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Sonkoly J, Kelemen A, Valkó O, Deák B, Kiss R, Tóth K, Miglécz T, Tóthmérész B, Török P. Both mass ratio effects and community diversity drive biomass production in a grassland experiment. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1848. [PMID: 30755623 PMCID: PMC6372655 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37190-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2018] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The maintenance of biodiversity is crucial for ecosystem processes such as plant biomass production, as higher species richness is associated with increased biomass production in plant communities. However, the effects of evenness and functional diversity on biomass production are understudied. We manipulated the composition of an experimental grassland by sowing various seed mixtures and examined the effects of diversity and evenness on biomass production after three years. We found that biomass production increased with greater species and functional richness but decreased with greater species and functional evenness. Standing biomass increased but species number and functional richness decreased with increasing proportion of perennial grasses. Our findings emphasise the importance of productive dominant species, as the proportion of perennial grasses had a positive effect on standing biomass, while species and functional evenness had a negative effect on it. Thus, our findings support the theory that, besides diversity, dominance effects and the so-called mass ratio hypothesis may also play a key role in explaining primary biomass production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judit Sonkoly
- MTA-DE Lendület Functional and Restoration Ecology Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
- University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
| | - András Kelemen
- University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
- MTA's Premium Postdoctoral Research Programme, MTA TKI Nádor utca 7, Budapest, H-1051, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Valkó
- University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
| | - Balázs Deák
- MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
| | - Réka Kiss
- University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
| | - Katalin Tóth
- University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
| | - Tamás Miglécz
- University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
| | - Béla Tóthmérész
- University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary.
- MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary.
| | - Péter Török
- MTA-DE Lendület Functional and Restoration Ecology Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
- University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
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102
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van der Plas F. Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in naturally assembled communities. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:1220-1245. [PMID: 30724447 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Revised: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Approximately 25 years ago, ecologists became increasingly interested in the question of whether ongoing biodiversity loss matters for the functioning of ecosystems. As such, a new ecological subfield on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (BEF) was born. This subfield was initially dominated by theoretical studies and by experiments in which biodiversity was manipulated, and responses of ecosystem functions such as biomass production, decomposition rates, carbon sequestration, trophic interactions and pollination were assessed. More recently, an increasing number of studies have investigated BEF relationships in non-manipulated ecosystems, but reviews synthesizing our knowledge on the importance of real-world biodiversity are still largely missing. I performed a systematic review in order to assess how biodiversity drives ecosystem functioning in both terrestrial and aquatic, naturally assembled communities, and on how important biodiversity is compared to other factors, including other aspects of community composition and abiotic conditions. The outcomes of 258 published studies, which reported 726 BEF relationships, revealed that in many cases, biodiversity promotes average biomass production and its temporal stability, and pollination success. For decomposition rates and ecosystem multifunctionality, positive effects of biodiversity outnumbered negative effects, but neutral relationships were even more common. Similarly, negative effects of prey biodiversity on pathogen and herbivore damage outnumbered positive effects, but were less common than neutral relationships. Finally, there was no evidence that biodiversity is related to soil carbon storage. Most BEF studies focused on the effects of taxonomic diversity, however, metrics of functional diversity were generally stronger predictors of ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, in most studies, abiotic factors and functional composition (e.g. the presence of a certain functional group) were stronger drivers of ecosystem functioning than biodiversity per se. While experiments suggest that positive biodiversity effects become stronger at larger spatial scales, in naturally assembled communities this idea is too poorly studied to draw general conclusions. In summary, a high biodiversity in naturally assembled communities positively drives various ecosystem functions. At the same time, the strength and direction of these effects vary highly among studies, and factors other than biodiversity can be even more important in driving ecosystem functioning. Thus, to promote those ecosystem functions that underpin human well-being, conservation should not only promote biodiversity per se, but also the abiotic conditions favouring species with suitable trait combinations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fons van der Plas
- Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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103
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Träger S, Öpik M, Vasar M, Wilson SD. Belowground plant parts are crucial for comprehensively estimating total plant richness in herbaceous and woody habitats. Ecology 2019; 100:e02575. [PMID: 30516275 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Revised: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Most studies consider aboveground plant species richness as a representative biodiversity measure. This approach inevitably assumes that the partitioning of total plant species richness into above- and belowground components is constant or at least consistent within and across vegetation types. However, with studies considering belowground plant richness still scarce and completely absent along vegetation gradients, this assumption lacks experimental support. Novel DNA sequencing techniques allow economical, high-throughput species identification of belowground environmental samples, enabling the measurement of the contributions of both above- and belowground plant components to total plant richness. We investigated above- and belowground plant species richness in four vegetation types (birch forest, heath, low alpine tundra, high alpine tundra) at the scale of herbaceous plant neighborhoods (dm) using 454 sequencing of the chloroplast trnL (UAA) intron to determine the plant species richness of environmental root samples and combined it with aboveground data from vegetation surveys to obtain total plant species richness. We correlated the measured plant species richness components with each other and with their respective plant biomass components within and across vegetation types. Total plant species richness exceeded aboveground richness twice on average and by as much as three times in low alpine tundra, indicating that a significant fraction of belowground plant richness cannot be recorded aboveground. More importantly, no consistent relationship among richness components (above- and belowground) was found within or across vegetation types, indicating that aboveground richness alone cannot predict total plant richness in contrasting vegetation types. Finally, no consistent relationship between plant richness and the corresponding biomass component was found. Our results clearly show that aboveground plant richness alone is a poor estimator of total plant species richness within and across different vegetation types. Consequently, it is crucial to account for belowground plant richness in future plant ecological studies in order to validate currently accepted plant richness patterns, as well as to measure potential changes in plant community composition in a changing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Träger
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, Tartu, 51005, Estonia.,Department of Biology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 0A2, Canada
| | - Maarja Öpik
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, Tartu, 51005, Estonia
| | - Martti Vasar
- Department of Botany, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Lai 40, Tartu, 51005, Estonia
| | - Scott D Wilson
- Department of Biology, University of Regina, 3737 Wascana Parkway, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 0A2, Canada.,Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Abisko, 981 07, Sweden
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104
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Smith NS, Côté IM. Multiple drivers of contrasting diversity–invasibility relationships at fine spatial grains. Ecology 2019; 100:e02573. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Revised: 10/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicola S. Smith
- Earth to Oceans Research Group Department of Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University Burnaby British Columbia V5A 1S6 Canada
| | - Isabelle M. Côté
- Earth to Oceans Research Group Department of Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University Burnaby British Columbia V5A 1S6 Canada
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105
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Impacts of climate on the biodiversity-productivity relationship in natural forests. Nat Commun 2018; 9:5436. [PMID: 30575752 PMCID: PMC6303326 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07880-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding biodiversity-productivity relationships (BPRs) is of theoretical importance, and has important management implications. Most work on BPRs has focused on simple and/or experimentally assembled communities, and it is unclear how these observed BPRs can be extended to complex natural forest ecosystems. Using data from over 115,000 forest plots across the contiguous United States, we show that the bivariate BPRs are positive in dry climates and hump-shaped in mesic climates. When considering other site characteristics, BPRs change to neutral in dry climates and remain hump-shaped in humid sites. Our results indicate that climatic variation is an underlying determinant of contrasting BPRs observed across a large spatial extent, while both biotic factors (e.g., stand age and density) and abiotic factors (e.g., soil properties) can impact BPRs within a given climate unit. These findings suggest that tradeoffs need be made when considering whether to maximize productivity vs. conserve biodiversity, especially in mesic climates.
