 550000, Vietnam
- 18School of the Environment, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
- 19State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
- 20Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Orange, New South Wales 2800, Australia
- 21Jiangsu Coastal Area Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Yancheng 224002, China
- 22German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- 23Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstraße 4, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- 24Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, Netherlands
- 25Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, Oulu 90014, Finland
- 26Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
- 27Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
- 28Department of Natural Resource Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8, Canada
- 29Wetland Research Department, Shanghai Wildlife and Protected Natural Areas Research Center, Shanghai 202150, China
- 30Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University & Research, P.O. Box 8031, Wageningen 6700 EA, Wageningen, Netherlands
- 31Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, Universitat de Lleida, Agrotecnio Center, Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain
- 32Agroscope, Agroecology and Environment, Reckenholzstrasse 191 8046 Zurich, Switzerland
- 33Crops Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Farmgate, Dhaka 1215, Bangladesh
- 34Department of Biogeography and Climate Change, National Museum of Natural Sciences (CSIC), C/ Serrano 115 bis, E-28006 Madrid, Spain
- 35Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Av. Fuente Nueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
- 36National School of Biosciences and Applied Biotechnologies (ENSBBA), National University of Sciences, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics (UNSTIM), Dassa, 999105, Benin
- 37Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- 38Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
- 39Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen 6708 PB Netherlands
- 40Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB, Wageningen, Netherlands
Abstract
Multitrophic interactions can strongly influence the structure and functioning of ecosystems, but how plant diversity influences the direction and predictability of multitrophic interactions across agricultural and natural ecosystems remains unclear. Using 149 field studies across five continents, we found that, on average, increasing plant diversity tended to exert differential top-down and bottom-up effects in croplands versus grasslands and forests. Organic and nonorganic croplands exhibited 846 and 148% higher invertebrate natural enemy-to-herbivore abundance ratios under increased plant diversity, consistent with top-down control patterns where predator gains cause herbivore declines, enhancing crop outcomes. In grasslands and forests, increasing plant diversity was associated with bottom-up effects where enhanced productivity increased both herbivore and predator populations, with the enemy-to-herbivore ratio increasing 4.73% for grasslands and 21.2% for forests. Our findings suggest that biodiversity effects on productivity are not solely explained by direct plant-plant interactions and the resulting biodiversity-productivity relationship. Rather, they reveal patterns consistent with the framework of top-down and bottom-up effects, the relative balance of which may vary depending on ecosystem and management type. The magnitude of the effects of diversified farming on crop pests suggests that crop diversification may be an important avenue for managing crop pests preventatively and thereby enhancing agricultural sustainability.
Related
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BibTeX
@article{wan2026plant,
title = {{Plant diversity modifies multi-trophic interactions in croplands, grasslands and forests}},
