Abstract
Dry grasslands are vast, socioeconomically and ecologically important environments, which are increasingly threatened by multiple stressors. We tested whether plant cover composition could mitigate ecosystem services loss under multiple stressors in dry grassland mesocosms by growing the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover) under frequent cutting and/or increasing water stress. We assessed erosion control, carbon sequestration, forage quantity and quality, and soil fertility, individually and simultaneously (i.e., multifunctionality). Contrary to our hypothesis, the Mixed cover did not improve ecosystem services compared to the Grass cover, except for forage quality, which improved by 30%. In general, the stressors had negative effects: cutting reduced erosion control by 20%, forage quantity by 50%, soil fertility by 40% and multifunctionality by 20%, and severe water stress decreased carbon sequestration by 40%, forage quantity by 30%, soil fertility by 10%, and multifunctionality by 10%. Water stress caused 100% serradella mortality, underscoring this legume’s vulnerability to increasing aridity. Combined stressors yielded the lowest service provision. Forage quality was the only service that improved under stress: cutting improved it by 40% and severe water stress by 60%. Our results suggest that while systems combining grasses and legumes may enhance forage quality, grass-dominated systems appear more resilient to multiple stressors in drylands, largely due to their superior efficiency in accessing and conserving limited water and nutrient resources. Given the ongoing trends of aridification and land-use intensification, future research should explore adaptive management strategies that prioritize resource-efficient plant species, foster belowground resource retention, and optimize grazing regimes to sustain resilience and multifunctionality in dry grasslands.
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Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
Mixed cover did not improve ecosystem services except forage quality.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)
Sorghum bicolore1 - Treatment
- Mixed covere1
- Outcome
- ecosystem servicese0
- Direction
- did not improvee0
- Comparator
- Grass covere1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the Mixed cover did not improve ecosystem services compared to the Grass cover, except for forage quality”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mixed cover improved forage quality by 30%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- Mixed covere1
- Outcome
- forage qualitye0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Value
- 30%e0
- Comparator
- Grass covere1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“forage quality, which improved by 30%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Cutting reduced erosion control by 20%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- cuttinge0
- Outcome
- erosion controle0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 20%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cutting reduced erosion control by 20%, forage quantity by 50%, soil fertility by 40% and multifunctionality by 20%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Cutting reduced forage quantity by 50%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- cuttinge0
- Outcome
- forage quantitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 50%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cutting reduced erosion control by 20%, forage quantity by 50%, soil fertility by 40% and multifunctionality by 20%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Cutting reduced soil fertility by 40%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- cuttinge0
- Outcome
- soil fertilitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 40%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cutting reduced erosion control by 20%, forage quantity by 50%, soil fertility by 40% and multifunctionality by 20%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Cutting reduced multifunctionality by 20%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- cuttinge0
- Outcome
- multifunctionalitye0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 20%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cutting reduced erosion control by 20%, forage quantity by 50%, soil fertility by 40% and multifunctionality by 20%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Severe water stress decreased carbon sequestration by 40%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- severe water stresse0
- Outcome
- carbon sequestratione0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 40%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“severe water stress decreased carbon sequestration by 40%, forage quantity by 30%, soil fertility by 10%, and multifunctionality by 10%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Severe water stress decreased forage quantity by 30%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- severe water stresse0
- Outcome
- forage quantitye0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 30%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“severe water stress decreased carbon sequestration by 40%, forage quantity by 30%, soil fertility by 10%, and multifunctionality by 10%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Severe water stress decreased soil fertility by 10%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- severe water stresse0
- Outcome
- soil fertilitye0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 10%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“severe water stress decreased carbon sequestration by 40%, forage quantity by 30%, soil fertility by 10%, and multifunctionality by 10%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Severe water stress decreased multifunctionality by 10%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- severe water stresse0
- Outcome
- multifunctionalitye0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Value
- 10%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“severe water stress decreased carbon sequestration by 40%, forage quantity by 30%, soil fertility by 10%, and multifunctionality by 10%”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Water stress caused complete serradella mortality.
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Verbatim
e0“Water stress caused 100% serradella mortality”
Claim · model-written summary
Combined stressors yielded the lowest service provision.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- Combined stressorse0
- Outcome
- service provisione0
- Direction
- loweste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Combined stressors yielded the lowest service provision.”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Cutting improved forage quality by 40%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- cuttinge0
- Outcome
- Forage qualitye0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Value
- 40%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Forage quality was the only service that improved under stress: cutting improved it by 40% and severe water stress by 60%.”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
Severe water stress improved forage quality by 60%.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Treatment
- severe water stresse0
- Outcome
- Forage qualitye0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Value
- 60%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Forage quality was the only service that improved under stress: cutting improved it by 40% and severe water stress by 60%.”
e1“the grass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) alone (Grass cover) or together with the legume serradella (Ornithopus sativus) (Mixed cover)”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors interpret grass-dominated systems as more resilient to multiple stressors.
- Taxon
- sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)Sorghum bicolore1
- Outcome
- grass-dominated systems appear more resilient to multiple stressors in drylandse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“grass-dominated systems appear more resilient to multiple stressors in drylands”
e1“sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)”
The same questions in other papers
drought · quality: grain · Sorghum bicolor (sorghum)Positive and negative results
2 in the opposite direction
- negative
- negative
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.