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106
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Arrowsmith J, Shivaprakash KN, Larrivée M, Turgeon J, Lessard J. Environmental filtering along a broad‐scale acidity gradient shapes the structure of odonate communities. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Julie Arrowsmith
- Department of Biology Concordia University Montreal Québec H4B 1R6 Canada
| | | | - Maxim Larrivée
- Insectarium Montreal Space for Life Montreal Québec H1X 2B2 Canada
| | - Julie Turgeon
- Department of Biology Laval University Québec City Québec G1V 0A6 Canada
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107
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Liu J, Liu D, Xu K, Gao L, Ge X, Burgess KS, Cadotte MW. Biodiversity explains maximum variation in productivity under experimental warming, nitrogen addition, and grazing in mountain grasslands. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:10094-10112. [PMID: 30397450 PMCID: PMC6206177 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic global warming, nitrogen addition, and overgrazing alter plant communities and threaten plant biodiversity, potentially impacting community productivity, especially in sensitive mountain grassland ecosystems. However, it still remains unknown whether the relationship between plant biodiversity and community productivity varies across different anthropogenic influences, and especially how changes in multiple biodiversity facets drive these impacts on productivity. Here, we measured different facets of biodiversity including functional and phylogenetic richness and evenness in mountain grasslands along an environmental gradient of elevation in Yulong Mountain, Yunnan, China. We combined biodiversity metrics in a series of linear mixed-effect models to determine the most parsimonious predictors for productivity, which was estimated by aboveground biomass in community. We examined how biodiversity-productivity relationships were affected by experimental warming, nitrogen addition, and livestock-grazing. Species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and single functional traits (leaf nitrogen content, mg/g) represented the most parsimonious combination in these scenarios, supporting a consensus that single-biodiversity metrics alone cannot fully explain ecosystem function. The biodiversity-productivity relationships were positive and strong, but the effects of treatment on biodiversity-productivity relationship were negligible. Our findings indicate that the strong biodiversity-productivity relationships are consistent in various anthropogenic drivers of environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajia Liu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable UtilizationSouth China Botanical GardenThe Chinese Academy of SciencesGuangdongChina
| | - Detuan Liu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Integrative Conservation of Plant Species with Extremely Small PopulationsKunming Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingYunnanChina
| | - Kun Xu
- Lijiang Forest Ecosystem Research StationKunming Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
| | - Lian‐ming Gao
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East AsiaKunming Institute of BotanyChinese Academy of SciencesKunmingChina
| | - Xue‐jun Ge
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable UtilizationSouth China Botanical GardenThe Chinese Academy of SciencesGuangdongChina
| | - Kevin S. Burgess
- Department of BiologyColumbus State UniversityUniversity System of GeorgiaColumbusGeorgiaUSA
| | - Marc W. Cadotte
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of Toronto‐ScarboroughTorontoOntarioCanada
- Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
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108
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The Necessity of Multitrophic Approaches in Community Ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 33:754-764. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2017] [Revised: 07/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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109
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Li X, Xu M, Christie P, Li X, Zhang J. Large elevation and small host plant differences in the arbuscular mycorrhizal communities of montane and alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau. MYCORRHIZA 2018; 28:605-619. [PMID: 29961129 DOI: 10.1007/s00572-018-0850-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the diversity and community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in extreme conditions is fundamental to predict the occurrence and evolution of either symbiotic partner in alpine ecosystems. We investigated the AMF associations of three plant species at elevations ranging between 3105 and 4556 m a.s.l. on Mount Segrila on the Tibetan Plateau. Three of four locations were studied in two consecutive years. The AMF diversity and community composition in the roots of Carex pseudofoetida, Pennisetum centrasiaticum, and Fragaria moupinensis differed little. However, at high elevations, the abundance of members of Acaulosporaceae increased relative to that of Glomeraceae. Plants at lower elevation sites, where Glomeraceae predominated as root symbionts, had higher leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations than plants at higher elevation sites, where Acaulosporaceae predominated. The overall phylogenetic relatedness of the AMF increased with increasing elevation. This suggests that abiotic filtering may play an important role in the structuring of symbiotic AMF communities along elevational gradients. The functional role of Acaulosporaceae whose relative abundance was found to increase with elevation in alpine environments needs to be clarified in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoliang Li
- Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences / Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Resources and Germplasm Enhancement in Southern China, Ministry of Agriculture, Danzhou, 571700, Hainan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Meng Xu
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Peter Christie
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Xiaolin Li
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Junling Zhang
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
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110
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Xun W, Yan R, Ren Y, Jin D, Xiong W, Zhang G, Cui Z, Xin X, Zhang R. Grazing-induced microbiome alterations drive soil organic carbon turnover and productivity in meadow steppe. MICROBIOME 2018; 6:170. [PMID: 30236158 PMCID: PMC6149009 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-018-0544-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2018] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Grazing is a major modulator of biodiversity and productivity in grasslands. However, our understanding of grazing-induced changes in below-ground communities, processes, and soil productivity is limited. Here, using a long-term enclosed grazing meadow steppe, we investigated the impacts of grazing on the soil organic carbon (SOC) turnover, the microbial community composition, resistance and activity under seasonal changes, and the microbial contributions to soil productivity. RESULTS The results demonstrated that grazing had significant impacts on soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions in meadow steppe. The highest microbial α-diversity was observed under light grazing intensity, while the highest β-diversity was observed under moderate grazing intensity. Grazing shifted the microbial composition from fungi dominated to bacteria dominated and from slow growing to fast growing, thereby resulting in a shift from fungi-dominated food webs primarily utilizing recalcitrant SOC to bacteria-dominated food webs mainly utilizing labile SOC. Moreover, the higher fungal recalcitrant-SOC-decomposing activities and bacterial labile-SOC-decomposing activities were observed in fungi- and bacteria-dominated communities, respectively. Notably, the robustness of bacterial community and the stability of bacterial activity were associated with α-diversity, while this was not the case for the robustness of fungal community and its associated activities. Finally, we observed that microbial α-diversity rather than SOC turnover rate can predict soil productivity. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate the strong influence of grazing on soil microbial community, SOC turnover, and soil productivity and the important positive role of soil microbial α-diversity in steering the functions of meadow steppe ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weibing Xun
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources Collection and Preservation, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Ruirui Yan
- National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yi Ren
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Dongyan Jin
- National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Wu Xiong
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Guishan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources Collection and Preservation, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Zhongli Cui
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Xiaoping Xin
- National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
| | - Ruifu Zhang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Organic Solid Waste Utilization, National Engineering Research Center for Organic-based Fertilizers, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
- Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources Collection and Preservation, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
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111
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Abstract
Grasslands are a vitally important ecosystem, supporting a wide range of ecosystem services and high levels of biodiversity. As a consequence, they have long been a focus for ecologists, playing host to some of the world’s longest-running ecological experiments and providing the inspiration for many long-standing theories and debates. Because the field of grassland ecology is broad, encompassing many areas of ecology, this article picks some areas of particular debate and development to look at recent advances. The areas include relationships between diversity and productivity, ecosystem stability and ecosystem service provision, global change threats from nutrient addition, invasive species, climate change, and plant soil interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carly J Stevens
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
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112
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Yang Y, Dou Y, An S, Zhu Z. Abiotic and biotic factors modulate plant biomass and root/shoot (R/S) ratios in grassland on the Loess Plateau, China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 636:621-631. [PMID: 29723835 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Revised: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Plant biomass and the root/shoot ratio (R/S) are key parameters for estimating terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) stocks. However, how environmental driving factors (abiotic and biotic factors) modulate plant biomass and R/S has not been well investigated on the Loess Plateau. Here, we tested the impacts of abiotic and biotic driving factors on plant biomass and R/S and whether they are in accordance with optimal partitioning theory in natural grassland in this region. The results showed that above-ground biomass (AGB) and below-ground biomass (BGB) were 63.96 g·m-2 and 311.18 g·m-2, respectively, and that R/S ranged from 0.13 to 0.46, with high spatial heterogeneity. There was a strong positive linear relationship between AGB and BGB (p < 0.05) in accordance with optimal partitioning theory. A principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the topographic properties (Slope position, Slope gradient and Altitude) were negatively correlated with the soil physical properties (Ec,Electric conductivity; BD, Bulk density; ST, Soil temperature; and SM, Soil moisture) and positively correlated with the soil chemical properties (SOC, Soil organic carbon; TN, Total nitrogen; SMBC, Soil microbial biomass carbon and SMBN, Soil microbial biomass nitrogen), while soil total phosphorus (TP) was not correlated with the soil physical properties (p > 0.05). Structural equation modeling (SEM) suggested that R/S is indirectly driven by plant properties (Height, Density, Coverage), which are determined by soil and topographic properties. However, only 5% of R/S was explained by the soil physical properties and topographic properties, suggesting that these factors had no significant effect on R/S. The data do, however, provide information for quantifying C stocks in natural grassland on the Loess Plateau. Further, ecologists should focus on mechanistic and fresh approaches to understanding the abiotic and biotic factors influencing plant biomass and R/S.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yang
- College of Natural Resource and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Yanxing Dou
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
| | - Shaoshan An
- College of Natural Resource and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China.
