Insights on global rangeland ecosystem services shaped by grazing and fertilization

Laura Yahdjian; Sofía Campana; Pedro M. Tognetti; Juan Alberti; Pamela Graff; Cecilia Molina; Elizabeth T. Borer; Eric W. Seabloom; Suzanne M. Prober; Andrew S. MacDougall; Anita C. Risch; Jodi N. Price; Sally A. Power; Isabel C. Barrio; Erika Hersch-Green; Philip A. Fay; Sumanta Bagchi; Jonathan D. Bakker; Dana Blumenthal; Elizabeth H. Boughton; Cynthia S. Brown; Miguel N. Bugalho; Marc Cadotte; Maria C. Caldeira; Jane A. Catford; Clinton Carbutt; Qingqing Chen; Scott L. Collins; Thomas W. Crowther; Carla D’Antonio; Christopher R. Dickman; Mary E. DuPre; Kenneth J. Elgersma; Anu Eskelinen; Nicole Hagenah; Yann Hautier; Anke Jentsch; Johannes M.H. Knops; Jason P. Martina; Rebecca L. McCulley; Carly J. Stevens; Lauri Laanisto; Lydia R. O’Halloran; Pablo L. Peri; Petr Macek; Nicholas G. Smith; Grégory Sonnier; Ciska G.F. Veen; Risto Virtanen

doi:10.1002/fee.70022

Insights on global rangeland ecosystem services shaped by grazing and fertilization

Laura Yahdjian^*
, Sofía Campana
, Pedro M. Tognetti
, Juan Alberti
, Pamela Graff
, Cecilia Molina
, Elizabeth T. Borer
, Eric W. Seabloom
, Suzanne M. Prober
, Andrew S. MacDougall
, Anita C. Risch
, Jodi N. Price
, Sally A. Power
, Isabel C. Barrio
, Erika Hersch-Green
, Philip A. Fay
, Sumanta Bagchi
, Jonathan D. Bakker
, Dana Blumenthal
, Elizabeth H. Boughton

Cynthia S. Brown, Miguel N. Bugalho, Marc Cadotte, Maria C. Caldeira, Jane A. Catford, Clinton Carbutt, Qingqing Chen, Scott L. Collins, Thomas W. Crowther, Carla D’Antonio, Christopher R. Dickman, Mary E. DuPre, Kenneth J. Elgersma, Anu Eskelinen, Nicole Hagenah, Yann Hautier, Anke Jentsch, Johannes M.H. Knops, Jason P. Martina, Rebecca L. McCulley, Carly J. Stevens, Lauri Laanisto, Lydia R. O’Halloran, Pablo L. Peri, Petr Macek, Nicholas G. Smith, Grégory Sonnier, Ciska G.F. Veen, Risto Virtanen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

Rangelands are crucial to human well-being, but their ability to provide ecosystem services is threatened. We (1) quantified key ecosystem services provided by rangelands, (2) assessed short- and long-term impacts of fertilization (nutrient addition) and the exclusion of large grazing herbivores with fences (herbivore exclusion) on services, and (3) identified synergies and trade-offs among services. We measured indicators of ecosystem services and plant diversity at 79 sites across six continents in the global Nutrient Network. Short-term herbivore exclusion increased forage quantity and soil fertility, but longer-term herbivore exclusion decreased both along with plant richness and pollination. Nutrient addition improved forage provisioning, soil stability, climate regulation, and control of soil erosion but lowered plant diversity and impeded delivery of related services, especially after prolonged application. We found synergies between plant diversity and pollination, as well as between soil fertility, soil stability, and climate regulation. Trade-offs between forage stability and quality persisted after nutrient addition but disappeared with herbivore exclusion. Our results suggest that alternative management actions may sustain livestock production while maintaining rangeland ecosystem services.

Original language	English
Journal	Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70022
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 13 Jan 2026

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 The Ecological Society of America. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.

Funding

We appreciate everyone who conducted field measurements and contributed to the NutNet dataset, as well as the landowners who granted access to the sites. SC acknowledges fellowships from CONICET and Agencia I+D+i (PICT 2019‐02324) and a research fellowship provided by the Neotropical Grassland Conservancy (Marsden Memorial Grant); the sites for EHB were funded by the US Department of Agriculture’s Long‐term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network; MC and MNB acknowledge the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) for funding the research unit CEF (UID/BIA/50027/2020; UIDB/00239/2022), FEDER (POCI‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐006821), and Companhia das Lezirias and R Alves for field access; AE acknowledges the Academy of Finland (projects 297191 and 351089); AJ acknowledges the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, grant number 031B0516C); ICB acknowledges the University of Iceland Research Fund (2015), Orkurannsóknasjóður Landsvirkjunar (NÝR‐09‐2017, NÝR‐14‐2018, NÝR‐12‐2019); NGS acknowledges funding from the US National Science Foundation (DEB‐2045968) and Texas Tech University; LL and PM acknowledge the Estonian Academy of Sciences (research professorship for Arctic Studies) and Adam Mickie University Polar Station (Petuniabukta); JAC acknowledges funding from the European Research Council under the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement 101002987); CD acknowledges the Bush Heritage Australia and Wangkamadla Traditional Owners for permission to access the study sites, and B Tamayo for field and logistical assistance. : LY, SC, PMT, and JA conceptualized the study, analyzed the data, and wrote the first version of the manuscript; PG, CM, ETB, EWS, SMP, ASM, ACR, JNP, SAP, ICB, EH‐G, and PAF provided key ideas to conceptualization. All authors performed field work, discussed the results, and contributed to editing the paper. Author contributions

