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Liu C, Van Meerbeek K. Predicting the responses of European grassland communities to climate and land cover change. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230335. [PMID: 38583469 PMCID: PMC10999271 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
European grasslands are among the most species-rich ecosystems on small spatial scales. However, human-induced activities like land use and climate change pose significant threats to this diversity. To explore how climate and land cover change will affect biodiversity and community composition in grassland ecosystems, we conducted joint species distribution models (SDMs) on the extensive vegetation-plot database sPlotOpen to project distributions of 1178 grassland species across Europe under current conditions and three future scenarios. We further compared model accuracy and computational efficiency between joint SDMs (JSDMs) and stacked SDMs, especially for rare species. Our results show that: (i) grassland communities in the mountain ranges are expected to suffer high rates of species loss, while those in western, northern and eastern Europe will experience substantial turnover; (ii) scaling anomalies were observed in the predicted species richness, reflecting regional differences in the dominant drivers of assembly processes; (iii) JSDMs did not outperform stacked SDMs in predictive power but demonstrated superior efficiency in model fitting and predicting; and (iv) incorporating co-occurrence datasets improved the model performance in predicting the distribution of rare species. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Liu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Flanders 3001, Belgium
| | - Koenraad Van Meerbeek
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Flanders 3001, Belgium
- KU Leuven Plant Institute, Leuven, Flanders, Belgium
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2
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Hisano M, Ghazoul J, Chen X, Chen HYH. Functional diversity enhances dryland forest productivity under long-term climate change. Sci Adv 2024; 10:eadn4152. [PMID: 38657059 PMCID: PMC11042740 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn4152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Short-term experimental studies provided evidence that plant diversity increases ecosystem resilience and resistance to drought events, suggesting diversity to serve as a nature-based solution to address climate change. However, it remains unclear whether the effects of diversity are momentary or still hold over the long term in natural forests to ensure that the sustainability of carbon sinks. By analyzing 57 years of inventory data from dryland forests in Canada, we show that productivity of dryland forests decreased at an average rate of 1.3% per decade, in concert with the temporally increasing temperature and decreasing water availability. Increasing functional trait diversity from its minimum (monocultures) to maximum value increased productivity by 13%. Our results demonstrate the potential role of tree functional trait diversity in alleviating climate change impacts on dryland forests. While recognizing that nature-based climate mitigation (e.g., planting trees) can only be partial solutions, their long-term (decadal) efficacy can be improved by enhancing functional trait diversity across the forest community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masumi Hisano
- Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan
- Ecosystem Management, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Ecosystem Studies, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
- Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada
| | - Jaboury Ghazoul
- Ecosystem Management, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Department of Environmental System Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Xinli Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
| | - Han Y. H. Chen
- Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada
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3
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Yang X, Feng Q, Zhu M, Zhang J, Yang L, Zhang C, Wang Z, Feng Y. Vegetation communities and soil properties along the restoration process of the Jinqianghe mine site in the Qilian Mountains, China. Front Plant Sci 2024; 15:1358309. [PMID: 38711611 PMCID: PMC11070538 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1358309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
The study explores the impact of mine grassland restoration on plant communities and soil properties in alpine grasslands, a subject of significant interest due to the observed relationship between grassland changes, plant communities, and soil properties. While prior research has mainly focused on the consequences of grassland degradation on plant diversity and soil characteristics, the specific effects of varying restoration degrees in alpine mining grasslands at the regional scale remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we established 15 sampling plots (0.5m×0.5m) across five different restoration degrees within alpine mining grasslands in the Qilian Mountains, China. Our objective was to assess the variations in plant diversity and soil properties along these restoration gradients. We conducted comprehensive analyses, encompassing soil properties [soil water content (SWC), available nitrogen (AN), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrate nitrogen, soil pH, and electrical conductivity (EC)], plant characteristics (height, density, frequency, coverage, and aboveground biomass), and plant diversity indices (Simpson, Shannon-Wiener, Margalef, Dominance, and Evenness indexes). Our findings included the identification and collection of 18 plant species from 11 families and 16 genera across the five restoration degrees: Very Low Restoration Degree (VLRD), Low Restoration Degree (LRD), Moderate Restoration Degree (MRD), High Restoration Degree (HRD), and Natural Grassland (NGL). Notably, species like Carex duriuscula, Cyperus rotundus, and Polygonum viviparum showed signs of recovery. Principal component analysis and Pearson correlation analysis revealed that soil pH, SWC, SOC, NO3-N, and AN were the primary environmental factors influencing plant communities. Specifically, soil pH and EC decreased as restoration levels increased, while SWC, AN, TP, NH4-N, TN, AP, SOC, and NO3-N exhibited a gradual increase with greater restoration efforts. Furthermore, the HRD plant community demonstrated similarities to the NGL, indicating the most effective natural recovery. In conclusion, our study provides valuable insights into the responses of plant community characteristics, plant diversity, and soil properties across varying restoration degrees to environmental factors. It also elucidates the characteristics of plant communities along recovery gradients in alpine grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaomei Yang
- Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Qi Feng
- Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Meng Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Jutao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Linshan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Chengqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Alax Desert Eco-hydrology Experimental Research Station, Qilian Mountains Eco-Environment Research Center in Gansu Province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhiyang Wang
- Technology Innovation Center for Mine Geological Environment Restoration in the Alpine and Arid Regions, Ministry of Natural Resources, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yonglin Feng
- Technology Innovation Center for Mine Geological Environment Restoration in the Alpine and Arid Regions, Ministry of Natural Resources, Lanzhou, China
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Wang X, Tang Y, Yue X, Wang S, Yang K, Xu Y, Shen Q, Friman VP, Wei Z. The role of rhizosphere phages in soil health. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2024; 100:fiae052. [PMID: 38678007 PMCID: PMC11065364 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiae052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
While the One Health framework has emphasized the importance of soil microbiomes for plant and human health, one of the most diverse and abundant groups-bacterial viruses, i.e. phages-has been mostly neglected. This perspective reviews the significance of phages for plant health in rhizosphere and explores their ecological and evolutionary impacts on soil ecosystems. We first summarize our current understanding of the diversity and ecological roles of phages in soil microbiomes in terms of nutrient cycling, top-down density regulation, and pathogen suppression. We then consider how phages drive bacterial evolution in soils by promoting horizontal gene transfer, encoding auxiliary metabolic genes that increase host bacterial fitness, and selecting for phage-resistant mutants with altered ecology due to trade-offs with pathogen competitiveness and virulence. Finally, we consider challenges and avenues for phage research in soil ecosystems and how to elucidate the significance of phages for microbial ecology and evolution and soil ecosystem functioning in the future. We conclude that similar to bacteria, phages likely play important roles in connecting different One Health compartments, affecting microbiome diversity and functions in soils. From the applied perspective, phages could offer novel approaches to modulate and optimize microbial and microbe-plant interactions to enhance soil health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofang Wang
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Yike Tang
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Xiufeng Yue
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Shuo Wang
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Keming Yang
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Yangchun Xu
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Qirong Shen
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Ville-Petri Friman
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
- Department of Microbiology, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Zhong Wei
- Jiangsu provincial key lab for solid organic waste utilization, Key lab of organic-based fertilizers of China,Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Wastes, Educational Ministry Engineering Center of Resource-saving fertilizers, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
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5
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Tao S, Veen GFC, Zhang N, Yu T, Qu L. Tree and shrub richness modifies subtropical tree productivity by regulating the diversity and community composition of soil bacteria and archaea. Microbiome 2023; 11:261. [PMID: 37996939 PMCID: PMC10666335 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-023-01676-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Declines in plant biodiversity often have negative consequences for plant community productivity, and it becomes increasingly acknowledged that this may be driven by shifts in soil microbial communities. So far, the role of fungal communities in driving tree diversity-productivity relationships has been well assessed in forests. However, the role of bacteria and archaea, which are also highly abundant in forest soils and perform pivotal ecosystem functions, has been less investigated in this context. Here, we investigated how tree and shrub richness affects stand-level tree productivity by regulating bacterial and archaeal community diversity and composition. We used a landscape-scale, subtropical tree biodiversity experiment (BEF-China) where tree (1, 2, or 4 species) and shrub richness (0, 2, 4, 8 species) were modified. RESULTS Our findings indicated a noteworthy decline in soil bacterial α-diversity as tree species richness increased from monoculture to 2- and 4- tree species mixtures, but a significant increase in archaeal α-diversity. Additionally, we observed that the impact of shrub species richness on microbial α-diversity was largely dependent on the level of tree species richness. The increase in tree species richness greatly reduced the variability in bacterial community composition and the complexity of co-occurrence network, but this effect was marginal for archaea. Both tree and shrub species richness increased the stand-level tree productivity by regulating the diversity and composition of bacterial community and archaeal diversity, with the effects being mediated via increases in soil C:N ratios. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide insight into the importance of bacterial and archaeal communities in driving the relationship between plant diversity and productivity in subtropical forests and highlight the necessity for a better understanding of prokaryotic communities in forest soils. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqi Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Effecient Production of Forest Resources, Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China
- Ecological Observation and Research Station of Heilongjiang Sanjiang Plain Wetlands, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, 518000, Shuangyashan, People's Republic of China
| | - G F Ciska Veen
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Droevendaalstesteeg 10, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands
| | - Naili Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Effecient Production of Forest Resources, Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People's Republic of China.