| | - Zhaolong Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
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113
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Kirkman LK, Giencke LM, Taylor RS, Boring LR, Staudhammer CL, Mitchell RJ. Productivity and species richness in longleaf pine woodlands: resource-disturbance influences across an edaphic gradient. Ecology 2018; 97:2259-2271. [PMID: 27859094 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2015] [Revised: 03/04/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
This study examines the complex feedback mechanisms that regulate a positive relationship between species richness and productivity in a longleaf pine-wiregrass woodland. Across a natural soil moisture gradient spanning wet-mesic to xeric conditions, two large scale manipulations over a 10-yr period were used to determine how limiting resources and fire regulate plant species diversity and productivity at multiple scales. A fully factorial experiment was used to examine productivity and species richness responses to N and water additions. A separate experiment examined standing crop and richness responses to N addition in the presence and absence of fire. Specifically, these manipulations addressed the following questions: (1) How do N and water addition influence annual aboveground net primary productivity of the midstory/overstory and ground cover? (2) How do species richness responses to resource manipulations vary with scale and among functional groups of ground cover species? (3) How does standing crop (including overstory, understory/midstory, and ground cover components) differ between frequently burned and fire excluded plots after a decade without fire? (4) What is the role of fire in regulating species richness responses to N addition? This long-term study across a soil moisture gradient provides empirical evidence that species richness and productivity in longleaf pine woodlands are strongly regulated by soil moisture. After a decade of treatment, there was an overall species richness decline with N addition, an increase in richness of some functional groups with irrigation, and a substantial decline in species richness with fire exclusion. Changes in species richness in response to treatments were scale-dependent, occurring primarily at small scales (≤10 m2 ). Further, with fire exclusion, standing crop of ground cover decreased with N addition and non-pine understory/midstory increased in wet-mesic sites. Non-pine understory/midstory standing crop increased in xeric sites with fire exclusion, but there was no influence of N addition. This study highlights the complexity of interactions among multiple limiting resources, frequent fire, and characteristics of dominant functional groups that link species richness and productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- L K Kirkman
- Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, Georgia, 39870, USA
| | - L M Giencke
- Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, Georgia, 39870, USA
| | - R S Taylor
- Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, Georgia, 39870, USA
| | - L R Boring
- Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, Georgia, 39870, USA
| | - C L Staudhammer
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 35487, USA
| | - R J Mitchell
- Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, Newton, Georgia, 39870, USA
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114
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Pan Q, Tian D, Naeem S, Auerswald K, Elser JJ, Bai Y, Huang J, Wang Q, Wang H, Wu J, Han X. Effects of functional diversity loss on ecosystem functions are influenced by compensation. Ecology 2018; 97:2293-2302. [PMID: 27859077 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2015] [Revised: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 04/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the impacts of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning and services has been a central issue in ecology. Experiments in synthetic communities suggest that biodiversity loss may erode a set of ecosystem functions, but studies in natural communities indicate that the effects of biodiversity loss are usually weak and that multiple functions can be sustained by relatively few species. Yet, the mechanisms by which natural ecosystems are able to maintain multiple functions in the face of diversity loss remain poorly understood. With a long-term and large-scale removal experiment in the Inner Mongolian grassland, here we showed that losses of plant functional groups (PFGs) can reduce multiple ecosystem functions, including biomass production, soil NO3 -N use, net ecosystem carbon exchange, gross ecosystem productivity, and ecosystem respiration, but the magnitudes of these effects depended largely on which PFGs were removed. Removing the two dominant PFGs (perennial rhizomatous grasses and perennial bunchgrasses) simultaneously resulted in dramatic declines in all examined functions, but such declines were circumvented when either dominant PFG was present. We identify the major mechanism for this as a compensation effect by which each dominant PFG can mitigate the losses of others. This study provides evidence that compensation ensuing from PFG losses can mitigate their negative consequence, and thus natural communities may be more resilient to biodiversity loss than currently thought if the remaining PFGs have strong compensation capabilities. On the other hand, ecosystems without well-developed compensatory functional diversity may be much more vulnerable to biodiversity loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingmin Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China
| | - Dashuan Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, 100101, Beijing, China
| | - Shahid Naeem
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, Schermerhorn Extension, New York, New York, 10027, USA
| | - Karl Auerswald
- Lehrstuhl für Grünlandlehre, Department of Plant Science, Technische Universität München, Alte Akademie 12, 85350, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
| | - James J Elser
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287, USA
| | - Yongfei Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China
| | - Jianhui Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China
| | - Qibing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China
| | - Hong Wang
- Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Box 1030, Swift Current, Saskatchewan, S9H 3X2, Canada
| | - Jianguo Wu
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287, USA
| | - Xingguo Han
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093, Beijing, China.,State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 110016, Shenyang, China
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115
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Tsakalakis I, Pahlow M, Oschlies A, Blasius B, Ryabov AB. Diel light cycle as a key factor for modelling phytoplankton biogeography and diversity. Ecol Modell 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.06.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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116
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Montagna M, Berruti A, Bianciotto V, Cremonesi P, Giannico R, Gusmeroli F, Lumini E, Pierce S, Pizzi F, Turri F, Gandini G. Differential biodiversity responses between kingdoms (plants, fungi, bacteria and metazoa) along an Alpine succession gradient. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:3671-3685. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.14817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 07/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Montagna
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali; Università degli Studi di Milano; Milan Italy
| | - Andrea Berruti
- Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Torino Italy
| | - Valeria Bianciotto
- Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Torino Italy
| | - Paola Cremonesi
- Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR IBBA); Lodi Italy
| | - Riccardo Giannico
- Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR IBBA); Lodi Italy
| | - Fausto Gusmeroli
- Fondazione Dott. Piero Fojanini di Studi Superiori; Sondrio Italy
| | - Erica Lumini
- Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Torino Italy
| | - Simon Pierce
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali; Università degli Studi di Milano; Milan Italy
| | - Flavia Pizzi
- Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR IBBA); Lodi Italy
| | - Federica Turri
- Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR IBBA); Lodi Italy
| | - Gustavo Gandini
- Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria - Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR IBBA); Lodi Italy
- Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria; Università degli Studi di Milano; Milan Italy
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117
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Akatov VV, Akatova TV, Chefranov SG. Relationship between Degree of Dominance and Species Richness in Grass Communities with Different Productivities. CONTEMP PROBL ECOL+ 2018. [DOI: 10.1134/s1995425518040029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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118
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Anderson CB. Biodiversity monitoring, earth observations and the ecology of scale. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1572-1585. [PMID: 30004184 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Revised: 04/21/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Human activity and land-use change are dramatically altering the sizes, geographical distributions and functioning of biological populations worldwide, with tremendous consequences for human well-being. Yet our ability to measure, monitor and forecast biodiversity change - crucial to addressing it - remains limited. Biodiversity monitoring systems are being developed to improve this capacity by deriving metrics of change from an array of in situ data (e.g. field plots or species occurrence records) and Earth observations (EO; e.g. satellite or airborne imagery). However, there are few ecologically based frameworks for integrating these data into meaningful metrics of biodiversity change. Here, I describe how concepts of pattern and scale in ecology could be used to design such a framework. I review three core topics: the role of scale in measuring and modelling biodiversity patterns with EO, scale-dependent challenges linking in situ and EO data and opportunities to apply concepts of pattern and scale to EO to improve biodiversity mapping. From this analysis emerges an actionable approach for measuring, monitoring and forecasting biodiversity change, highlighting key opportunities to establish EO as the backbone of global-scale, science-driven conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Anderson
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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119
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Akatov VV, Akatova TV, Chefranov CG. The Relationship of Dominance and Evenness with Productivity and Species Richness in Plant Communities with Different Organization Models. RUSS J ECOL+ 2018. [DOI: 10.1134/s1067413618040021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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120
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Zhang M, Straile D, Chen F, Shi X, Yang Z, Cai Y, Yu J, Kong F. Dynamics and drivers of phytoplankton richness and composition along productivity gradient. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 625:275-284. [PMID: 29289776 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Revised: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 12/23/2017] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The shape of the productivity-richness relationship (PRR) for phytoplankton has been suggested to be unimodal, that is, the richness peaks at intermediate productivity levels. However, the mechanistic understanding for this pattern is still widely debated. In this study, we observed a unimodal PRR within 71 lakes along the Yangtze River encompassing an altitude range of 0-2700m, and an over 2200km distance from the upper reaches to the lower reaches. At low productivity, the competition for resources and regulatory processes jointly affected phytoplankton richness and composition, and their explanatory power depend on the gradient scale of driving factors. The variation of temperature attributing to altitudinal difference explained the majority of the variations of phytoplankton. If the altitude variation in temperature was eliminated, the explanatory power of temperature decreased from 31.7 to 7.6, and the independent effect of each resource and regulatory variable were limited and not decisive. At high productivity, the negative feedback of increased productivity (light limitation) affected the phytoplankton species richness and composition. The light-sensitive species disappeared, low-light-adapted species was retained and the phytoplankton composition gradually became similar with an increase in productivity. The findings contribute to an increased understanding of the mechanisms resulting in a hump-shaped PRR for phytoplankton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China.
