Data from: Opposing responses of temporal stability of aboveground and belowground net primary productivity to water and nitrogen enrichment in a temperate grassland

Changes in water and nitrogen availability, as important elements of
global environmental change, are known to affect the temporal stability of
aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP). However, evidences for their
effects on the temporal stability of belowground net primary productivity
(BNPP), and whether such effects are consistent between belowground and
aboveground, are rather scarce. Here, we investigated the responses of
temporal stability of both ANPP and BNPP to water and nitrogen addition
based on a 9-year manipulative experiment in a temperate grassland in
northern China. The results showed that the temporal stability of ANPP
increased with water addition but decreased with nitrogen addition. By
contrast, the temporal stability of BNPP decreased with water addition but
increased with nitrogen enrichment. The temporal stability of ANPP was
mainly determined by the soil moisture and inorganic nitrogen, which
modulated species asynchrony, as well as by the stability of dominant
species. On the other hand, the temporal stability of BNPP was mainly
driven by the soil moisture and inorganic nitrogen that modulated ANPP of
grasses, and by the direct effect of soil water availability. Our study
provides the first evidence on the opposite responses of aboveground and
belowground grassland temporal stability to increased water and nitrogen
availability, highlighting the importance of considering both aboveground
and belowground components of ecosystems for a more comprehensive
understanding of their dynamics.