Abiotic environmental change, local species extinctions and colonization of new species often co‐occur. Using a unique grassland experiment that isolates abiotic effects of warming from indirect biotic effects, we find that the biomass, richness and traits of plant colonists is more strongly affected by biotic resistance from residents than 6 years of 3°C‐above‐ambient temperatures. If these results were extended to invasive species management, preserving community diversity should help limit plant invasion, even under climate warming.
Full paper: Catford, J. A., J. M. Dwyer, E. Palma, J. M. Cowles, and D. Tilman. 2020. Community diversity outweighs effect of warming on plant colonization. Global Change Biology. link accepted author version
Ecological Change 