- Ecological Observation and Research Station of Heilongjiang Sanjiang Plain Wetlands, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, 518000, Shuangyashan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Tianhe Yu
- Department of Biology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, 157011, People's Republic of China
| | - Laiye Qu
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100085, People's Republic of China.
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Andraczek K, Weigelt A, Cantuarias CJB, Fischer M, Hinderling J, Prati D, Rauwolf EMN, van der Plas F. Relationships between species richness and biomass production are context dependent in grasslands differing in land-use and seed addition. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19663. [PMID: 37952061 PMCID: PMC10640580 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47020-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite evidence from grasslands experiments suggesting that plant species loss reduces biomass production, the strength of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in managed grasslands is still debated. High land-use intensity and reduced species pools are often suggested to make relationships between biodiversity and productivity less positive or even negative, but concrete evidence is still scarce. We investigated biodiversity-productivity relationships over two years in 150 managed grasslands in Germany. Specifically, we distinguished between relationships of biodiversity and biomass production in managed grasslands (1) varying in land-use intensity (e.g. of mowing, grazing and/or fertilization), (2) where land-use intensity is experimentally reduced, and (3) where additionally to land-use reductions, species pools are enlarged by seed addition. Among grasslands varying in land-use intensity, we found negative biodiversity-productivity relationships. Land-use reduction weakened these relationships, towards neutral, and sometimes, even positive relationships. Seed addition reduced species pool limitations, but this did not strengthen biodiversity-productivity relationships. Our findings indicate that land-use intensity is an important factor explaining the predominantly negative biodiversity-productivity relationships in managed grasslands. While we did not find that species pool limitations weakened biodiversity-productivity relationships, our results are based on a two-year-old experiment, possibly such effects are only visible in the long-term. Ultimately, advancing insights on biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships helps us to understand under which conditions agricultural production may benefit from promoting biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl Andraczek
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Alexandra Weigelt
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, 03401, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cristóbal J Bottero Cantuarias
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Markus Fischer
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Judith Hinderling
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Prati
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Esther M N Rauwolf
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Fons van der Plas
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Heilpern SA, Herrera-R GA, Fiorella KJ, Moya L, Flecker AS, McIntyre PB. Species trait diversity sustains multiple dietary nutrients supplied by freshwater fisheries. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1887-1897. [PMID: 37671723 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
Species, through their traits, influence how ecosystems simultaneously sustain multiple functions. However, it is unclear how trait diversity sustains the multiple contributions biodiversity makes to people. Freshwater fisheries nourish hundreds of millions of people globally, but overharvesting and river fragmentation are increasingly affecting catches. We analyse how loss of nutritional trait diversity in consumed fish portfolios affects the simultaneous provisioning of six essential dietary nutrients using household data from the Amazon and Tonlé Sap, two of Earth's most productive and diverse freshwater fisheries. We find that fish portfolios with high trait diversity meet higher thresholds of required daily intakes for a greater variety of nutrients with less fish biomass. This beneficial biodiversity effect is driven by low redundancy in species nutrient content profiles. Our findings imply that sustaining the dietary contributions fish make to people given declining biodiversity could require more biomass and ultimately exacerbate fishing pressure in already-stressed ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian A Heilpern
- Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Guido A Herrera-R
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Kathryn J Fiorella
- Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Luis Moya
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Iquitos, Perú
| | - Alexander S Flecker
- Deparment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Peter B McIntyre
- Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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8
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McCleery R, Guralnick R, Beatty M, Belitz M, Campbell CJ, Idec J, Jones M, Kang Y, Potash A, Fletcher RJ. Uniting Experiments and Big Data to advance ecology and conservation. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:970-979. [PMID: 37330409 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Many ecologists increasingly advocate for research frameworks centered on the use of 'big data' to address anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems. Yet, experiments are often considered essential for identifying mechanisms and informing conservation interventions. We highlight the complementarity of these research frameworks and expose largely untapped opportunities for combining them to speed advancements in ecology and conservation. With nascent but increasing application of model integration, we argue that there is an urgent need to unite experimental and big data frameworks throughout the scientific process. Such an integrated framework offers potential for capitalizing on the benefits of both frameworks to gain rapid and reliable answers to ecological challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert McCleery
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA.
| | - Robert Guralnick
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Meghan Beatty
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Michael Belitz
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Caitlin J Campbell
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Jacob Idec
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Maggie Jones
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Yiyang Kang
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Alex Potash
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
| | - Robert J Fletcher
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32618, USA
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9
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Dee LE, Ferraro PJ, Severen CN, Kimmel KA, Borer ET, Byrnes JEK, Clark AT, Hautier Y, Hector A, Raynaud X, Reich PB, Wright AJ, Arnillas CA, Davies KF, MacDougall A, Mori AS, Smith MD, Adler PB, Bakker JD, Brauman KA, Cowles J, Komatsu K, Knops JMH, McCulley RL, Moore JL, Morgan JW, Ohlert T, Power SA, Sullivan LL, Stevens C, Loreau M. Clarifying the effect of biodiversity on productivity in natural ecosystems with longitudinal data and methods for causal inference. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2607. [PMID: 37147282 PMCID: PMC10163230 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37194-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Causal effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functions can be estimated using experimental or observational designs - designs that pose a tradeoff between drawing credible causal inferences from correlations and drawing generalizable inferences. Here, we develop a design that reduces this tradeoff and revisits the question of how plant species diversity affects productivity. Our design leverages longitudinal data from 43 grasslands in 11 countries and approaches borrowed from fields outside of ecology to draw causal inferences from observational data. Contrary to many prior studies, we estimate that increases in plot-level species richness caused productivity to decline: a 10% increase in richness decreased productivity by 2.4%, 95% CI [-4.1, -0.74]. This contradiction stems from two sources. First, prior observational studies incompletely control for confounding factors. Second, most experiments plant fewer rare and non-native species than exist in nature. Although increases in native, dominant species increased productivity, increases in rare and non-native species decreased productivity, making the average effect negative in our study. By reducing the tradeoff between experimental and observational designs, our study demonstrates how observational studies can complement prior ecological experiments and inform future ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Dee
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
| | - Paul J Ferraro
- Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health & Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | | | - Kaitlin A Kimmel
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Elizabeth T Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Jarrett E K Byrnes
- Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morissey Blvd, Boston, MA, 02125, USA
| | - Adam Thomas Clark
- Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Holteigasse 6, 8010, Graz, Austria
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew Hector
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3RB, UK
| | - Xavier Raynaud
- Sorbonne Université, Université Paris Cité, UPEC, IRD, CNRS, INRA, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, iEES Paris, Paris, France
| | - Peter B Reich
- Institute for Global Change Biology, and School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Alexandra J Wright
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Carlos A Arnillas
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough, Toronto, 1265 Military Trail, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Kendi F Davies
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Andrew MacDougall
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Akira S Mori
- Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8904, Japan
| | - Melinda D Smith
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Peter B Adler
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA
| | - Jonathan D Bakker
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Box 354115, Seattle, WA, 98195-4115, USA
| | - Kate A Brauman
- Global Water Security Center, The University of Alabama, Box 870206, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, US
| | - Jane Cowles
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Kimberly Komatsu
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA
| | - Johannes M H Knops
- Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Xián Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China
| | - Rebecca L McCulley
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546-0312, USA
| | - Joslin L Moore
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - John W Morgan
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, 3086, Australia
| | - Timothy Ohlert
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Sally A Power
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Lauren L Sullivan
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, 49060, USA
| | - Carly Stevens
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Michel Loreau
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, 09200, Moulis, France
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10
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Niu Y, Schuchardt MA, von Heßberg A, Jentsch A. Stable plant community biomass production despite species richness collapse under simulated extreme climate in the European Alps. Sci Total Environ 2023; 864:161166. [PMID: 36572286 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.161166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Direct observation of biodiversity loss in response to abrupt climate change can resolve fundamental questions about temporal community dynamics and clarify the controversial debate of biodiversity loss impacts on ecosystem functioning. We tracked local plant species loss and the corresponding change of aboveground biomass of native and non-native species by actively pushing mountain grassland ecosystems beyond their ecological thresholds in a five-year, multisite translocation experiment across the European Alps. Our results show that species loss (ranging from a 73 % to 94 % reduction in species richness) caused by simulated climate extremes (strong warming interacting with drought) did not decrease community biomass. Even without non-native species colonization, the community biomass of native species remained stable during native species richness collapse. Switching our research focus from local extinction in the face of climate change towards the beneficial impacts of persisting native species (in addition to novel plant-plant interactions) might yield insights on transformative opportunities for boosting climate resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujie Niu
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.
| | - Max A Schuchardt
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.
| | - Andreas von Heßberg
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.
| | - Anke Jentsch
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.
