Seasonal NDVI data for a biodiversity and consumer removal experiment at the University of Minnesota's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (2009 - 2016)

Plant biodiversity and consumers (herbivores, pathogens, and mutualists) are important mediators of energy and carbon fluxes in grassland ecosystems. Although the role of consumers and plant diversity in controlling peak-season biomass production has been characterized, knowledge of their roles in within-season variation of energy and carbon flux remains poorly understood. Here we measure variation in consumer and plant diversity control of plant biomass production throughout the growing season and their impact on plant biomass phenology (timing of maximum biomass). To do this, we analyzed 5 years of biweekly, non-destructive biomass measures in an experiment manipulating plant species richness and three consumer groups (foliar fungi, soil fungi, arthropods, or all groups via pesticides). We found that plant biomass differences between high diversity plots and monocultures were greatest early in the growing season, whereas the foliar fungicide and insecticide treatments increased biomas...