author = {Nian‐Feng Wan and Mu-Yao Li and Siyuan Shen and Jun-Xiang Zhou and Y C Zhu and Ben Alex Woodcock and Yue‐Qing Hu and Shinichi Nakagawa and David G. Tilman and Andy Hector and Michel Loreau and Peter B. Reich and Matteo Dainese and Forest Isaac Isbell and Bernhard Schmid and Kris A. G. Wyckhuys and Geoff M. Gurr and Linsheng Wan and Nico Eisenhauer and Yann Hautier and Anu Eskelinen and Richard D. Bardgett and Paul Kardol and Lauchlan Hugh Fraser and Qi Su and Shiyun Qiu and Yavanna Aartsma and R. Albajes and Matthias Albrecht and M. P. Ali and Hugo Alejandro Álvarez and Corinne Anagonou and Jan C. Axmacher and Dan Bahauddin and Yongfei Bai and Elisabeth S. Bakker and Péter Batáry and Felix J.J.A. Bianchi and Fabian A. Boetzl and Jana Brandmeier and Helge Bruelheide and Buntika Areekul Butcher and Abida Butt and Zhiping Cai and Alistair John Campbell and Fengqin Cao and Simone Cesarz and Lourdes Chamorro and Fajun Chen and J K Chen and Li‐Lin Chen and Yuehua Chen and Yiying Chen and Gemma Clemente‐Orta and Luuk Croijmans and David William Crowder and Jéssica K. S. Pachú and Anicet G. Dassou and Francisco Sousa Ramalho and Thomas Felix Döring},
journal = {Science Advances},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1126/sciadv.aeb8680},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb8680},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Plant diversity modifies multi-trophic interactions in croplands, grasslands and forests
AU - Nian‐Feng Wan
AU - Mu-Yao Li
AU - Siyuan Shen
AU - Jun-Xiang Zhou
AU - Y C Zhu
AU - Ben Alex Woodcock
AU - Yue‐Qing Hu
AU - Shinichi Nakagawa
AU - David G. Tilman
AU - Andy Hector
AU - Michel Loreau
AU - Peter B. Reich
AU - Matteo Dainese
AU - Forest Isaac Isbell
AU - Bernhard Schmid
AU - Kris A. G. Wyckhuys
AU - Geoff M. Gurr
AU - Linsheng Wan
AU - Nico Eisenhauer
AU - Yann Hautier
AU - Anu Eskelinen
AU - Richard D. Bardgett
AU - Paul Kardol
AU - Lauchlan Hugh Fraser
AU - Qi Su
AU - Shiyun Qiu
AU - Yavanna Aartsma
AU - R. Albajes
AU - Matthias Albrecht
AU - M. P. Ali
AU - Hugo Alejandro Álvarez
AU - Corinne Anagonou
AU - Jan C. Axmacher
AU - Dan Bahauddin
AU - Yongfei Bai
AU - Elisabeth S. Bakker
AU - Péter Batáry
AU - Felix J.J.A. Bianchi
AU - Fabian A. Boetzl
AU - Jana Brandmeier
AU - Helge Bruelheide
AU - Buntika Areekul Butcher
AU - Abida Butt
AU - Zhiping Cai
AU - Alistair John Campbell
AU - Fengqin Cao
AU - Simone Cesarz
AU - Lourdes Chamorro
AU - Fajun Chen
AU - J K Chen
AU - Li‐Lin Chen
AU - Yuehua Chen
AU - Yiying Chen
AU - Gemma Clemente‐Orta
AU - Luuk Croijmans
AU - David William Crowder
AU - Jéssica K. S. Pachú
AU - Anicet G. Dassou
AU - Francisco Sousa Ramalho
AU - Thomas Felix Döring
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/23
JO - Science Advances
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aeb8680
UR - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb8680
AB - Multitrophic interactions can strongly influence the structure and functioning of ecosystems, but how plant diversity influences the direction and predictability of multitrophic interactions across agricultural and natural ecosystems remains unclear. Using 149 field studies across five continents, we found that, on average, increasing plant diversity tended to exert differential top-down and bottom-up effects in croplands versus grasslands and forests. Organic and nonorganic croplands exhibited 846 and 148% higher invertebrate natural enemy-to-herbivore abundance ratios under increased plant diversity, consistent with top-down control patterns where predator gains cause herbivore declines, enhancing crop outcomes. In grasslands and forests, increasing plant diversity was associated with bottom-up effects where enhanced productivity increased both herbivore and predator populations, with the enemy-to-herbivore ratio increasing 4.73% for grasslands and 21.2% for forests. Our findings suggest that biodiversity effects on productivity are not solely explained by direct plant-plant interactions and the resulting biodiversity-productivity relationship. Rather, they reveal patterns consistent with the framework of top-down and bottom-up effects, the relative balance of which may vary depending on ecosystem and management type. The magnitude of the effects of diversified farming on crop pests suggests that crop diversification may be an important avenue for managing crop pests preventatively and thereby enhancing agricultural sustainability.
SN - 2375-2548
ER -