RESULTS

Overall phenological patterns of aboveground and belowground processes

Shoots were active between March and September. Shoot height and greenness peaked in mid-spring but showed a slightly decoupled pattern (Fig. 2). Plant community height increased rapidly from May to June, until the first mowing. Plants re-started growing at a slower pace, and reached a lower maximum height before the second mowing in September (Fig. 2a). In contrast, plant greenness increased slowly in March, reached a stable peak across June, July, and August, and dropped suddenly in September (Fig. 2b). Interestingly, plant greenness was not affected by the mowing events (see Fig. S2 for a daily variation of greenness). Root production started in December, peaking in May, and senescing in summer (Fig. 2c). Already in March, root growth exceeded the values attained later during the summer months after the first mowing. Detritivore feeding activity showed two broad peaks - the first one in late spring and mid-summer, and a second one in early winter (Fig. 2d). The belowground data showed that soil fauna was much more variable, probably due to higher sensitivity to short-term climate fluctuation than shoots. In general, plant species richness and plant functional group richness increased total shoot (except greenness), root, and soil fauna activity (plant species richness only; Table S1).