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11
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van der Plas F, Schröder-Georgi T, Weigelt A, Barry K, Meyer S, Alzate A, Barnard RL, Buchmann N, de Kroon H, Ebeling A, Eisenhauer N, Engels C, Fischer M, Gleixner G, Hildebrandt A, Koller-France E, Leimer S, Milcu A, Mommer L, Niklaus PA, Oelmann Y, Roscher C, Scherber C, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Scheu S, Schmid B, Schulze ED, Temperton V, Tscharntke T, Voigt W, Weisser W, Wilcke W, Wirth C. Reply to: Plant traits alone are good predictors of ecosystem properties when used carefully. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:335-6. [PMID: 36646947 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01957-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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12
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Chacón-Labella J, Hinojo-Hinojo C, Bohner T, Castorena M, Violle C, Vandvik V, Enquist BJ. How to improve scaling from traits to ecosystem processes. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:228-237. [PMID: 36435672 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Scaling approaches in ecology assume that traits are the main attributes by which organisms influence ecosystem functioning. However, several recent empirical papers have found only weak links between traits and ecosystem functioning, questioning the usefulness of trait-based ecology (TBE). We argue that these studies often suffer from one or more widespread misconceptions. Specifically, these studies often (i) conflict with the conceptual foundations of TBE, (ii) lack theory- or hypothesis-driven selection and use of traits, (iii) tend to ignore intraspecific variation, and (iv) use experimental or study designs that are not well suited to make strong tests of TBE assumptions. Addressing these aspects could significantly improve our ability to scale from traits to ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Chacón-Labella
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Biology (Botany), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Cesar Hinojo-Hinojo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; School of Geography and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Teresa Bohner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Matiss Castorena
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Cyrille Violle
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Vigdis Vandvik
- Department of Biological Sciences and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Brian J Enquist
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
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13
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Le Provost G, Schenk NV, Penone C, Thiele J, Westphal C, Allan E, Ayasse M, Blüthgen N, Boeddinghaus RS, Boesing AL, Bolliger R, Busch V, Fischer M, Gossner MM, Hölzel N, Jung K, Kandeler E, Klaus VH, Kleinebecker T, Leimer S, Marhan S, Morris K, Müller S, Neff F, Neyret M, Oelmann Y, Perović DJ, Peter S, Prati D, Rillig MC, Saiz H, Schäfer D, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Schloter M, Schöning I, Schrumpf M, Steckel J, Steffan-Dewenter I, Tschapka M, Vogt J, Weiner C, Weisser W, Wells K, Werner M, Wilcke W, Manning P. The supply of multiple ecosystem services requires biodiversity across spatial scales. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:236-49. [PMID: 36376602 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01918-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The impact of local biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning is well established, but the role of larger-scale biodiversity dynamics in the delivery of ecosystem services remains poorly understood. Here we address this gap using a comprehensive dataset describing the supply of 16 cultural, regulating and provisioning ecosystem services in 150 European agricultural grassland plots, and detailed multi-scale data on land use and plant diversity. After controlling for land-use and abiotic factors, we show that both plot-level and surrounding plant diversity play an important role in the supply of cultural and aboveground regulating ecosystem services. In contrast, provisioning and belowground regulating ecosystem services are more strongly driven by field-level management and abiotic factors. Structural equation models revealed that surrounding plant diversity promotes ecosystem services both directly, probably by fostering the spill-over of ecosystem service providers from surrounding areas, and indirectly, by maintaining plot-level diversity. By influencing the ecosystem services that local stakeholders prioritized, biodiversity at different scales was also shown to positively influence a wide range of stakeholder groups. These results provide a comprehensive picture of which ecosystem services rely most strongly on biodiversity, and the respective scales of biodiversity that drive these services. This key information is required for the upscaling of biodiversity-ecosystem service relationships, and the informed management of biodiversity within agricultural landscapes.
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14
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Madrigal-González J, Luzuriaga AL, Escudero A, Ferrandis P, Calatayud J. Warming reverses directionality in the richness-abundance relationship in ephemeral Mediterranean plant communities. Ecology 2023; 104:e3870. [PMID: 36116044 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Recent findings in forests worldwide have demonstrated how directionality in the richness-abundance causality shifts along global climate gradients: The so-called more-species hypothesis (richness determines abundance) prevails in Earth's most productive climates, whereas the opposite, the so-called more-individuals hypothesis (abundance determines richness), is more likely to prevail in climatically harsh conditions. Since temporal variability is the norm, a critical question is whether this directionality shift is also a function of temporal climatic fluctuations locally. Here, we analyze whether directionality in the richness-abundance relationship is contingent on temporal variability over 10 annual consecutive realizations in ephemeral plant assemblages. Our results support the idea that the more-species hypothesis prevailed in the most benign years, whereas the more-individuals hypothesis did so during less productive years, which were significantly linked to the warmest years. These results support the idea that rising temperatures can reverse directionality in the richness-abundance relationship in these annual plant communities, and therefore, climate warming can have a significant effect on the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functions, such as productivity, by altering the prevalence of primary mechanisms involved in species assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaime Madrigal-González
- Área de Ecología, Departamento de Biología Animal, Ecología, Parasitología, Edafología y Química agrícola, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.,Departamento de Ciencias Agroforestales, EiFAB, University of Valladolid, Soria, Spain
| | - Arantzazu L Luzuriaga
- Área Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física Aplicada y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Adrián Escudero
- Área Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física Aplicada y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pablo Ferrandis
- Instituto Botánico de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Joaquín Calatayud
- Área Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física Aplicada y Química Inorgánica, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
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15
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Teixeira LH, Bauer M, Moosner M, Kollmann J. River dike grasslands can reconcile biodiversity and different ecosystem services to provide multifunctionality. Basic Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2022.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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16
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Chang M, DeAngelis DL, Janse JH, Janssen AB, Troost TA, van Wijk D, Mooij WM, Teurlincx S. A generically parameterized model of Lake eutrophication: The impact of Stoichiometric ratios and constraints on the abundance of natural phytoplankton communities (GPLake-S). Ecol Modell 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2022.110142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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17
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Lemanski NJ, Williams NM, Winfree R. Greater bee diversity is needed to maintain crop pollination over time. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1516-1523. [PMID: 35995849 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01847-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The current biodiversity crisis underscores the need to understand how biodiversity loss affects ecosystem function in real-world ecosystems. At any one place and time, a few highly abundant species often provide the majority of function, suggesting that function could be maintained with relatively little biodiversity. However, biodiversity may be critical to ecosystem function at longer timescales if different species are needed to provide function at different times. Here we show that the number of wild bee species needed to maintain a threshold level of crop pollination increased steeply with the timescale examined: two to three times as many bee species were needed over a growing season compared to on a single day and twice as many species were needed over six years compared to during a single year. Our results demonstrate the importance of pollinator biodiversity to maintaining pollination services across time and thus to stable agricultural output.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie J Lemanski
- Rutgers University, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Natural Resources, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
| | - Neal M Williams
- University of California Davis, Department of Entomology & Nematology, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Rachael Winfree
- Rutgers University, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Natural Resources, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
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18