| | - Dietmar Straile
- Limnological Institute, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Feizhou Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Xiaoli Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Zhen Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Yongjiu Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Jinlei Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Fanxiang Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
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121
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Storch D, Bohdalková E, Okie J. The more-individuals hypothesis revisited: the role of community abundance in species richness regulation and the productivity-diversity relationship. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:920-937. [PMID: 29659144 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Species richness increases with energy availability, yet there is little consensus as to the exact processes driving this species-energy relationship. The most straightforward explanation is the more-individuals hypothesis (MIH). It states that higher energy availability promotes a higher total number of individuals in a community, which consequently increases species richness by allowing for a greater number of species with viable populations. Empirical support for the MIH is mixed, partially due to the lack of proper formalisation of the MIH and consequent confusion as to its exact predictions. Here, we review the evidence of the MIH and evaluate the reliability of various predictions that have been tested. There is only limited evidence that spatial variation in species richness is driven by variation in the total number of individuals. There are also problems with measures of energy availability, with scale-dependence, and with the direction of causality, as the total number of individuals may sometimes itself be driven by the number of species. However, even in such a case the total number of individuals may be involved in diversity regulation. We propose a formal theory that encompasses these processes, clarifying how the different factors affecting diversity dynamics can be disentangled.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Storch
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic.,Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Eliška Bohdalková
- Center for Theoretical Study, Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic.,Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - Jordan Okie
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.,School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
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122
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123
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Kuebbing SE, Reimer AP, Rosenthal SA, Feinberg G, Leiserowitz A, Lau JA, Bradford MA. Long‐term research in ecology and evolution: a survey of challenges and opportunities. ECOL MONOGR 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sara E. Kuebbing
- School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven Connecticut 06511 USA
| | - Adam P. Reimer
- W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Michigan State University Hickory Corners Michigan 49060 USA
| | - Seth A. Rosenthal
- School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven Connecticut 06511 USA
| | - Geoffrey Feinberg
- School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven Connecticut 06511 USA
| | - Anthony Leiserowitz
- School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven Connecticut 06511 USA
| | - Jennifer A. Lau
- W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Michigan State University Hickory Corners Michigan 49060 USA
| | - Mark A. Bradford
- School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven Connecticut 06511 USA
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124
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Cline LC, Hobbie SE, Madritch MD, Buyarski CR, Tilman D, Cavender‐Bares JM. Resource availability underlies the plant‐fungal diversity relationship in a grassland ecosystem. Ecology 2017; 99:204-216. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Revised: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren C. Cline
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota 123 Snyder Hall, 1475 Gortner Ave. St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Sarah E. Hobbie
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota 123 Snyder Hall, 1475 Gortner Ave. St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Michael D. Madritch
- Department of Biology Appalachian State University 572 Rivers Street., ASU Box 32027 Boone North Carolina 28608 USA
| | - Christopher R. Buyarski
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota 123 Snyder Hall, 1475 Gortner Ave. St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
- Department of Forest Resources University of Minnesota 115 Green Hall, 1530 Cleveland Ave N. St. PaulMinnesota 55108 USA
| | - David Tilman
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota 123 Snyder Hall, 1475 Gortner Ave. St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
- Bren School University of California‐Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, Bren Hall, 2400 University of California California 93117 USA
| | - Jeannine M. Cavender‐Bares
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota 123 Snyder Hall, 1475 Gortner Ave. St. Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
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125
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Ren H, Taube F, Stein C, Zhang Y, Bai Y, Hu S. Grazing weakens temporal stabilizing effects of diversity in the Eurasian steppe. Ecol Evol 2017; 8:231-241. [PMID: 29321866 PMCID: PMC5756891 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2017] [Revised: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many biodiversity experiments have demonstrated that plant diversity can stabilize productivity in experimental grasslands. However, less is known about how diversity–stability relationships are mediated by grazing. Grazing is known for causing species losses, but its effects on plant functional groups (PFGs) composition and species asynchrony, which are closely correlated with ecosystem stability, remain unclear. We conducted a six‐year grazing experiment in a semi‐arid steppe, using seven levels of grazing intensity (0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, 7.5, and 9.0 sheep per hectare) and two grazing systems (i.e., a traditional, continuous grazing system during the growing period (TGS), and a mixed one rotating grazing and mowing annually (MGS)), to examine the effects of grazing system and grazing intensity on the abundance and composition of PFGs and diversity–stability relationships. Ecosystem stability was similar between mixed and continuous grazing treatments. However, within the two grazing systems, stability was maintained through different pathways, that is, along with grazing intensity, persistence biomass variations in MGS, and compensatory interactions of PFGs in their biomass variations in TGS. Ecosystem temporal stability was not decreased by species loss but rather remain unchanged by the strong compensatory effects between PFGs, or a higher grazing‐induced decrease in species asynchrony at higher diversity, and a higher grazing‐induced increase in the temporal variation of productivity in diverse communities. Ecosystem stability of aboveground net primary production was not related to species richness in both grazing systems. High grazing intensity weakened the temporal stabilizing effects of diversity in this semi‐arid grassland. Our results demonstrate that the productivity of dominant PFGs is more important than species richness for maximizing stability in this system. This study distinguishes grazing intensity and grazing system from diversity effects on the temporal stability, highlighting the need to better understand how grazing regulates ecosystem stability, plant diversity, and their synergic relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyan Ren
- College of Agro-grassland Science College of Prataculture Science Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing China.,Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding-Grass and Forage Science Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel Germany
| | - Friedhelm Taube
- Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding-Grass and Forage Science Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel Germany
| | - Claudia Stein
- Tyson Research Center and Department of Biology Washington University St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
| | - Yingjun Zhang
- Department of Grassland Science China Agricultural University Beijing China
| | - Yongfei Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change Institute of Botany Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Shuijin Hu
- College of Resources and Environmental Sciences Nanjing Agricultural University Nanjing China.,Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology North Carolina State University Raleigh NC USA
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126
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Kertész M, Aszalós R, Lengyel A, Ónodi G. Synergistic effects of the components of global change: Increased vegetation dynamics in open, forest-steppe grasslands driven by wildfires and year-to-year precipitation differences. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0188260. [PMID: 29149208 PMCID: PMC5693438 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change and land use change are two major elements of human-induced global environmental change. In temperate grasslands and woodlands, increasing frequency of extreme weather events like droughts and increasing severity of wildfires has altered the structure and dynamics of vegetation. In this paper, we studied the impact of wildfires and the year-to-year differences in precipitation on species composition changes in semi-arid grasslands of a forest-steppe complex ecosystem which has been partially disturbed by wildfires. Particularly, we investigated both how long-term compositional dissimilarity changes and species richness are affected by year-to-year precipitation differences on burnt and unburnt areas. Study sites were located in central Hungary, in protected areas characterized by partially-burnt, juniper-poplar forest-steppe complexes of high biodiversity. Data were used from two long-term monitoring sites in the Kiskunság National Park, both characterized by the same habitat complex. We investigated the variation in species composition as a function of time using distance decay methodology. In each sampling area, compositional dissimilarity increased with the time elapsed between the sampling events, and species richness differences increased with increasing precipitation differences between consecutive years. We found that both the long-term compositional dissimilarity, and the year-to-year changes in species richness were higher in the burnt areas than in the unburnt ones. The long-term compositional dissimilarities were mostly caused by perennial species, while the year-to-year changes of species richness were driven by annual and biennial species. As the effect of the year-to-year variation in precipitation was more pronounced in the burnt areas, we conclude that canopy removal by wildfires and extreme inter-annual variability of precipitation, two components of global environmental change, act in a synergistic way. They enhance the effect of one another, resulting in greater long-term and year-to-year changes in the composition of grasslands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miklós Kertész
