Tall fescue invasion fostered by grazing exclusion and nutrient addition in a temperate grassland

Tall fescue invasion fostered by grazing exclusion and nutrient addition in a temperate grassland | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Tall fescue invasion fostered by grazing exclusion and nutrient addition in a temperate grassland Pedro Maximiliano Tognetti, Sofia Campana, Pamela Graff, Maria Grisel Longo, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7389210/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 20 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Biological Invasions → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Forage species that escape from rangelands can invade natural grasslands, altering their composition and functioning. Native plants and wild herbivores may limit exotic species, whereas domestic herbivores and nutrient enrichment often favour invasion in the short term. However, the long-term interplay of top-down (herbivores) and bottom-up (nutrients) forces in controlling forage invasions remains uncertain. We evaluated how cattle grazing exclusion and nutrient addition influenced the invasion of Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue) in the Flooding Pampa (Argentina). Using three manipulative experiments spanning almost 30 years (1989–2016), we studied (i) the effect of cattle exclusion on species composition after invasion and (ii) how exclusion combined with nutrient enrichment (NPK) affected tall fescue, plant groups, and diversity. Tall fescue first appeared in 1995, when cattle exclusion still promoted native grasses. By 2016, it dominated cattle exclosures (>80% cover) but remained scarce in grazed areas (<5%). Nutrient addition with exclusion increased tall fescue size and competitiveness, reducing native cover and richness. Declines in richness reflected both a direct negative effect of nutrients and the indirect effect of tall fescue expansion facilitated by cattle absence. In sum, cattle exclusion shifted from favoring native grasses to enabling invasive forage dominance, especially under nutrient enrichment. Long-term interactions between grazing and resources strongly shape invasion outcomes. Facing increasing forage invasions limited nutrient inputs and domestic grazing might sustain native plant communities. biodiversity bottom-up control invasive forage grasses nutrient addition Pampa grassland plant community structure tall fescue top-down control Full Text Supplementary Files TOGNETTISUPPLEMENTARYINFORMATION202508.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 20 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Biological Invasions → Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 29 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 21 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 18 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 16 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7389210","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":507533388,"identity":"95ce85c8-f0bf-4540-8d34-5b4c6542dce6","order_by":0,"name":"Pedro Maximiliano Tognetti","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA2UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADHn4oI4GwUog6Ax7JBlK1MBgcIFaLPXv7tQcff/yRMT5+/NqHDwyH8/gbmJ99wGsLz5lywxlAh5mdySmeOYPhcLHEATbjGXi1SOSkSfOAtBzISWbmYTic2HCAwRi/X0Ba/gC1GPe/gWiZf4D9MwEt6cekQSFmIJF+GKxlwwEeAracOcMm2ZNmzCNx4w0z4wyD9GLDwzzFeLWwt7c/k/hhI2fP35/+mOFDhXWe3PH2zXi1AO0xQGKA2MwENADteYDOGAWjYBSMglGACgCbskMy6AxysgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7358-1334","institution":"Universidad de Buenos Aires Facultad de Agronomia","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pedro","middleName":"Maximiliano","lastName":"Tognetti","suffix":""},{"id":507533389,"identity":"cefd3adc-cba9-4c08-87d3-c30f34a3e22a","order_by":1,"name":"Sofia Campana","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiologicas y Ecologicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sofia","middleName":"","lastName":"Campana","suffix":""},{"id":507533390,"identity":"d504eb21-3ff0-433a-95cf-d9ea0cbe1565","order_by":2,"name":"Pamela Graff","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnologicas","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pamela","middleName":"","lastName":"Graff","suffix":""},{"id":507533391,"identity":"cfce2452-7bc3-4ff6-88eb-efadef8d9682","order_by":3,"name":"Maria Grisel Longo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad de la Republica Uruguay","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maria","middleName":"Grisel","lastName":"Longo","suffix":""},{"id":507533392,"identity":"87ac6f4e-2d6a-4113-8121-1b7313a2278c","order_by":4,"name":"Laura Yahdjian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"IFEVA: Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiologicas y Ecologicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laura","middleName":"","lastName":"Yahdjian","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-16 19:15:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7389210/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7389210/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-026-03785-8","type":"published","date":"2026-02-20T15:58:16+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103251483,"identity":"2745a41a-3e1a-436f-80f9-0834823c58ec","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-23 16:09:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":820124,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TOGNETTITEXT202508.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7389210/v1_covered_c6b3a37d-d982-489e-b1e5-206b68d638da.pdf"},{"id":90664458,"identity":"1779bb08-3c1b-4b79-a24c-f84a4a27707c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-05 12:20:20","extension":"pdf","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":438864,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TOGNETTISUPPLEMENTARYINFORMATION202508.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7389210/v1/5faa3b9d74bb9a913b1260ac.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Tall fescue invasion fostered by grazing exclusion and nutrient addition in a temperate grassland","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"biological-invasions","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"binv","sideBox":"Learn more about [Biological Invasions](https://www.springer.com/journal/10530)","snPcode":"10530","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10530/3","title":"Biological Invasions","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"biodiversity, bottom-up control, invasive forage grasses, nutrient addition, Pampa grassland, plant community structure, tall fescue, top-down control","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7389210/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7389210/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Forage species that escape from rangelands can invade natural grasslands, altering their composition and functioning. Native plants and wild herbivores may limit exotic species, whereas domestic herbivores and nutrient enrichment often favour invasion in the short term. However, the long-term interplay of top-down (herbivores) and bottom-up (nutrients) forces in controlling forage invasions remains uncertain. We evaluated how cattle grazing exclusion and nutrient addition influenced the invasion of Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue) in the Flooding Pampa (Argentina). Using three manipulative experiments spanning almost 30 years (1989–2016), we studied (i) the effect of cattle exclusion on species composition after invasion and (ii) how exclusion combined with nutrient enrichment (NPK) affected tall fescue, plant groups, and diversity. Tall fescue first appeared in 1995, when cattle exclusion still promoted native grasses. By 2016, it dominated cattle exclosures (\u0026gt;80% cover) but remained scarce in grazed areas (\u0026lt;5%). Nutrient addition with exclusion increased tall fescue size and competitiveness, reducing native cover and richness. Declines in richness reflected both a direct negative effect of nutrients and the indirect effect of tall fescue expansion facilitated by cattle absence. In sum, cattle exclusion shifted from favoring native grasses to enabling invasive forage dominance, especially under nutrient enrichment. Long-term interactions between grazing and resources strongly shape invasion outcomes. Facing increasing forage invasions limited nutrient inputs and domestic grazing might sustain native plant communities.","manuscriptTitle":"Tall fescue invasion fostered by grazing exclusion and nutrient addition in a temperate grassland","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-05 12:20:15","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7389210/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2025-09-03T14:08:48+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-29T15:05:09+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"Biological Invasions","date":"2025-08-21T09:19:29+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-08-18T09:48:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Biological Invasions","date":"2025-08-16T15:14:26+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"biological-invasions","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"binv","sideBox":"Learn more about [Biological Invasions](https://www.springer.com/journal/10530)","snPcode":"10530","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10530/3","title":"Biological Invasions","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d2a55df9-c9a0-425d-b3e7-5230d7cd7b63","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-23T16:06:11+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7389210","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-026-03785-8","journal":{"identity":"biological-invasions","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Biological Invasions"},"publishedOn":"2026-02-20 15:58:16","publishedOnDateReadable":"February 20th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-05 12:20:15","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s10530-026-03785-8","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-026-03785-8","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7389210","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7389210","identity":"rs-7389210","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}