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Wang X, Wang R, Gao J. Precipitation and soil nutrients determine the spatial variability of grassland productivity at large scales in China. Front Plant Sci 2022; 13:996313. [PMID: 36160972 PMCID: PMC9505511 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.996313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Changes in net primary productivity (NPP) to global change have been studied, yet the relative impacts of global change on grassland productivity at large scales remain poorly understood. Using 182 grassland samples established in 17 alpine meadows (AM) and 21 desert steppes (DS) in China, we show that NPP of AM was significantly higher than that of DS. NPP increased significantly with increasing leaf nitrogen content (LN) and leaf phosphorus content (LP) but decreased significantly with increasing leaf dry matter content (LDMC). Among all abiotic factors, soil nutrient factor was the dominant factor affecting the variation of NPP of AM, while the NPP of DS was mainly influenced by the changing of precipitation. All abiotic factors accounted for 62.4% of the spatial variation in the NPP of AM, which was higher than the ability to explain the spatial variation in the NPP of DS (43.5%). Leaf traits together with soil nutrients and climatic factors determined the changes of the grassland productivity, but the relative contributions varied somewhat among different grassland types. We quantified the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on grassland NPP, and provided theoretical guidance for predicting the impacts of global change on the NPP of grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianxian Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, China
| | - Ru Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, China
| | - Jie Gao
- College of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, China
- Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes of Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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19
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Weiskopf SR, Myers BJE, Arce-Plata MI, Blanchard JL, Ferrier S, Fulton EA, Harfoot M, Isbell F, Johnson JA, Mori AS, Weng E, HarmáCˇková ZV, Londoño-Murcia MC, Miller BW, Pereira LM, Rosa IMD. A Conceptual Framework to Integrate Biodiversity, Ecosystem Function, and Ecosystem Service Models. Bioscience 2022; 72:1062-1073. [PMID: 36506699 PMCID: PMC9718641 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Global biodiversity and ecosystem service models typically operate independently. Ecosystem service projections may therefore be overly optimistic because they do not always account for the role of biodiversity in maintaining ecological functions. We review models used in recent global model intercomparison projects and develop a novel model integration framework to more fully account for the role of biodiversity in ecosystem function, a key gap for linking biodiversity changes to ecosystem services. We propose two integration pathways. The first uses empirical data on biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships to bridge biodiversity and ecosystem function models and could currently be implemented globally for systems and taxa with sufficient data. We also propose a trait-based approach involving greater incorporation of biodiversity into ecosystem function models. Pursuing both approaches will provide greater insight into biodiversity and ecosystem services projections. Integrating biodiversity, ecosystem function, and ecosystem service modeling will enhance policy development to meet global sustainability goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah R Weiskopf
- US Geological Survey National Climate Adaptation Science Center, in Reston, Virginia, United States
| | - Bonnie J E Myers
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
| | | | | | - Simon Ferrier
- Land and Water, CSIRO, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | | | - Mike Harfoot
- United Nations Environment Programme–World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
| | - Forest Isbell
- University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
| | | | | | - Ensheng Weng
- Columbia University and with the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, both New York, New York, United States
| | - Zuzana V HarmáCˇková
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia and with the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Brian W Miller
- US Geological Survey North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, Boulder, Colorado, United States
| | - Laura M Pereira
- University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and with the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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20
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21
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Hao X, Yang J, Dong S, Shen H, He F, Zhi Y, Kwaku EA, Tu D, Dou S, Zhou X, Yang Z. Impacts of Short-Term Grazing Intensity on the Plant Diversity and Ecosystem Function of Alpine Steppe on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Plants 2022; 11:plants11141889. [PMID: 35890523 PMCID: PMC9318276 DOI: 10.3390/plants11141889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Livestock grazing is the primary land use of grasslands worldwide. Grazing has been asserted to alter grassland ecosystem functions, such as productivity, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity conservation. However, few studies have focused on the impact of grazing intensity on the ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) of alpine grasslands. We conducted a field experiment of manipulating sheep grazing intensity effects on alpine steppe by surveying plant community characteristics and ecosystem functions. Our results showed that plant community composition was altered with increasing grazing intensity, and the dominant species shifted from grasses and sedges to forbs. EMF was the highest under no grazing (CK) and the lowest under heavy grazing (HG), but there was insignificant difference between CK and HG. HG significantly decreased some indicators that reflected nutrient cycling functions, such as soil available nitrogen, plant leaf nitrogen (PN) and phosphorus content (PP). Furthermore, plant diversity had strong correlations with SOC, total nitrogen (TN), and PN. The results could provide scientific bases for biodiversity conservation and sustainable grazing management of alpine steppe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinghai Hao
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; (X.H.); (H.S.); (F.H.)
| | - Juejie Yang
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; (X.H.); (H.S.); (F.H.)
- Correspondence: (J.Y.); (S.D.)
| | - Shikui Dong
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; (X.H.); (H.S.); (F.H.)
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (Y.Z.); (E.A.K.)
- Correspondence: (J.Y.); (S.D.)
| | - Hao Shen
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; (X.H.); (H.S.); (F.H.)
| | - Fengcai He
- School of Grassland Science, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; (X.H.); (H.S.); (F.H.)
| | - Yangliu Zhi
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (Y.Z.); (E.A.K.)
| | - Emmanuella A. Kwaku
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; (Y.Z.); (E.A.K.)
| | - Danjia Tu
- Grassland Improvement Experimental Station of Qinghai Province, Gonghe 813099, China; (D.T.); (S.D.); (X.Z.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Shengyun Dou
- Grassland Improvement Experimental Station of Qinghai Province, Gonghe 813099, China; (D.T.); (S.D.); (X.Z.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Xueli Zhou
- Grassland Improvement Experimental Station of Qinghai Province, Gonghe 813099, China; (D.T.); (S.D.); (X.Z.); (Z.Y.)
| | - Zhengrong Yang
- Grassland Improvement Experimental Station of Qinghai Province, Gonghe 813099, China; (D.T.); (S.D.); (X.Z.); (Z.Y.)
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22
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Ntukey LT, Munishi LK, Treydte AC. Land Use Land/Cover Change Reduces Woody Plant Diversity and Carbon Stocks in a Lowland Coastal Forest Ecosystem, Tanzania. Sustainability 2022; 14:8551. [DOI: 10.3390/su14148551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The East-African lowland coastal forest (LCF) is one of Africa’s centres of species endemism, representing an important biodiversity hotspot. However, deforestation and forest degradation due to the high demand for fuelwood has reduced forest cover and diversity, with unknown consequences for associated terrestrial carbon stocks in this LCF system. Our study assessed spatio-temporal land use and land cover changes (LULC) in 1998, 2008, 2018 in the LCF ecosystem, Tanzania. In addition, we conducted a forest inventory survey and calculated associated carbon storage for this LCF ecosystem. Using methods of land use change evaluation plug-in in QGIS based on historical land use data, we modelled carbon stock trends post-2018 in associated LULC for the future 30 years. We found that agriculture and grassland combined increased substantially by 21.5% between the year 1998 and 2018 while forest cover declined by 29%. Furthermore, forest above-ground live biomass carbon (AGC) was 2.4 times higher in forest than in the bushland, 5.8 times in the agriculture with scattered settlement and 14.8 times higher than in the grassland. The estimated average soil organic carbon (SOC) was 76.03 ± 6.26 t/ha across the entire study area. Our study helps to identify land use impacts on ecosystem services, supporting decision-makers in future land-use planning.
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23
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Huang L, Yu MF, Hu JN, Sheng WJ, Xue W, Yu FH. Density Alters Impacts of Genotypic Evenness on Productivity in an Experimental Plant Population. Front Plant Sci 2022; 13:915812. [PMID: 35712564 PMCID: PMC9197231 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.915812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Genetic diversity plays important roles in maintaining population productivity. While the impact of genotypic richness on productivity has been extensively tested, the role of genotypic evenness has not been considered. Plant density can also affect population productivity, but its interaction with genotypic diversity has not been tested. We constructed experimental populations of the clonal plant Hydrocotyle vulgaris with either low or high richness (consisting of four vs. eight genotypes), either low or high evenness (each genotype had a different number vs. the same number of ramets), and either low or high density (consisting of 16 vs. 32 ramets) in a full factorial design. Total biomass of plant populations did not differ between four- and eight-genotype mixtures. When the initial plant density was low, total biomass of populations with high genotypic evenness was significantly greater than total biomass of those with low genotypic evenness. However, this difference disappeared when the initial plant density was high. Moreover, total biomass increased linearly with increasing plant density at harvest, but was negatively correlated to variation in leaf area. We conclude that genotypic evenness but not genotypic richness can benefit population productivity, and that plant density can alter the impact of genotypic evenness on population productivity.