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary
- MTA Centre for Ecological Research, GINOP Sustainable Ecosystems Group, Tihany, Hungary
- * E-mail:
| | - Réka Aszalós
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Attila Lengyel
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Gábor Ónodi
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary
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127
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Wang Z. Process strengths determine the forms of the relationship between plant species richness and primary productivity. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0185884. [PMID: 29140995 PMCID: PMC5687741 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2016] [Accepted: 09/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The current rates of biodiversity loss have exceeded the rates observed during the earth's major extinction events, which spurs the studies of the ecological relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functions, stability, and services to determine the consequences of biodiversity loss. Plant species richness-productivity relationship (SRPR) is crucial to the understanding of these relationships in plants. Most ecologists have reached a widespread consensus that the loss of plant diversity undoubtedly impairs ecosystem functions, and have proposed many processes to explain the SRPR. However, none of the available studies has satisfactorily described the forms and mechanisms clarifying the SRPR. Observed results of the SRPR forms are inconsistent, and studies have long debated the ecological processes explaining the SRPR. Here, I have developed a simple model that combines the positive and/or negative effects of sixteen ecological processes on the SRPR and models that describe the dynamics of complementary-selection effect, density effect, and the interspecific competitive stress influenced by other ecological processes. I can regulate the strengths of the effects of these ecological processes to derive the asymptotic, positive, humped, negative, and irregular forms of the SRPR, and verify these forms using the observed data. The results demonstrated that the different strengths of the ecological processes determine the forms of the SRPR. The forms of the SRPR can change with variations in the strengths of the ecological processes. The dynamic characteristics of the complementary-selection effect, density effect, and the interspecific competitive stress on the SRPR are diverse, and are dependent on the strengths and variation of the ecological processes. This report explains the diverse forms of the SRPR, clarifies the integrative effects of the different ecological processes on the SRPR, and deepens our understanding of the interactions that occur among these ecological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenhong Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang`an University, Xi`an, China
- Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region, Ministry of Education, Chang`an University, Xi`an, China
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128
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Chalmandrier L, Albouy C, Pellissier L. Species pool distributions along functional trade-offs shape plant productivity-diversity relationships. Sci Rep 2017; 7:15405. [PMID: 29133911 PMCID: PMC5684142 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15334-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Grasslands deliver the resources for food production and are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems. These characteristics are often in conflict as increasing yield through fertilization can lead to biodiversity loss. Thus, the challenge in grassland management is to sustain both yield and diversity. Biodiversity–ecosystem functioning experiments typically reveal a positive relationship between manipulated species diversity and productivity. In contrast, observations of the effect of increasing productivity via fertilization suggest a negative association with biodiversity. Using a mathematical model simulating species co-existence along a resource gradient, we show that trade-offs and species pool structure (size and trait distribution) determines the shape of the productivity-diversity relationship. At a constant resource level, over-yielding drives a positive relationship between biodiversity and productivity. In contrast, along a resource gradient, the shape of the productivity-diversity relationship is determined by the distribution of species along trade-off axes and often resulted in a bell-shaped relationship. In accordance to this theoretical result, we then explain the general trend of plant biodiversity loss with fertilisation in the European flora, by showing empirical evidence that trait distribution of plant species pools throughout Europe is biased toward species preferring poorer soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loïc Chalmandrier
- Landscape Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. .,Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
| | - Camille Albouy
- Landscape Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.,IFREMER, unit "Ecologie et Modèles pour l'Halieutique", rue de l'Ile d'Yeu, BP21105, 44311, Nantes cedex 3, France
| | - Loïc Pellissier
- Landscape Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.,Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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129
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Tarasi DD, Peet RK. The native-exotic species richness relationship varies with spatial grain of measurement and environmental conditions. Ecology 2017; 98:3086-3095. [PMID: 28940358 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Biological invasions can have dramatic impacts on communities and biodiversity, and are critical considerations in conservation and management decisions. We present a novel analysis to determine how exotic species success varies with community richness and scale of measurement. Using 5,022 plots representing natural vegetation of the Carolinas, we calculated native and exotic species richness of all vascular plants at five grain sizes. To avoid spatial pseudoreplication, we randomly selected unique subplots from each larger plot, re-selecting 100 times to develop an empirical distribution of the native-exotic richness relationship (NERR). Because observed NERRs vary with spatial scale, we developed separate scale-specific null-model distributions to compare to the empirical data. For each spatial scale, we compared the empirical distribution of 100 slopes to the null distribution containing 99 permutations of species origin per empirical slope. We also analyzed the dataset according to broad assignments corresponding to environmental conditions, using the formation type assigned to each community. The plots followed across most scales the general trend that exotic richness increases with native richness. At the smallest scale, however, the NERR was negative. The slope of the NERR is significantly higher than the null model at the largest observed scale and significantly lower than the null model at the smallest two observed scales. The NERR for most formations follows the general pattern with scale for the entire dataset. Warm temperate forests expressed essentially 0 slope at the largest spatial grain, decreasing to a negative relationship at 1 m2 and smaller. Temperate freshwater marshes and wet meadows and shrublands expressed a positive relationship at all spatial grains, demonstrating that unique environmental and biogeographic conditions differentially affect exotic species. Further, these results indicate that exotic species are unevenly distributed across natural communities and that community assembly processes vary with scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis D Tarasi
- Curriculum for the Environment & Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3280, USA.,Department of Sciences and Mathematics, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Saint Mary of the Woods, Indiana, 47876, USA
| | - Robert K Peet
- Curriculum for the Environment & Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3280, USA.,Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3280, USA
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130
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Harrower WL, Srivastava DS, McCallum C, Fraser LH, Turkington R. Temperate grassland songbird species accumulate incrementally along a gradient of primary productivity. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0186809. [PMID: 29059252 PMCID: PMC5653332 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Global analyses of bird communities along elevation gradients suggest that bird diversity on arid mountains is primarily limited by water availability, not temperature or altitude. However, the mechanism by which water availability, and subsequently primary productivity, increases bird diversity is still unclear. Here we evaluate two possible mechanisms from species-energy theory. The more individuals hypothesis proposes that a higher availability of resources increases the total number of individuals that can be supported, and therefore the greater number of species that will be sampled. By contrast, the more specialization hypothesis proposes that increasing resource availability will permit specialists to exploit otherwise rare resources, thus increasing total diversity. We used 5 years of surveys of grassland songbird communities along an elevational gradient in British Columbia, Canada, to distinguish between these hypotheses. Vegetation changed markedly in composition along the gradient and contrary to the expectations of the more specialization hypothesis, bird community composition was remarkably constant. However, both total abundance and species richness of birds increased with increasing water availability to plants. When we used rarefaction to correct species richness for differences in total abundance, much of the increase in bird diversity was lost, consistent with the expectations of the more individuals hypothesis. Furthermore, high species richness was associated with reductions in territory size of common bird species, rather than the fine-scale spatial partitioning of the landscape. This suggests that bird diversity increases when greater resource availability allows higher densities rather than greater habitat specialization. These results help explain a pervasive global pattern in bird diversity on arid mountains, and suggest that in such landscapes conservation of grassland birds is strongly linked to climate and hydrology.