Funders	Funder number
Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Texas Tech University
Neotropical Grassland Conservancy
Companhia das Lezirias
Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia
Háskóli Íslands
U.S. Department of Agriculture
European Research Council
Adam Mickie University Polar Station
Bush Heritage Australia
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia	UIDB/00239/2022, UID/BIA/50027/2020
BMBF	031B0516C
Agencia Nacional de Promoción de la Investigación, el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación	PICT 2019‐02324
European Regional Development Fund	POCI‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐006821
Research Council of Finland	297191, 351089
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	101002987
National Science Foundation	DEB‐2045968

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action

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10.1002/fee.70022

Cite this

Yahdjian, L., Campana, S., Tognetti, P. M., Alberti, J., Graff, P., Molina, C., Borer, E. T., Seabloom, E. W., Prober, S. M., MacDougall, A. S., Risch, A. C., Price, J. N., Power, S. A., Barrio, I. C., Hersch-Green, E., Fay, P. A., Bagchi, S., Bakker, J. D., Blumenthal, D., ... Virtanen, R. (2026). Insights on global rangeland ecosystem services shaped by grazing and fertilization. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70022

@article{12e3447f72ca474089d69eaaaf1a11e8,

title = "Insights on global rangeland ecosystem services shaped by grazing and fertilization",

abstract = "Rangelands are crucial to human well-being, but their ability to provide ecosystem services is threatened. We (1) quantified key ecosystem services provided by rangelands, (2) assessed short- and long-term impacts of fertilization (nutrient addition) and the exclusion of large grazing herbivores with fences (herbivore exclusion) on services, and (3) identified synergies and trade-offs among services. We measured indicators of ecosystem services and plant diversity at 79 sites across six continents in the global Nutrient Network. Short-term herbivore exclusion increased forage quantity and soil fertility, but longer-term herbivore exclusion decreased both along with plant richness and pollination. Nutrient addition improved forage provisioning, soil stability, climate regulation, and control of soil erosion but lowered plant diversity and impeded delivery of related services, especially after prolonged application. We found synergies between plant diversity and pollination, as well as between soil fertility, soil stability, and climate regulation. Trade-offs between forage stability and quality persisted after nutrient addition but disappeared with herbivore exclusion. Our results suggest that alternative management actions may sustain livestock production while maintaining rangeland ecosystem services.",

author = "Laura Yahdjian and Sof{\'i}a Campana and Tognetti, \{Pedro M.\} and Juan Alberti and Pamela Graff and Cecilia Molina and Borer, \{Elizabeth T.\} and Seabloom, \{Eric W.\} and Prober, \{Suzanne M.\} and MacDougall, \{Andrew S.\} and Risch, \{Anita C.\} and Price, \{Jodi N.\} and Power, \{Sally A.\} and Barrio, \{Isabel C.\} and Erika Hersch-Green and Fay, \{Philip A.\} and Sumanta Bagchi and Bakker, \{Jonathan D.\} and Dana Blumenthal and Boughton, \{Elizabeth H.\} and Brown, \{Cynthia S.\} and Bugalho, \{Miguel N.\} and Marc Cadotte and Caldeira, \{Maria C.\} and Catford, \{Jane A.\} and Clinton Carbutt and Qingqing Chen and Collins, \{Scott L.\} and Crowther, \{Thomas W.\} and Carla D{\textquoteright}Antonio and Dickman, \{Christopher R.\} and DuPre, \{Mary E.\} and Elgersma, \{Kenneth J.\} and Anu Eskelinen and Nicole Hagenah and Yann Hautier and Anke Jentsch and Knops, \{Johannes M.H.\} and Martina, \{Jason P.\} and McCulley, \{Rebecca L.\} and Stevens, \{Carly J.\} and Lauri Laanisto and O{\textquoteright}Halloran, \{Lydia R.\} and Peri, \{Pablo L.\} and Petr Macek and Smith, \{Nicholas G.\} and Gr{\'e}gory Sonnier and Veen, \{Ciska G.F.\} and Risto Virtanen",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 The Ecological Society of America. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.",