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24
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Memtsas G, Lazarina M, Sgardelis S, Petanidou T, Kallimanis A. What plant–pollinator network structure tells us about the mechanisms underlying the bidirectional biodiversity productivity relationship? Basic Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2022.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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25
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Forero LE, Kulmatiski A, Grenzer J, Norton J. Plant–soil feedbacks help explain plant community productivity. Ecology 2022; 103:e3736. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leslie E. Forero
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center Utah State University 5230 Old Main Hill Logan UT USA
| | - Andrew Kulmatiski
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center Utah State University 5230 Old Main Hill Logan UT USA
| | - Josephine Grenzer
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center Utah State University 5230 Old Main Hill Logan UT USA
| | - Jeanette Norton
- Department of Plants, Soils, and Climate Utah State University 4280 Old Main Hill Logan UT USA
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26
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Harrison T, Winfree R, Genung M. Price equations for understanding the response of ecosystem function to community change. Am Nat 2022; 200:181-192. [DOI: 10.1086/720284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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27
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Chang CW, Miki T, Ye H, Souissi S, Adrian R, Anneville O, Agasild H, Ban S, Be'eri-Shlevin Y, Chiang YR, Feuchtmayr H, Gal G, Ichise S, Kagami M, Kumagai M, Liu X, Matsuzaki SIS, Manca MM, Nõges P, Piscia R, Rogora M, Shiah FK, Thackeray SJ, Widdicombe CE, Wu JT, Zohary T, Hsieh CH. Causal networks of phytoplankton diversity and biomass are modulated by environmental context. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1140. [PMID: 35241667 PMCID: PMC8894464 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28761-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Untangling causal links and feedbacks among biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and environmental factors is challenging due to their complex and context-dependent interactions (e.g., a nutrient-dependent relationship between diversity and biomass). Consequently, studies that only consider separable, unidirectional effects can produce divergent conclusions and equivocal ecological implications. To address this complexity, we use empirical dynamic modeling to assemble causal networks for 19 natural aquatic ecosystems (N24◦~N58◦) and quantified strengths of feedbacks among phytoplankton diversity, phytoplankton biomass, and environmental factors. Through a cross-system comparison, we identify macroecological patterns; in more diverse, oligotrophic ecosystems, biodiversity effects are more important than environmental effects (nutrients and temperature) as drivers of biomass. Furthermore, feedback strengths vary with productivity. In warm, productive systems, strong nitrate-mediated feedbacks usually prevail, whereas there are strong, phosphate-mediated feedbacks in cold, less productive systems. Our findings, based on recovered feedbacks, highlight the importance of a network view in future ecosystem management. Disentangling causal interactions among biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and environmental factors is key to understanding how ecosystems respond to changing environment. This study presents a global scale analysis quantifying causal interactions and feedbacks among phytoplankton diversity, biomass and nutrients along environmental gradients of aquatic ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Wei Chang
- National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.,Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Takeshi Miki
- Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Ryukoku University, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2194, Japan.,Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.,Center for Biodiversity Science, Ryukoku University, Otsu, Shiga, 520-2194, Japan
| | - Hao Ye
- Health Science Center Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Sami Souissi
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ, Littoral Côte D'Opale, IRD, UMR 8187, LOG- Laboratoire D'Océanologie et de Géosciences, Station Marine de Wimereux, F- 59000, Lille, France
| | - Rita Adrian
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, IGB, 12587, Berlin, Germany.,Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Orlane Anneville
- National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), CARRTEL, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, 74200, Thonon les Bains, France
| | - Helen Agasild
- Centre for Limnology, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5D, 51014, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Syuhei Ban
- Department of Ecosystem Studies, School of Environmental Science, The University of Shiga Prefecture, Hikone, 522-8533, Shiga, Japan
| | - Yaron Be'eri-Shlevin
- Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, P.O. Box 447, 14950, Migdal, Israel
| | - Yin-Ru Chiang
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Heidrun Feuchtmayr
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Gideon Gal
- Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, P.O. Box 447, 14950, Migdal, Israel
| | - Satoshi Ichise
- Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute, Otsu, 520-0022, Japan
| | - Maiko Kagami
- Faculty of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, 240-8502, Kanagawa, Japan.,Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Toho University, Funabashi, Chiba, 274-8510, Japan
| | - Michio Kumagai
- Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute, Otsu, 520-0022, Japan.,Research Center for Lake Biwa & Environmental Innovation, Ritsumeikan University, Kusatsu, 525-0058, Shiga, Japan
| | - Xin Liu
- Department of Ecosystem Studies, School of Environmental Science, The University of Shiga Prefecture, Hikone, 522-8533, Shiga, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichiro S Matsuzaki
- Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan
| | - Marina M Manca
- CNR Water Research Institute (IRSA), L.go Tonolli 50, 28922, Verbania, Pallanza, Italy
| | - Peeter Nõges
- Centre for Limnology, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5D, 51014, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Roberta Piscia
- CNR Water Research Institute (IRSA), L.go Tonolli 50, 28922, Verbania, Pallanza, Italy
| | - Michela Rogora
- CNR Water Research Institute (IRSA), L.go Tonolli 50, 28922, Verbania, Pallanza, Italy
| | - Fuh-Kwo Shiah
- Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.,Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
| | - Stephen J Thackeray
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 4AP, UK
| | | | - Jiunn-Tzong Wu
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
| | - Tamar Zohary
- Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, P.O. Box 447, 14950, Migdal, Israel
| | - Chih-Hao Hsieh
- National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan. .,Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan. .,Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan. .,Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.
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28
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DeCock E, Moeneclaey I, Schelfhout S, Vanhellemont M, De Schrijver A, Baeten L. Ecosystem multifunctionality lowers as grasslands under restoration approach their target habitat type. Restor Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eva DeCock
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department Environment Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Gontrode (Melle) Belgium
| | - Iris Moeneclaey
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department Environment Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Gontrode (Melle) Belgium
| | - Stephanie Schelfhout
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department Environment Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Gontrode (Melle) Belgium
| | - Margot Vanhellemont
- Research Centre AgroFoodNature HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts Melle Belgium
| | - An De Schrijver
- Research Centre AgroFoodNature HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts Melle Belgium
| | - Lander Baeten
- Forest & Nature Lab, Department Environment Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University Gontrode (Melle) Belgium
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29
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Xu C, Zeng Y, Zheng Z, Zhao D, Liu W, Ma Z, Wu B. Assessing the Impact of Soil on Species Diversity Estimation Based on UAV Imaging Spectroscopy in a Natural Alpine Steppe. Remote Sensing 2022; 14:671. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14030671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Grassland species diversity monitoring is essential to grassland resource protection and utilization. “Spectral variation hypothesis” (SVH) provides a remote sensing method for monitoring grassland species diversity at pixel scale by calculating spectral heterogeneity. However, the pixel spectrum is easily affected by soil and other background factors in natural grassland. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based imaging spectroscopy provides the possibility of soil information removal by virtue of its high spatial and spectral resolution. In this study, UAV-imaging spectroscopy data with a spatial resolution of 0.2 m obtained in two sites of typical alpine steppe within the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve were used to analyze the relationships between four spectral diversity metrics (coefficient of variation based on NDVI (CVNDVI), coefficient of variation based on multiple bands (CVMulti), minimum convex hull volume (CHV) and minimum convex hull area (CHA)) and two species diversity indices (species richness and the Shannon–Wiener index). Meanwhile, two soil removal methods (based on NDVI threshold and the linear spectral unmixing model) were used to investigate the impact of soil on species diversity estimation. The results showed that the Shannon–Wiener index had a better response to spectral diversity than species richness, and CVMulti showed the best correlation with the Shannon–Wiener index between the four spectral diversity metrics after removing soil information using the linear spectral unmixing model. It indicated that the estimation ability of spectral diversity to species diversity was significantly improved after removing the soil information. Our findings demonstrated the applicability of the spectral variation hypothesis in natural grassland, and illustrated the impact of soil on species diversity estimation.
