Will collapsed species richness under climate extreme lead to a decrease in plant community biomass production? Evidence from translocation experiments

We tracked local plant species loss and aboveground biomass of native and non-native species by actively pushing mountain grasslands beyond their ecological thresholds in a five-year, multisite translocation experiment across the European Alps. Our results show that species loss (ranging from a 73% to 94% reduction in species richness) caused by simulated climate extremes (strong warming interacting with drought) did not decrease community biomass. Even without non-native species colonization, the community biomass of native species remained stable during native species richness collapse.