Data from: Nitrogen enrichment alters multiple dimensions of grassland functional stability via changing compositional stability

Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment is known to alter the composition and
functioning of plant communities. However, how nutrient enrichment
influences multiple dimensions of community- and ecosystem-level stability
remains poorly understood. Using data from a nitrogen (N) and phosphorus
(P) addition experiment in a temperate semi-arid grassland that
experienced a natural drought, we show that N enrichment, not P
enrichment, decreased grassland functional and compositional temporal
stability, resistance, and recovery, but increased functional and
compositional resilience. Compositional stability and species asynchrony,
rather than species diversity, were identified as key determinants of all
dimensions of grassland functional stability, except for recovery. Whereas
grassland functional recovery was decoupled from compositional recovery, N
enrichment altered other dimensions of functional stability primarily
through changing their corresponding compositional stability
dimensions. Our findings highlight the need to examine ecological
stability at the community level for a more mechanistic understanding
of ecosystem dynamics in the face of environmental change.