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Affiliation(s)
- William L. Harrower
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Botany & Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Diane S. Srivastava
- Department of Zoology & Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Cindy McCallum
- McCallum Environmental Consulting Ltd., Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Lauchlan H. Fraser
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Roy Turkington
- Department of Botany & Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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131
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Lewandowska AM, Biermann A, Borer ET, Cebrián-Piqueras MA, Declerck SAJ, De Meester L, Van Donk E, Gamfeldt L, Gruner DS, Hagenah N, Harpole WS, Kirkman KP, Klausmeier CA, Kleyer M, Knops JMH, Lemmens P, Lind EM, Litchman E, Mantilla-Contreras J, Martens K, Meier S, Minden V, Moore JL, Venterink HO, Seabloom EW, Sommer U, Striebel M, Trenkamp A, Trinogga J, Urabe J, Vyverman W, Van de Waal DB, Widdicombe CE, Hillebrand H. The influence of balanced and imbalanced resource supply on biodiversity-functioning relationship across ecosystems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0283. [PMID: 27114584 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies show that increasing species richness leads to higher ecosystem productivity. This effect is often attributed to more efficient portioning of multiple resources in communities with higher numbers of competing species, indicating the role of resource supply and stoichiometry for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. Here, we merged theory on ecological stoichiometry with a framework of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning to understand how resource use transfers into primary production. We applied a structural equation model to define patterns of diversity-productivity relationships with respect to available resources. Meta-analysis was used to summarize the findings across ecosystem types ranging from aquatic ecosystems to grasslands and forests. As hypothesized, resource supply increased realized productivity and richness, but we found significant differences between ecosystems and study types. Increased richness was associated with increased productivity, although this effect was not seen in experiments. More even communities had lower productivity, indicating that biomass production is often maintained by a few dominant species, and reduced dominance generally reduced ecosystem productivity. This synthesis, which integrates observational and experimental studies in a variety of ecosystems and geographical regions, exposes common patterns and differences in biodiversity-functioning relationships, and increases the mechanistic understanding of changes in ecosystems productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra M Lewandowska
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstraße 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Antje Biermann
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Elizabeth T Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Miguel A Cebrián-Piqueras
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Straße 9-11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Steven A J Declerck
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Luc De Meester
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Charles Deberiotstraat 32 bus 2439, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ellen Van Donk
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands Department of Ecology and Biodiversity, University of Utrecht, Padualaan 8, 3584 Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Lars Gamfeldt
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Carl Skottsbergs gata 22B, 41319 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Daniel S Gruner
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, 4112 Plant Sciences, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Nicole Hagenah
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Carbis Road, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa
| | - W Stanley Harpole
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Kurt-Mothes-Straße 3, 06108 Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Kevin P Kirkman
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Carbis Road, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa
| | - Christopher A Klausmeier
- W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 49060 USA Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 612 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824 USA
| | - Michael Kleyer
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Straße 9-11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Johannes M H Knops
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, 211 Manter Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Pieter Lemmens
- Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven, Charles Deberiotstraat 32 bus 2439, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Eric M Lind
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Elena Litchman
- W. K. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 49060 USA Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Jasmin Mantilla-Contreras
- Institute of Biology and Chemistry, University of Hildesheim, Universitätsplatz 1, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany
| | - Koen Martens
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINSc), Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sandra Meier
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstraße 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Vanessa Minden
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Straße 9-11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Joslin L Moore
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Harry Olde Venterink
- Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Eric W Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Ulrich Sommer
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
| | - Maren Striebel
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstraße 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Anastasia Trenkamp
- Institute of Biology and Chemistry, University of Hildesheim, Universitätsplatz 1, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany
| | - Juliane Trinogga
- Institute for Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Straße 9-11, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Jotaro Urabe
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-3, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 982-0011, Japan
| | - Wim Vyverman
- Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S8, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Dedmer B Van de Waal
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Helmut Hillebrand
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstraße 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
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132
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Minden V, Scherber C, Cebrián Piqueras MA, Trinogga J, Trenkamp A, Mantilla-Contreras J, Lienin P, Kleyer M. Consistent drivers of plant biodiversity across managed ecosystems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0284. [PMID: 27114585 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/11/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecosystems managed for production of biomass are often characterized by low biodiversity because management aims to optimize single ecosystem functions (i.e. yield) involving deliberate selection of species or cultivars. In consequence, considerable differences in observed plant species richness and productivity remain across systems, and the drivers of these differences have remained poorly resolved so far. In addition, it has remained unclear if species richness feeds back on ecosystem functions such as yield in real-world systems. Here, we establish N = 360 experimental plots across a broad range of managed ecosystems in several European countries, and use structural equation models to unravel potential drivers of plant species richness. We hypothesize that the relationships between productivity, total biomass and observed species richness are affected by management intensity, and that these effects differ between habitat types (dry grasslands, grasslands, and wetlands). We found that local management was an important driver of species richness across systems. Management caused system disturbance, resulting in reduced productivity yet enhanced total biomass. Plant species richness was directly and positively driven by management, with consistently negative effects of total biomass. Productivity effects on richness were positive, negative or neutral. Our study shows that management and total biomass drive plant species richness across real-world managed systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Minden
- Landscape Ecology Group, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Scherber
- DNPW, Agroecology, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | | | - Juliane Trinogga
- Landscape Ecology Group, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Anastasia Trenkamp
- Institute of Biology and Chemistry, University of Hildesheim, 31141 Hildesheim, Germany
| | | | - Patrick Lienin
- Landscape Ecology Group, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Michael Kleyer
- Landscape Ecology Group, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany
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133
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Walter CA, Adams MB, Gilliam FS, Peterjohn WT. Non‐random species loss in a forest herbaceous layer following nitrogen addition. Ecology 2017; 98:2322-2332. [PMID: 28609549 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Revised: 05/06/2017] [Accepted: 06/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A. Walter
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota 100 Ecology Building, 1987 Upper Buford Circle Saint Paul Minnesota 55108 USA
| | - Mary Beth Adams
- Northern Research Station USDA Forest Service 180 Canfield Street Morgantown West Virginia 26505 USA
| | - Frank S. Gilliam
- Department of Biological Sciences Marshall University One John Marshall Drive Huntington West Virginia 25755 USA
| | - William T. Peterjohn
- Department of Biology West Virginia University 53 Campus Drive Morgantown West Virginia 26506 USA
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134
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Wagg C, Ebeling A, Roscher C, Ravenek J, Bachmann D, Eisenhauer N, Mommer L, Buchmann N, Hillebrand H, Schmid B, Weisser WW. Functional trait dissimilarity drives both species complementarity and competitive disparity. Funct Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Cameron Wagg
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of Zürich Zürich Switzerland
- Institute of EcologyUniversity of Jena Jena Germany
| | - Anne Ebeling
- Institute of EcologyUniversity of Jena Jena Germany
| | - Christiane Roscher
- Department of Physiological DiversityUFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
| | - Janneke Ravenek
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation GroupWageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Dörte Bachmann
- Institute of Agricultural SciencesETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Institute of BiologyLeipzig University Leipzig Germany
| | - Liesje Mommer
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation GroupWageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Nina Buchmann
- Institute of Agricultural SciencesETH Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Helmut Hillebrand
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine EnvironmentCarl‐von Ossietzky University Oldenburg Germany
| | - Bernhard Schmid
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of Zürich Zürich Switzerland
| | - Wolfgang W. Weisser
- Terrestrial Ecology Research GroupDepartment of Ecology and Ecosystem ManagementCenter for Food and Life Sciences WeihenstephanTechnische Universität München Freising‐Weihenstephan Germany
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135
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Algarte VM, Siqueira T, Landeiro VL, Rodrigues L, Bonecker CC, Rodrigues LC, Santana NF, Thomaz SM, Bini LM. Main predictors of periphyton species richness depend on adherence strategy and cell size. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0181720. [PMID: 28742122 PMCID: PMC5524394 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Periphytic algae are important components of aquatic ecosystems. However, the factors driving periphyton species richness variation remain largely unexplored. Here, we used data from a subtropical floodplain (Upper Paraná River floodplain, Brazil) to quantify the influence of environmental variables (total suspended matter, temperature, conductivity, nutrient concentrations, hydrology, phytoplankton biomass, phytoplankton species richness, aquatic macrophyte species richness and zooplankton density) on overall periphytic algal species richness and on the richness of different algal groups defined by morphological traits (cell size and adherence strategy). We expected that the coefficients of determination of the models estimated for different trait-based groups would be higher than the model coefficient of determination of the entire algal community. We also expected that the relative importance of explanatory variables in predicting species richness would differ among algal groups. The coefficient of determination for the model used to predict overall periphytic algal species richness was higher than the ones obtained for models used to predict the species richness of the different groups. Thus, our first prediction was not supported. Species richness of aquatic macrophytes was the main predictor of periphyton species richness of the entire community and a significant predictor of the species richness of small mobile, large mobile and small-loosely attached algae. Abiotic variables, phytoplankton species richness, chlorophyll-a concentration, and hydrology were also significant predictors, depending on the group. These results suggest that habitat heterogeneity (as proxied by aquatic macrophytes richness) is important for maintaining periphyton species richness in floodplain environments. However, other factors played a role, suggesting that the analysis of species richness of different trait-based groups unveils relationships that were not detectable when the entire community was analysed together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Majewski Algarte