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30
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Zheng L, Chen HYH, Hautier Y, Bao D, Xu M, Yang B, Zhao Z, Zhang L, Yan E. Functionally diverse tree stands reduce herbaceous diversity and productivity via canopy packing. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Li‐Ting Zheng
- Forest Ecosystem Research and Observation Station in Putuo Island Tiantong National Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco‐Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University Shanghai 200241 China
- Institute of Eco‐Chongming (IEC) 3663 N. Zhongshan Rd Shanghai 200062 China
| | - Han Y. H. Chen
- Faculty of Natural Resources Management Lakehead University 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay Ontario P7B 5E1 Canada
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group Department of Biology Utrecht University Padualaan 8 3584 CH Utrecht The Netherlands
| | - Di‐Feng Bao
- Forest Ecosystem Research and Observation Station in Putuo Island Tiantong National Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco‐Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University Shanghai 200241 China
- Institute of Eco‐Chongming (IEC) 3663 N. Zhongshan Rd Shanghai 200062 China
| | - Ming‐Shan Xu
- Forest Ecosystem Research and Observation Station in Putuo Island Tiantong National Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco‐Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University Shanghai 200241 China
- Institute of Eco‐Chongming (IEC) 3663 N. Zhongshan Rd Shanghai 200062 China
| | - Bai‐Yu Yang
- Forest Ecosystem Research and Observation Station in Putuo Island Tiantong National Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco‐Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University Shanghai 200241 China
- Institute of Eco‐Chongming (IEC) 3663 N. Zhongshan Rd Shanghai 200062 China
| | - Zhao Zhao
- Forest Ecosystem Research and Observation Station in Putuo Island Tiantong National Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco‐Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University Shanghai 200241 China
- Institute of Eco‐Chongming (IEC) 3663 N. Zhongshan Rd Shanghai 200062 China
| | - Li Zhang
- Forest Ecosystem Research and Observation Station in Putuo Island Tiantong National Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco‐Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University Shanghai 200241 China
- Institute of Eco‐Chongming (IEC) 3663 N. Zhongshan Rd Shanghai 200062 China
| | - En‐Rong Yan
- Forest Ecosystem Research and Observation Station in Putuo Island Tiantong National Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, and Shanghai Key Lab for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco‐Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University Shanghai 200241 China
- Institute of Eco‐Chongming (IEC) 3663 N. Zhongshan Rd Shanghai 200062 China
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31
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Engbersen N, Stefan L, Brooker RW, Schöb C. Using plant traits to understand the contribution of biodiversity effects to annual crop community productivity. Ecol Appl 2022; 32:e02479. [PMID: 34657349 PMCID: PMC9286576 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Increasing biodiversity generally enhances productivity through selection and complementarity effects not only in natural, but also in agricultural, systems. However, the quest to explain why diverse cropping systems are more productive than monocultures remains a central goal in agricultural science. In a mesocosm experiment, we constructed monocultures, two- and four-species mixtures from eight crop species with or without fertilizer and both in temperate Switzerland and dry, Mediterranean Spain. We measured physical factors and plant traits and related these in structural equation models to selection and complementarity effects to explain seed yield differences between monocultures and mixtures. Increased crop diversity increased seed yield in Switzerland. This positive biodiversity effect was driven to almost the same extent by selection and complementarity effects, which increased with plant height and specific leaf area (SLA), respectively. Also, ecological processes driving seed yield increases from monocultures to mixtures differed from those responsible for seed yield increases through the diversification of mixtures from two to four species. Whereas selection effects were mainly driven by one species, complementarity effects were linked to larger leaf area per unit leaf weight. Seed yield increases due to mixture diversification were driven only by complementarity effects and were not mediated through the measured traits, suggesting that ecological processes beyond those measured in this study were responsible for positive diversity effects on yield beyond two-species mixtures. By understanding the drivers of positive biodiversity-productivity relationships, we can improve our ability to predict species combinations that enhance ecosystem functioning and can promote sustainable agricultural production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Engbersen
- Institute of Agricultural SciencesETH Zurich8092ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Laura Stefan
- Institute of Agricultural SciencesETH Zurich8092ZurichSwitzerland
| | | | - Christian Schöb
- Institute of Agricultural SciencesETH Zurich8092ZurichSwitzerland
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32
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Bai X, Zhao W, Wang J, Ferreira CSS. Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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33
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Affiliation(s)
- Werner Ulrich
- Dept of Ecology and Biogeography, Nicolaus Copernicus Univ. in Torun Toruń Poland
| | - Markus Klemens Zaplata
- Faculty Environment and Natural Sciences, Brandenburg Univ. of Technology Cottbus‐Senftenberg Cottbus Germany
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34
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Albrecht J, Peters MK, Becker JN, Behler C, Classen A, Ensslin A, Ferger SW, Gebert F, Gerschlauer F, Helbig-Bonitz M, Kindeketa WJ, Kühnel A, Mayr AV, Njovu HK, Pabst H, Pommer U, Röder J, Rutten G, Schellenberger Costa D, Sierra-Cornejo N, Vogeler A, Vollstädt MGR, Dulle HI, Eardley CD, Howell KM, Keller A, Peters RS, Kakengi V, Hemp C, Zhang J, Manning P, Mueller T, Bogner C, Böhning-Gaese K, Brandl R, Hertel D, Huwe B, Kiese R, Kleyer M, Leuschner C, Kuzyakov Y, Nauss T, Tschapka M, Fischer M, Hemp A, Steffan-Dewenter I, Schleuning M. Species richness is more important for ecosystem functioning than species turnover along an elevational gradient. Nat Ecol Evol 2021. [PMID: 34545216 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01550-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Many experiments have shown that biodiversity enhances ecosystem functioning. However, we have little understanding of how environmental heterogeneity shapes the effect of diversity on ecosystem functioning and to what extent this diversity effect is mediated by variation in species richness or species turnover. This knowledge is crucial to scaling up the results of experiments from local to regional scales. Here we quantify the diversity effect and its components-that is, the contributions of variation in species richness and species turnover-for 22 ecosystem functions of microorganisms, plants and animals across 13 major ecosystem types on Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Environmental heterogeneity across ecosystem types on average increased the diversity effect from explaining 49% to 72% of the variation in ecosystem functions. In contrast to our expectation, the diversity effect was more strongly mediated by variation in species richness than by species turnover. Our findings reveal that environmental heterogeneity strengthens the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and that species richness is a stronger driver of ecosystem functioning than species turnover. Based on a broad range of taxa and ecosystem functions in a non-experimental system, these results are in line with predictions from biodiversity experiments and emphasize that conserving biodiversity is essential for maintaining ecosystem functioning.
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35
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Hagan JG, Vanschoenwinkel B, Gamfeldt L. We should not necessarily expect positive relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in observational field data. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2537-2548. [PMID: 34532926 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Our current, empirical understanding of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function is based on two information sources. First, controlled experiments which show generally positive relationships. Second, observational field data which show variable relationships. This latter source coupled with a lack of observed declines in local biodiversity has led to the argument that biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships may be uninformative for conservation and management. We review ecological theory and re-analyse several biodiversity datasets to argue that ecosystem function correlations with local diversity in observational field data are often difficult to interpret in the context of biodiversity-ecosystem function research. This occurs because biotic interactions filter species during community assembly which means that there can be a high biodiversity effect on functioning even with low observed local diversity. Our review indicates that we should not necessarily expect any specific relationship between local biodiversity and ecosystem function in observational field data. Rather, linking predictions from biodiversity-ecosystem function theory and experiments to observational field data requires considering the pool of species available during colonisation: the local species pool. We suggest that, even without local biodiversity declines, biodiversity loss at regional scales-which determines local species pools-may still negatively affect ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- James G Hagan
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Bram Vanschoenwinkel
- Community Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium.,Centre for Environment Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
| | - Lars Gamfeldt
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Centre for Sea and Society, Gothenburg, Sweden
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36
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Ferlian O, Goldmann K, Eisenhauer N, Tarkka MT, Buscot F, Heintz-Buschart A. Distinct effects of host and neighbour tree identity on arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal fungi along a tree diversity gradient. ISME Commun 2021; 1:40. [PMID: 37938639 PMCID: PMC9723774 DOI: 10.1038/s43705-021-00042-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 04/26/2023]
Abstract
Plant diversity and plant-related ecosystem functions have been important in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning studies. However, biotic interactions with mycorrhizal fungi have been understudied although they are crucial for plant-resource acquisition. Here, we investigated the effects of tree species richness and tree mycorrhizal type on arbuscular (AMF) and ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) communities. We aimed to understand how dissimilarities in taxa composition and beta-diversity are related to target trees and neighbours of the same or different mycorrhizal type. We sampled a tree diversity experiment with saplings (~7 years old), where tree species richness (monocultures, 2-species, and 4-species mixtures) and mycorrhizal type were manipulated. AMF and EMF richness significantly increased with increasing tree species richness. AMF richness of mixture plots resembled that of the sum of the respective monocultures, whereas EMF richness of mixture plots was lower compared to the sum of the respective monocultures. Specialisation scores revealed significantly more specialised AMF than EMF suggesting that, in contrast to previous studies, AMF were more specialised, whereas EMF were not. We further found that AMF communities were little driven by the surrounding trees, whereas EMF communities were. Our study revealed drivers of mycorrhizal fungal communities and further highlights the distinct strategies of AMF and EMF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Ferlian
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, Germany.
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Kezia Goldmann
- Department Soil Ecology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mika T Tarkka
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, Germany
- Department Soil Ecology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - François Buscot
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, Germany
- Department Soil Ecology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Anna Heintz-Buschart
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig, Germany
- Department Soil Ecology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Straße 4, Halle (Saale), Germany
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37
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Jing X, Prager CM, Borer ET, Gotelli NJ, Gruner DS, He J, Kirkman K, MacDougall AS, McCulley RL, Prober SM, Seabloom EW, Stevens CJ, Classen AT, Sanders NJ. Spatial turnover of multiple ecosystem functions is more associated with plant than soil microbial β‐diversity. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Xin Jing
- Natural History Museum of Denmark Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Case M. Prager
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109 USA
| | - Elizabeth T. Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | | | - Daniel S. Gruner
- Department of Entomology University of Maryland College Park Maryland 20742 USA
| | - Jin‐Sheng He
- College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Institute of Ecology Peking University Beijing 100871 China
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro‐Ecosystems, and College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology Lanzhou University Lanzhou Gansu 730000 China
| | - Kevin Kirkman
- Centre for Functional Biodiversity School of Life Sciences University of KwaZulu‐Natal Pietermaritzburg South Africa
| | - Andrew S. MacDougall
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada
| | - Rebecca L. McCulley
- Department of Plant & Soil Sciences University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky 40546‐0312 USA
| | - Suzanne M. Prober
- CSIRO Land and Water Private Bag 5 Wembley Western Australia 6913 Australia
| | - Eric W. Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Carly J. Stevens
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster LA1 4YQ UK
| | - Aimée T. Classen
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109 USA
| | - Nathan J. Sanders
- Natural History Museum of Denmark Copenhagen Denmark
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan 48109 USA
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38
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Abstract
A new study shows that large mammals in an African savanna not only modify the vegetation but also strongly alter interaction networks between plants and pollinators. These insights raise fundamental yet unresolved questions about spatial dimensions of experiments, species interaction networks and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Blüthgen
- Technical University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Michael Staab
- Technical University Darmstadt, Ecological Networks, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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39
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40
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Abstract
Species-rich plant communities can produce twice as much aboveground biomass as monocultures, but the mechanisms remain unresolved. We tested whether plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) can help explain these biodiversity-productivity relationships. Using a 16-species, factorial field experiment we found that plants created soils that changed subsequent plant growth by 27% and that this effect increased over time. When incorporated into simulation models, these PSFs improved predictions of plant community growth and explained 14% of overyielding. Here we show quantitative, field-based evidence that diversity maintains productivity by suppressing plant disease. Though this effect alone was modest, it helps constrain the role of factors, such as niche partitioning, that have been difficult to quantify. This improved understanding of biodiversity-productivity relationships has implications for agriculture, biofuel production and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie E Forero
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Andrew Kulmatiski
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA.
