Experimental warming decouples plant-fungal symbiont interactions and leads to a more conservative ecosystem.
Souza L, Classen AT, Rudgers JA, Miller CML, Pyle JAM
Climate Adaptation
Mountain meadows and wildflower-rich grasslands many people hike through and depend on for clean water and biodiversity are quietly transforming underground as well as above — and once the beneficial fungal networks that sustain diverse plant communities break down, those ecosystems may be very hard to restore.
Scientists warmed a patch of Rocky Mountain meadow for 29 years and watched it slowly transform: the colorful wildflowers and grasses disappeared while shrubs took over. Underground, the helpful fungi that normally plug into plant roots and trade nutrients for sugar — keeping the whole plant community thriving — started dying off. The warming essentially cut the underground supply lines that diverse meadow plants rely on, pushing the ecosystem toward something more like a dry desert scrubland.
Key Findings
Shrubs increased by 150% in warmed plots over 29 years, while forbs and grasses each declined by approximately 28%.
Beneficial root-colonizing fungi (mycorrhizal associations) declined 17–20% under warming, while decomposer fungi in the soil increased by 10%.
Warming decoupled above- and belowground communities: plants became less reliant on mycorrhizal fungi even as soil phosphorus availability increased, reversing the typical driver of the partnership.
chevron_right Technical Summary
After nearly 30 years of experimental warming in a Colorado mountain meadow, grasses and wildflowers gave way to shrubs, and the underground fungal partnerships plants depend on for nutrients collapsed — suggesting warming transforms grasslands into shrubland-like ecosystems both above and below ground.
Abstract Preview
Climate forecasts project rising temperatures for every land surface on Earth. Predicting the consequences of climate warming poses a challenge for science and society. Shifts in plant-microbial in...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Urban Tree Canopy Reduces Heat-Related Mortality by 39% in European Cities
Trees in your local park or street aren't just pretty — they are literally keeping people alive during heatwaves, and planting even a modest number of the ri...