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
- * E-mail:
| | - Tadeu Siqueira
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, UNESP—Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Victor Lemes Landeiro
- Departamento de Botânica e Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil
| | - Liliana Rodrigues
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Claudia Costa Bonecker
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Luzia Cleide Rodrigues
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Natália Fernanda Santana
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Sidinei Magela Thomaz
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná, Brazil
| | - Luis Mauricio Bini
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil
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136
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LaManna JA, Belote RT, Burkle LA, Catano CP, Myers JA. Negative density dependence mediates biodiversity-productivity relationships across scales. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 1:1107-1115. [PMID: 29046568 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0225-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Regional species diversity generally increases with primary productivity whereas local diversity-productivity relationships are highly variable. This scale-dependence of the biodiversity-productivity relationship highlights the importance of understanding the mechanisms that govern variation in species composition among local communities, which is known as β-diversity. Hypotheses to explain changes in β-diversity with productivity invoke multiple mechanisms operating at local and regional scales, but the relative importance of these mechanisms is unknown. Here we show that changes in the strength of local density-dependent interactions within and among tree species explain changes in β-diversity across a subcontinental-productivity gradient. Stronger conspecific relative to heterospecific negative density dependence in more productive regions was associated with higher local diversity, weaker habitat partitioning (less species sorting), and homogenization of community composition among sites (lower β-diversity). Regional processes associated with changes in species pools had limited effects on β-diversity. Our study suggests that systematic shifts in the strength of local interactions within and among species might generally contribute to some of the most prominent but poorly understood gradients in global biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A LaManna
- Department of Biology & Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
| | | | - Laura A Burkle
- Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, 59717, USA
| | - Christopher P Catano
- Department of Biology & Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Jonathan A Myers
- Department of Biology & Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
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137
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Asgari M, Steiner CF. Interactive effects of productivity and predation on zooplankton diversity. OIKOS 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.04099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mitra Asgari
- Dept of Biological Sciences; 5047 Gullen Mall, Wayne State Univ.; Detroit MI 48202 USA
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138
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Ward D, Kirkman K, Tsvuura Z. An African grassland responds similarly to long-term fertilization to the Park Grass experiment. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0177208. [PMID: 28493915 PMCID: PMC5426719 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2016] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We compared the results of a long-term (65 years) experiment in a South African grassland with the world's longest-running ecological experiment, the Park Grass study at Rothamsted, U.K. The climate is warm and humid in South Africa and cool and temperate in England. The African grassland has been fertilized with two forms of nitrogen applied at four levels, phosphorus and lime in a crossed design in 96 plots. In 1951, about 84% of plant cover consisted of Themeda triandra, Tristachya leucothrix and Setaria nigrirostris. Currently, the dominant species are Panicum maximum, Setaria sphacelata and Eragrostis curvula, making up 71% of total biomass. As in the Park Grass experiment, we found a significant (additive) interaction effect on ANPP of nitrogen and phosphorus, and a (marginally significant) negative correlation between ANPP and species richness. Unlike the Park Grass experiment, there was no correlation between ANPP and species richness when pH was included as a covariate. There was also a significant negative effect of nitrogen amount and nitrogen form and a positive effect of lime on species richness and species diversity. Soil pH had an important effect on species richness. Liming was insufficient to balance the negative effects on species richness of nitrogen fertilization. There was a significant effect of pH on biomass of three abundant species. There were also significant effects of light on the biomass of four species, with only Panicum maximum having a negative response to light. In all of the abundant species, adding total species richness and ANPP to the model increased the amount of variance explained. The biomass of Eragrostis curvula and P. maximum were negatively correlated with species richness while three other abundant species increased with species richness, suggesting that competition and facilitation were active. Consistent with the results from the Park Grass and other long-term fertilization experiments of grasslands, we found a positive effect of soil pH and a negative effect of nitrogen amount on species richness, a more acutely negative effect on species richness of acidic ammonium sulphate fertilizer than limestone ammonium nitrate, a negative relationship between species richness and biomass, and a positive effect on species richness of lime interacting with nitrogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Ward
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, South Africa
| | - Kevin Kirkman
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, South Africa
| | - Zivanai Tsvuura
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, South Africa
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139
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A decade of insights into grassland ecosystem responses to global environmental change. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 1:118. [PMID: 28812706 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2016] [Accepted: 02/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Earth's biodiversity and carbon uptake by plants, or primary productivity, are intricately interlinked, underlie many essential ecosystem processes, and depend on the interplay among environmental factors, many of which are being changed by human activities. While ecological theory generalizes across taxa and environments, most empirical tests of factors controlling diversity and productivity have been observational, single-site experiments, or meta-analyses, limiting our understanding of variation among site-level responses and tests of general mechanisms. A synthesis of results from ten years of a globally distributed, coordinated experiment, the Nutrient Network (NutNet), demonstrates that species diversity promotes ecosystem productivity and stability, and that nutrient supply and herbivory control diversity via changes in composition, including invasions of non-native species and extinction of native species. Distributed experimental networks are a powerful tool for tests and integration of multiple theories and for generating multivariate predictions about the effects of global changes on future ecosystems.
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140
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Zhou X, Guo Z, Zhang P, Li H, Chu C, Li X, Du G. Different categories of biodiversity explain productivity variation after fertilization in a Tibetan alpine meadow community. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:3464-3474. [PMID: 28515882 PMCID: PMC5433997 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2016] [Revised: 11/23/2016] [Accepted: 12/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The relationship between productivity and biodiversity has long been an important issue in ecological research. However, in recent decades, most ecologists have primarily focused on species diversity while paying little attention to functional diversity and phylogenetic diversity (PD), especially in alpine meadow communities following fertilization. In this study, a fertilization experiment involving the addition of nitrogen, phosphorus, and a mixture of both was implemented in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. Species diversity, functional diversity, and PD were measured, and the responses of these parameters to the variation in productivity were analyzed. We found that the productivity of alpine plant communities was colimited by N and P, with N being the principal and P being the secondary limiting nutrient. Our results supported the prediction of both the mass ratio hypothesis and niche complementarity hypothesis in fertilized communities, but these hypotheses were not mutually exclusive. The combination of different aspects of biodiversity not only provides a crucial tool to explain the variation in productivity and to understand the underlying mechanisms but also plays an important role in predicting the variation in productivity of alpine meadow communities, which are sensitive to nutrient enrichment in the context of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-ecosystems School of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Lanzhou Gansu China.,Institute of Arid Ecology and Environment Xinjiang University Urumqi Xinjiang China
| | - Zhi Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-ecosystems School of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Lanzhou Gansu China
| | - Pengfei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-ecosystems School of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Lanzhou Gansu China
| | - Honglin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-ecosystems School of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Lanzhou Gansu China
| | - Chengjin Chu
- SYSU-Alberta Joint Lab for Biodiversity Conservation State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and School of Life Sciences Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou China
| | - Xilai Li
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Qinghai University Xining China
| | - Guozhen Du
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland and Agro-ecosystems School of Life Sciences Lanzhou University Lanzhou Gansu China
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141
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Ceulemans T, Hulsmans E, Berwaers S, Van Acker K, Honnay O. The role of above-ground competition and nitrogen vs. phosphorus enrichment in seedling survival of common European plant species of semi-natural grasslands. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0174380. [PMID: 28333985 PMCID: PMC5363941 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic activities have severely altered fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus in ecosystems worldwide. In grasslands, subsequent negative effects are commonly attributed to competitive exclusion of plant species following increased above-ground biomass production. However, some studies have shown that this does not fully account for nutrient enrichment effects, questioning whether lowering competition by reducing grassland productivity through mowing or herbivory can mitigate the environmental impact of nutrient pollution. Furthermore, few studies so far discriminate between nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. We performed a full factorial experiment in greenhouse mesocosms combining nitrogen and phosphorus addition with two clipping regimes designed to relax above-ground competition. Next, we studied the survival and growth of seedlings of eight common European grassland species and found that five out of eight species showed higher survival under the clipping regime with the lowest above-ground competition. Phosphorus addition negatively affected seven plant species and nitrogen addition negatively affected four plant species. Importantly, the negative effects of nutrient addition and higher above-ground competition were independent of each other for all but one species. Our results suggest that at any given level of soil nutrients, relaxation of above-ground competition allows for higher seedling survival in grasslands. At the same time, even at low levels of above-ground competition, nutrient enrichment negatively affects survival as compared to nutrient-poor conditions. Therefore, although maintaining low above-ground competition appears essential for species' recruitment, for instance through mowing or herbivory, these management efforts are likely to be insufficient and we conclude that environmental policies aimed to reduce both excess nitrogen and particularly phosphorus inputs are also necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Ceulemans