| | - Josephine Grenzer
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
| | - Jeanette M Norton
- Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
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41
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Engbersen N, Brooker RW, Stefan L, Studer B, Schöb C. Temporal Differentiation of Resource Capture and Biomass Accumulation as a Driver of Yield Increase in Intercropping. Front Plant Sci 2021; 12:668803. [PMID: 34122489 PMCID: PMC8193092 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.668803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Intercropping, i.e., the simultaneous cultivation of different crops on the same field, has demonstrated yield advantages compared to monoculture cropping. These yield advantages have often been attributed to complementary resource use, but few studies quantified the temporal complementarity of nutrient acquisition and biomass production. Our understanding of how nutrient uptake rates of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) and biomass accumulation change throughout the growing season and between different neighbors is limited. We conducted weekly destructive harvests to measure temporal trajectories of N and P uptake and biomass production in three crop species (oat, lupin, and camelina) growing either as isolated single plants, in monocultures or as intercrops. Additionally, we quantified organic acid exudation in the rhizosphere and biological N2-fixation of lupin throughout the growing season. Logistic models were fitted to characterize nutrient acquisition and biomass accumulation trajectories. Nutrient uptake and biomass accumulation trajectories were curtailed by competitive interactions, resulting in earlier peak rates and lower total accumulated nutrients and biomass compared to cultivation as isolated single plants. Different pathways led to overyielding in the two mixtures. The oat-camelina mixture was characterized by a shift from belowground temporal niche partitioning of resource uptake to aboveground competition for light during the growing season. The oat-lupin mixture showed strong competitive interactions, where lupin eventually overyielded due to reliance on atmospheric N and stronger competitiveness for soil P compared to oat. Synthesis: This study demonstrates temporal shifts to earlier peak rates of plants growing with neighbors compared to those growing alone, with changes in uptake patterns suggesting that observed temporal shifts in our experiment were driven by competitive interactions rather than active plant behavior to reduce competition. The two differing pathways to overyielding in the two mixtures highlight the importance of examining temporal dynamics in intercropping systems to understand the underlying mechanisms of overyielding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Engbersen
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rob W. Brooker
- Ecological Sciences, The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Stefan
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Björn Studer
- Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christian Schöb
- Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
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42
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Xu Q, Yang X, Yan Y, Wang S, Loreau M, Jiang L. Consistently positive effect of species diversity on ecosystem, but not population, temporal stability. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2256-2266. [PMID: 34002439 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite much recent progress, our understanding of diversity-stability relationships across different study systems remains incomplete. In particular, recent theory clarified that within-species population stability and among-species asynchronous population dynamics combine to determine ecosystem temporal stability, but their relative importance in modulating diversity-ecosystem temporal stability relationships in different ecosystems remains unclear. We addressed this issue with a meta-analysis of empirical studies of ecosystem and population temporal stability in relation to species diversity across a range of taxa and ecosystems. We show that ecosystem temporal stability tended to increase with species diversity, regardless of study systems. Increasing diversity promoted asynchrony, which, in turn, contributed to increased ecosystem stability. The positive diversity-ecosystem stability relationship persisted even after accounting for the influences of environmental covariates (e.g., precipitation and nutrient input). By contrast, species diversity tended to reduce population temporal stability in terrestrial systems but increase population temporal stability in aquatic systems, suggesting that asynchronous dynamics among species are essential for stabilizing diverse terrestrial ecosystems. We conclude that there is compelling empirical evidence for a general positive relationship between species diversity and ecosystem-level temporal stability, but the contrasting diversity-population temporal stability relationships between terrestrial and aquatic systems call for more investigations into their underlying mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianna Xu
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Xian Yang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.,State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ying Yan
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Michel Loreau
- Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, France
| | - Lin Jiang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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43
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Xenophontos C, Taubert M, Harpole WS, Küsel K. Phylogenetic and metabolic diversity have contrasting effects on the ecological functioning of bacterial communities. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2021; 97:6136281. [PMID: 33587113 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiab017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Quantifying the relative contributions of microbial species to ecosystem functioning is challenging, because of the distinct mechanisms associated with microbial phylogenetic and metabolic diversity. We constructed bacterial communities with different diversity traits and employed exoenzyme activities (EEAs) and carbon acquisition potential (CAP) from substrates as proxies of bacterial functioning to test the independent effects of these two aspects of biodiversity. We expected that metabolic diversity, but not phylogenetic diversity would be associated with greater ecological function. Phylogenetically relatedness should intensify species interactions and coexistence, therefore amplifying the influence of metabolic diversity. We examined the effects of each diversity treatment using linear models, while controlling for the other, and found that phylogenetic diversity strongly influenced community functioning, positively and negatively. Metabolic diversity, however, exhibited negative or non-significant relationships with community functioning. When controlling for different substrates, EEAs increased along with phylogenetic diversity but decreased with metabolic diversity. The strength of diversity effects was related to substrate chemistry and the molecular mechanisms associated with each substrate's degradation. EEAs of phylogenetically similar groups were strongly affected by within-genus interactions. These results highlight the unique flexibility of microbial metabolic functions that must be considered in further ecological theory development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Constantinos Xenophontos
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Martin Taubert
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany, Germany
| | - W Stanley Harpole
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Weinbergweg 10, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Kirsten Küsel
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstraße 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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44
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Thakur MP, van der Putten WH, Wilschut RA, Veen GFC, Kardol P, van Ruijven J, Allan E, Roscher C, van Kleunen M, Bezemer TM. Plant-Soil Feedbacks and Temporal Dynamics of Plant Diversity-Productivity Relationships. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:651-661. [PMID: 33888322 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Plant-soil feedback (PSF) and diversity-productivity relationships are important research fields to study drivers and consequences of changes in plant biodiversity. While studies suggest that positive plant diversity-productivity relationships can be explained by variation in PSF in diverse plant communities, key questions on their temporal relationships remain. Here, we discuss three processes that change PSF over time in diverse plant communities, and their effects on temporal dynamics of diversity-productivity relationships: spatial redistribution and changes in dominance of plant species; phenotypic shifts in plant traits; and dilution of soil pathogens and increase in soil mutualists. Disentangling these processes in plant diversity experiments will yield new insights into how plant diversity-productivity relationships change over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhav P Thakur
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Wim H van der Putten
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO- KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands; Laboratory of Nematology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rutger A Wilschut
- Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany
| | - G F Ciska Veen
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO- KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Paul Kardol
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Jasper van Ruijven
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Eric Allan
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Christiane Roscher
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Physiological Diversity - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mark van Kleunen
- Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464, Konstanz, Germany; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - T Martijn Bezemer
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO- KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands; Institute of Biology, Section Plant Ecology and Phytochemistry, Leiden University, 2300, RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
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45
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Schaub S, Finger R, Leiber F, Probst S, Kreuzer M, Weigelt A, Buchmann N, Scherer-Lorenzen M. Reply to: "Results from a biodiversity experiment fail to represent economic performance of semi-natural grasslands". Nat Commun 2021; 12:2124. [PMID: 33837190 PMCID: PMC8035163 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22310-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sergei Schaub
- ETH Zürich, Agricultural Economics and Policy Group, Zurich, Switzerland. .,ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Robert Finger
- ETH Zürich, Agricultural Economics and Policy Group, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Florian Leiber
- Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Department of Livestock Sciences, Frick, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Probst
- ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland.,Bern University of Applied Sciences, School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, Zollikofen, Switzerland
| | - Michael Kreuzer
- ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra Weigelt
- Leipzig University, Institute of Biology, Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nina Buchmann
- ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Michael Scherer-Lorenzen
- ETH Zürich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland.,University of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Geobotany, Freiburg, Germany
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46
