Competition for Light Causes Plant Biodiversity Loss After Eutrophication

Shedding Light on a Problem

Human activities—mainly the application of fertilizers to farmland—have increased the availability of nutrients in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In grasslands, nutrient enrichment reduces plant species diversity, but the mechanisms underlying this loss of biodiversity remain unclear. Hautier et al. (p. 636 ) use an experimental manipulation, addition of supplementary light to the grassland understory, which supports the idea that competition for light is the major mechanism of plant diversity loss.