Fan, Shunxiang;
Newbold, Tim;
Axmacher, Jan C;
Outhwaite, Charlotte L;
Zou, Yi;
Yu, Zhenrong;
Liu, Yunhui;
(2025)
Arthropod biodiversity loss from nitrogen deposition is buffered by natural and semi-natural habitats.
PLOS Biology
, 23
(7)
, Article e3003285. 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003285.
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Abstract
Nitrogen (N) deposition is known to strongly modify biogeochemical cycles and trophic interactions, in turn altering ecosystem functioning and plant diversity around the globe. However, our understanding of N deposition effects on arthropod diversity remains limited. Here, we investigate how N deposition impacts the diversity of arthropods by combining biodiversity data from the PREDICTS database with data on global N deposition and land cover using mixed-effects models. We then explore the potential for semi-natural and natural habitats (‘SNH’) to buffer against potential N deposition-linked biodiversity losses. N deposition has a negative effect on arthropod biodiversity. Both, species richness and abundance are significantly reduced in areas of high levels of N deposition when compared to areas of low N deposition, with responses varying across different land-use types. The strongest negative effects of N deposition on arthropod diversity were observed in locations where the local land use entails the least anthropogenic modification. At the same time, with the exception of cropland-dominated landscapes, increases in the amount of SNH in the surrounding landscape reduced arthropod biodiversity losses associated with N deposition. We conclude that SNH can play an important role in mitigating the negative effects of N deposition on arthropod diversity, with the conservation and creation of these habitats promoting arthropod diversity even under high levels of N deposition.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Arthropod biodiversity loss from nitrogen deposition is buffered by natural and semi-natural habitats |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003285 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003285 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10211620 |
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