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Yang G, Roy J, Veresoglou SD, Rillig MC. Soil biodiversity enhances the persistence of legumes under climate change. New Phytol 2021; 229:2945-2956. [PMID: 33152109 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Global environmental change poses threats to plant and soil biodiversity. Yet, whether soil biodiversity loss can further influence plant community's response to global change is still poorly understood. We created a gradient of soil biodiversity using the dilution-to-extinction approach, and investigated the effects of soil biodiversity loss on plant communities during and following manipulations simulating global change disturbances in experimental grassland microcosms. Grass and herb biomass was decreased by drought and promoted by nitrogen deposition, and a fast recovery was observed following disturbances, independently of soil biodiversity loss. Warming promoted herb biomass during and following disturbance only when soil biodiversity was not reduced. However, legumes biomass was suppressed by these disturbances, and there were more detrimental effects with reduced soil biodiversity. Moreover, soil biodiversity loss suppressed the recovery of legumes following these disturbances. Similar patterns were found for the response of plant diversity. The changes in legumes might be partly attributed to the loss of mycorrhizal soil mutualists. Our study shows that soil biodiversity is crucial for legume persistence and plant diversity maintenance when faced with environmental change, highlighting the importance of soil biodiversity as a potential buffering mechanism for plant diversity and community composition in grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaowen Yang
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, D-14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, D-14195, Germany
| | - Julien Roy
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, D-14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, D-14195, Germany
| | - Stavros D Veresoglou
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, D-14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, D-14195, Germany
| | - Matthias C Rillig
- Institut für Biologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, D-14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, D-14195, Germany
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47
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Boch S, Kurtogullari Y, Allan E, Lessard-Therrien M, Rieder NS, Fischer M, Martínez De León G, Arlettaz R, Humbert JY. Effects of fertilization and irrigation on vascular plant species richness, functional composition and yield in mountain grasslands. J Environ Manage 2021; 279:111629. [PMID: 33187787 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Land-use intensification is a major threat to biodiversity in agricultural grasslands and fertilization is one of the main drivers. The effects of fertilization on biodiversity and plant functional composition (community-weighted mean traits and mean ecological indicator values) are well studied in lowland regions, but have received less attention in mountain grasslands. Moreover, in inner-alpine dry valleys, fertilizer is often applied in combination with irrigation, and irrigation effects are less well known. We experimentally tested the effects of fertilization and irrigation on vascular plant species richness and the functional composition of mountain grasslands in the Swiss Alps. After five years, fertilization increased yield but the relationship was quadratic with maximum yield reached at intermediate fertilizer levels (58 kg N ha-1year-1). The species richness of all vascular plants and forbs decreased, on average, by 6 and 5 species respectively, per 50 kg N of extra fertilizer (ha-1 year-1) applied. Fertilization also favored fast-growing plants (increased mean specific leaf area) and plants typically found in productive environments (increased mean indicator values for soil productivity and moisture). In contrast, we found no effects of irrigation on plant community composition, which suggests that irrigation does not affect vascular plant diversity to the same extent as fertilization in these mesic mountain hay meadows, at least in the mid-term. Our finding that maximum yield can be achieved at intermediate fertilizer levels is very important from an applied, agronomical and conservation point of view. It suggests that without loss of yield, farming costs and at the same time environmental pollution and negative effects on biodiversity can be reduced by applying less fertilizer. We therefore recommend maintaining non-intensive land use and keeping fertilizer inputs as low as possible to maintain the high plant diversity of mountain grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Boch
- WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
| | - Yasemin Kurtogullari
- Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Eric Allan
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Malie Lessard-Therrien
- Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Nora Simone Rieder
- Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Markus Fischer
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Gerard Martínez De León
- Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Raphaël Arlettaz
- Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Yves Humbert
- Division of Conservation Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
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48
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van der Plas F, Schröder-Georgi T, Weigelt A, Barry K, Meyer S, Alzate A, Barnard RL, Buchmann N, de Kroon H, Ebeling A, Eisenhauer N, Engels C, Fischer M, Gleixner G, Hildebrandt A, Koller-France E, Leimer S, Milcu A, Mommer L, Niklaus PA, Oelmann Y, Roscher C, Scherber C, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Scheu S, Schmid B, Schulze ED, Temperton V, Tscharntke T, Voigt W, Weisser W, Wilcke W, Wirth C. Plant traits alone are poor predictors of ecosystem properties and long-term ecosystem functioning. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:1602-1611. [PMID: 33020598 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01316-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Earth is home to over 350,000 vascular plant species that differ in their traits in innumerable ways. A key challenge is to predict how natural or anthropogenically driven changes in the identity, abundance and diversity of co-occurring plant species drive important ecosystem-level properties such as biomass production or carbon storage. Here, we analyse the extent to which 42 different ecosystem properties can be predicted by 41 plant traits in 78 experimentally manipulated grassland plots over 10 years. Despite the unprecedented number of traits analysed, the average percentage of variation in ecosystem properties jointly explained was only moderate (32.6%) within individual years, and even much lower (12.7%) across years. Most other studies linking ecosystem properties to plant traits analysed no more than six traits and, when including only six traits in our analysis, the average percentage of variation explained in across-year levels of ecosystem properties dropped to 4.8%. Furthermore, we found on average only 12.2% overlap in significant predictors among ecosystem properties, indicating that a small set of key traits able to explain multiple ecosystem properties does not exist. Our results therefore suggest that there are specific limits to the extent to which traits per se can predict the long-term functional consequences of biodiversity change, so that data on additional drivers, such as interacting abiotic factors, may be required to improve predictions of ecosystem property levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fons van der Plas
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Life Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Thomas Schröder-Georgi
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Life Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alexandra Weigelt
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Life Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kathryn Barry
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Life Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sebastian Meyer
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Adriana Alzate
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Romain L Barnard
- Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRA, Université Bourgogne, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | | | - Hans de Kroon
- Department of Experimental Plant Ecology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Anne Ebeling
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Markus Fischer
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Gerd Gleixner
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
| | - Anke Hildebrandt
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.,Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | | | - Sophia Leimer
- Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Alexandru Milcu
- Ecotron Européen de Montpellier, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Montferrier-sur-Lez, France.,Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS-Université de Montpellier-Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier-EPHE, Montpellier, France
| | - Liesje Mommer
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Pascal A Niklaus
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Christiane Roscher
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Physiological Diversity, UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christoph Scherber
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.,Centre for Biodiversity Monitoring, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Stefan Scheu
- Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Animal Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Bernhard Schmid
- Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | | | - Vicky Temperton
- Leuphana University Lüneburg, Institute of Ecology, Universitätsallee 1, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Dept. of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Winfried Voigt
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Wilcke
- Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Christian Wirth
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Life Science, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
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49
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van 't Veen H, Chalmandrier L, Sandau N, Nobis MP, Descombes P, Psomas A, Hautier Y, Pellissier L. A landscape-scale assessment of the relationship between grassland functioning, community diversity, and functional traits. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:9906-9919. [PMID: 33005353 PMCID: PMC7520175 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Livestock farmers rely on a high and stable grassland productivity for fodder production to sustain their livelihoods. Future drought events related to climate change, however, threaten grassland functionality in many regions across the globe. The introduction of sustainable grassland management could buffer these negative effects. According to the biodiversity-productivity hypothesis, productivity positively associates with local biodiversity. The biodiversity-insurance hypothesis states that higher biodiversity enhances the temporal stability of productivity. To date, these hypotheses have mostly been tested through experimental studies under restricted environmental conditions, hereby neglecting climatic variations at a landscape-scale. Here, we provide a landscape-scale assessment of the contribution of species richness, functional composition, temperature, and precipitation on grassland productivity. We found that the variation in grassland productivity during the growing season was best explained by functional trait composition. The community mean of plant preference for nutrients explained 24.8% of the variation in productivity and the community mean of specific leaf area explained 18.6%, while species richness explained only 2.4%. Temperature and precipitation explained an additional 22.1% of the variation in productivity. Our results indicate that functional trait composition is an important predictor of landscape-scale grassland productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanneke van 't Veen
- Earth System ScienceDepartment of GeographyUniversity of Zurich (UZH)ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Loïc Chalmandrier
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of CanterburyChristchurchNew Zealand
| | - Nadine Sandau
- LANAT Amt für Landwirtschaft und NaturMünsingenSwitzerland
| | | | | | | | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity GroupDepartment of BiologyUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Loïc Pellissier
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland
- Landscape EcologyInstitute of Terrestrial EcosystemsETH ZürichZürichSwitzerland
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