Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34108462›Full record

ArticleNature communications2021

Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization consistently favor pathogenic over mutualistic fungi in grassland soils.

Ylva Lekberg, Carlos A Arnillas, Elizabeth T Borer, Lorinda S Bullington, Noah Fierer, Peter G Kennedy, Jonathan W Leff, Angela D Luis, Eric W Seabloom, Jeremiah A Henning

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
94citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
42.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

94 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 295 citations in OpenAlex.

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  17. From beginning to end: the synecology of tree-killing bark beetles, fungi, and trees.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026
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34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Ylva Lekberg *MPG Ranch, Missoula, MT, USA. ylekberg@mpgranch.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1033-8032
Carlos A Arnillas *Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto - Scarborough, Scarborough, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1506-9978
Elizabeth T BorerDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2259-5853
Lorinda S BullingtonMPG Ranch, Missoula, MT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4132-2762
Noah FiererDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
Peter G KennedyDepartments of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA.
Jonathan W LeffIndependent Researcher, Boulder, CO, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3309-2709
Angela D LuisDepartment of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
Eric W SeabloomDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6780-9259
Jeremiah A HenningDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA.
University of Minnesota · USUniversity of Montana · USCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences · USUniversity of Toronto · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ecosystems across the globe receive elevated inputs of nutrients, but the consequences of this for soil fungal guilds that mediate key ecosystem functions remain unclear. We find that nitrogen and phosphorus addition to 25 grasslands distributed across four continents promotes the relative abundance of fungal pathogens, suppresses mutualists, but does not affect saprotrophs. Structural equation models suggest that responses are often indirect and primarily mediated by nutrient-induced shifts in plant communities. Nutrient addition also reduces co-occurrences within and among fungal guilds, which could have important consequences for belowground interactions. Focusing only on plots that received no nutrient addition, soil properties influence pathogen abundance globally, whereas plant community characteristics influence mutualists, and climate influence saprotrophs. We show consistent, guild-level responses that enhance our ability to predict shifts in soil function related to anthropogenic eutrophication, which can have longer-term consequences for plant communities.

Indexed as

FertilizersSoil MicrobiologyFungiGrasslandMycorrhizaeNitrogenNutrientsPhosphorusPlant RootsSoilFertilizersNitrogenNutrientsPhosphorusSoil

Identifiers

PMID34108462
PMCPMC8190096
OpenAlexW3169662155

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.