Fertilized graminoids intensify negative drought effects on grassland productivity

Droughts can strongly affect grassland productivity and biodiversity, but responses differ widely. Nutrient availability may be a critical factor explaining this variation, is often ignored in analyses of drought responses. Here, we used standardized nutrient addition experiment covering 10 European grasslands to test if full-factorial nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium affected plant community inter-annual variation stress the extreme summer 2018 Europe. We found that amplified detrimental effects on aboveground biomass production. Drought also differed between functional groups, with negative effect graminoid not forb Our results imply eutrophication grasslands, which promotes dominance drought-sensitive graminoids over forbs, amplifies effects. In terms climate change adaptation, agricultural management would benefit from taking into account differential impacts fertilized versus unfertilized ecosystem services they provide society.