year = "2026",

month = jan,

day = "13",

doi = "10.1002/fee.70022",

language = "English",

journal = "Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment",

issn = "1540-9295",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

}

Yahdjian, L, Campana, S, Tognetti, PM, Alberti, J, Graff, P, Molina, C, Borer, ET, Seabloom, EW, Prober, SM, MacDougall, AS, Risch, AC, Price, JN, Power, SA, Barrio, IC, Hersch-Green, E, Fay, PA, Bagchi, S, Bakker, JD, Blumenthal, D, Boughton, EH, Brown, CS, Bugalho, MN, Cadotte, M, Caldeira, MC, Catford, JA, Carbutt, C, Chen, Q, Collins, SL, Crowther, TW, D’Antonio, C, Dickman, CR, DuPre, ME, Elgersma, KJ, Eskelinen, A, Hagenah, N, Hautier, Y, Jentsch, A, Knops, JMH, Martina, JP, McCulley, RL, Stevens, CJ, Laanisto, L, O’Halloran, LR, Peri, PL, Macek, P, Smith, NG, Sonnier, G, Veen, CGF & Virtanen, R 2026, 'Insights on global rangeland ecosystem services shaped by grazing and fertilization', Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70022

TY - JOUR

T1 - Insights on global rangeland ecosystem services shaped by grazing and fertilization

AU - Yahdjian, Laura

AU - Campana, Sofía

AU - Tognetti, Pedro M.

AU - Alberti, Juan

AU - Graff, Pamela

AU - Molina, Cecilia

AU - Borer, Elizabeth T.

AU - Seabloom, Eric W.

AU - Prober, Suzanne M.

AU - MacDougall, Andrew S.

AU - Risch, Anita C.

AU - Price, Jodi N.

AU - Power, Sally A.

AU - Barrio, Isabel C.

AU - Hersch-Green, Erika

AU - Fay, Philip A.

AU - Bagchi, Sumanta

AU - Bakker, Jonathan D.

AU - Blumenthal, Dana

AU - Boughton, Elizabeth H.

AU - Brown, Cynthia S.

AU - Bugalho, Miguel N.

AU - Cadotte, Marc

AU - Caldeira, Maria C.

AU - Catford, Jane A.

AU - Carbutt, Clinton

AU - Chen, Qingqing

AU - Collins, Scott L.

AU - Crowther, Thomas W.

AU - D’Antonio, Carla

AU - Dickman, Christopher R.

AU - DuPre, Mary E.

AU - Elgersma, Kenneth J.

AU - Eskelinen, Anu

AU - Hagenah, Nicole

AU - Hautier, Yann

AU - Jentsch, Anke

AU - Knops, Johannes M.H.

AU - Martina, Jason P.

AU - McCulley, Rebecca L.

AU - Stevens, Carly J.

AU - Laanisto, Lauri

AU - O’Halloran, Lydia R.

AU - Peri, Pablo L.

AU - Macek, Petr

AU - Smith, Nicholas G.

AU - Sonnier, Grégory

AU - Veen, Ciska G.F.

AU - Virtanen, Risto

PY - 2026/1/13

Y1 - 2026/1/13

N2 - Rangelands are crucial to human well-being, but their ability to provide ecosystem services is threatened. We (1) quantified key ecosystem services provided by rangelands, (2) assessed short- and long-term impacts of fertilization (nutrient addition) and the exclusion of large grazing herbivores with fences (herbivore exclusion) on services, and (3) identified synergies and trade-offs among services. We measured indicators of ecosystem services and plant diversity at 79 sites across six continents in the global Nutrient Network. Short-term herbivore exclusion increased forage quantity and soil fertility, but longer-term herbivore exclusion decreased both along with plant richness and pollination. Nutrient addition improved forage provisioning, soil stability, climate regulation, and control of soil erosion but lowered plant diversity and impeded delivery of related services, especially after prolonged application. We found synergies between plant diversity and pollination, as well as between soil fertility, soil stability, and climate regulation. Trade-offs between forage stability and quality persisted after nutrient addition but disappeared with herbivore exclusion. Our results suggest that alternative management actions may sustain livestock production while maintaining rangeland ecosystem services.

AB - Rangelands are crucial to human well-being, but their ability to provide ecosystem services is threatened. We (1) quantified key ecosystem services provided by rangelands, (2) assessed short- and long-term impacts of fertilization (nutrient addition) and the exclusion of large grazing herbivores with fences (herbivore exclusion) on services, and (3) identified synergies and trade-offs among services. We measured indicators of ecosystem services and plant diversity at 79 sites across six continents in the global Nutrient Network. Short-term herbivore exclusion increased forage quantity and soil fertility, but longer-term herbivore exclusion decreased both along with plant richness and pollination. Nutrient addition improved forage provisioning, soil stability, climate regulation, and control of soil erosion but lowered plant diversity and impeded delivery of related services, especially after prolonged application. We found synergies between plant diversity and pollination, as well as between soil fertility, soil stability, and climate regulation. Trade-offs between forage stability and quality persisted after nutrient addition but disappeared with herbivore exclusion. Our results suggest that alternative management actions may sustain livestock production while maintaining rangeland ecosystem services.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105027410849

U2 - 10.1002/fee.70022

DO - 10.1002/fee.70022

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:105027410849

SN - 1540-9295

JO - Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

JF - Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

ER -

Insights on global rangeland ecosystem services shaped by grazing and fertilization

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

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