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Eva Hulsmans
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sigi Berwaers
- Plant and Vegetation Ecology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Kasper Van Acker
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Olivier Honnay
- Plant Conservation and Population Biology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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142
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Groendahl S, Fink P. Consumer species richness and nutrients interact in determining producer diversity. Sci Rep 2017; 7:44869. [PMID: 28303953 PMCID: PMC5356013 DOI: 10.1038/srep44869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
While it is crucial to understand the factors that determine the biodiversity of primary producer communities, the relative importance of bottom-up and top-down control factors is still poorly understood. Using freshwater benthic algal communities in the laboratory as a model system, we find an unimodal relationship between nutrient availability and producer diversity, and that increasing number of consumer species increases producer diversity, but overall grazing decreases algal biodiversity. Interestingly, these two factors interact strongly in determining producer diversity, as an increase in nutrient supply diminishes the positive effect of consumer species richness on producer biodiversity. This novel and thus-far overlooked interaction of bottom-up and top-down control mechanisms of biodiversity may have a pronounced impact on ecosystem functioning and thus have repercussions for the fields of biodiversity conservation and restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Groendahl
- University of Cologne, Cologne Biocenter, Workgroup Aquatic Chemical Ecology, Zuelpicher Strasse 47b, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Patrick Fink
- University of Cologne, Cologne Biocenter, Workgroup Aquatic Chemical Ecology, Zuelpicher Strasse 47b, 50674 Cologne, Germany
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143
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Su R, Cheng J, Chen D, Bai Y, Jin H, Chao L, Wang Z, Li J. Effects of grazing on spatiotemporal variations in community structure and ecosystem function on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China. Sci Rep 2017; 7:40. [PMID: 28232738 PMCID: PMC5427926 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-00105-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Grasslands worldwide are suffering from overgrazing, which greatly alters plant community structure and ecosystem functioning. However, the general effects of grazing on community structure and ecosystem function at spatial and temporal scales has rarely been examined synchronously in the same grassland. Here, during 2011-2013, we investigated community structure (cover, height, and species richness) and aboveground biomass (AGB) using 250 paired field sites (grazed vs. fenced) across three vegetation types (meadow, typical, and desert steppes) on the Inner Mongolian Plateau. Grazing, vegetation type, and year all had significant effects on cover, height, species richness, and AGB, although the primary factor influencing variations in these variables was vegetation type. Spatially, grazing significantly reduced the measured variables in meadow and typical steppes, whereas no changes were observed in desert steppe. Temporally, both linear and quadratic relationships were detected between growing season precipitation and cover, height, richness, or AGB, although specific relationships varied among observation years and grazing treatments. In each vegetation type, the observed community properties were significantly correlated with each other, and the shape of the relationship was unaffected by grazing treatment. These findings indicate that vegetation type is the most important factor to be considered in grazing management for this semi-arid grassland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rina Su
- Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Forest College, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Junhui Cheng
- College of Grassland and Environmental Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, 830052, China
| | - Dima Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Yongfei Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Hua Jin
- Institute of Grassland Surveying and Planning, Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, 010051, China
| | - Lumengqiqige Chao
- Institute of Grassland Surveying and Planning, Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, 010051, China
| | - Zhijun Wang
- Institute of Grassland Surveying and Planning, Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, 010051, China
| | - Junqing Li
- Key Laboratory for Silviculture and Conservation of Ministry of Education, Forest College, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
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144
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Bohn FJ, Huth A. The importance of forest structure to biodiversity-productivity relationships. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:160521. [PMID: 28280550 PMCID: PMC5319316 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
While various relationships between productivity and biodiversity are found in forests, the processes underlying these relationships remain unclear and theory struggles to coherently explain them. In this work, we analyse diversity-productivity relationships through an examination of forest structure (described by basal area and tree height heterogeneity). We use a new modelling approach, called 'forest factory', which generates various forest stands and calculates their annual productivity (above-ground wood increment). Analysing approximately 300 000 forest stands, we find that mean forest productivity does not increase with species diversity. Instead forest structure emerges as the key variable. Similar patterns can be observed by analysing 5054 forest plots of the German National Forest Inventory. Furthermore, we group the forest stands into nine forest structure classes, in which we find increasing, decreasing, invariant and even bell-shaped relationships between productivity and diversity. In addition, we introduce a new index, called optimal species distribution, which describes the ratio of realized to the maximal possible productivity (by shuffling species identities). The optimal species distribution and forest structure indices explain the obtained productivity values quite well (R2 between 0.7 and 0.95), whereby the influence of these attributes varies within the nine forest structure classes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friedrich J. Bohn
- Department for Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH—UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, German
- Institute for Environmental Systems Research, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastraße 12, 49076 Osnabrück, German
| | - Andreas Huth
- Department for Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH—UFZ, Permoserstraße 15, 04318 Leipzig, German
- Institute for Environmental Systems Research, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastraße 12, 49076 Osnabrück, German
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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145
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Wang J, Pan F, Soininen J, Heino J, Shen J. Nutrient enrichment modifies temperature-biodiversity relationships in large-scale field experiments. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13960. [PMID: 28000677 PMCID: PMC5187590 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/16/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Climate effects and human impacts, that is, nutrient enrichment, simultaneously drive spatial biodiversity patterns. However, there is little consensus about their independent effects on biodiversity. Here we manipulate nutrient enrichment in aquatic microcosms in subtropical and subarctic regions (China and Norway, respectively) to show clear segregation of bacterial species along temperature gradients, and decreasing alpha and gamma diversity toward higher nutrients. The temperature dependence of species richness is greatest at extreme nutrient levels, whereas the nutrient dependence of species richness is strongest at intermediate temperatures. For species turnover rates, temperature effects are strongest at intermediate and two extreme ends of nutrient gradients in subtropical and subarctic regions, respectively. Species turnover rates caused by nutrients do not increase toward higher temperatures. These findings illustrate direct effects of temperature and nutrients on biodiversity, and indirect effects via primary productivity, thus providing insights into how nutrient enrichment could alter biodiversity under future climate scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianjun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FIN-00014, Finland
| | - Feiyan Pan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Janne Soininen
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki FIN-00014, Finland
| | - Jani Heino
- Finnish Environment Institute, Natural Environment Centre, Biodiversity, Oulu FI-90014, Finland
| | - Ji Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academic of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
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146
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Emmett BA, Cooper D, Smart S, Jackson B, Thomas A, Cosby B, Evans C, Glanville H, McDonald JE, Malham SK, Marshall M, Jarvis S, Rajko-Nenow P, Webb GP, Ward S, Rowe E, Jones L, Vanbergen AJ, Keith A, Carter H, Pereira MG, Hughes S, Lebron I, Wade A, Jones DL. Spatial patterns and environmental constraints on ecosystem services at a catchment scale. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 572:1586-1600. [PMID: 27156120 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2015] [Revised: 03/31/2016] [Accepted: 04/01/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Improved understanding and prediction of the fundamental environmental controls on ecosystem service supply across the landscape will help to inform decisions made by policy makers and land-water managers. To evaluate this issue for a local catchment case study, we explored metrics and spatial patterns of service supply for water quality regulation, agriculture production, carbon storage, and biodiversity for the Macronutrient Conwy catchment. Methods included using ecosystem models such as LUCI and JULES, integration of national scale field survey datasets, earth observation products and plant trait databases, to produce finely resolved maps of species richness and primary production. Analyses were done with both 1×1km gridded and subcatchment data. A common single gradient characterised catchment scale ecosystem services supply with agricultural production and carbon storage at opposing ends of the gradient as reported for a national-scale assessment. Species diversity was positively related to production due to the below national average productivity levels in the Conwy combined with the unimodal relationship between biodiversity and productivity at the national scale. In contrast to the national scale assessment, a strong reduction in water quality as production increased was observed in these low productive systems. Various soil variables were tested for their predictive power of ecosystem service supply. Soil carbon, nitrogen, their ratio and soil pH all had double the power of rainfall and altitude, each explaining around 45% of variation but soil pH is proposed as a potential metric for ecosystem service supply potential as it is a simple and practical metric which can be carried out in the field with crowd-sourcing technologies now available. The study emphasises the importance of considering multiple ecosystem services together due to the complexity of covariation at local and national scales, and the benefits of exploiting a wide range of metrics for each service to enhance data robustness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridget A Emmett
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK.
| | - David Cooper
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Simon Smart
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, Bailrigg LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Bethanna Jackson
- School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Amy Thomas
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Bernard Cosby
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Chris Evans
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Helen Glanville
- School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
| | - James E McDonald
- School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Shelagh K Malham
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK; Centre for Applied Marine Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
| | - Miles Marshall
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Susan Jarvis
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, Bailrigg LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Paulina Rajko-Nenow
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK
| | - Gearoid P Webb
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Bldg, Benson Ln, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Sue Ward
- Lancaster University, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, Bailrigg, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Ed Rowe
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Laurence Jones
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Adam J Vanbergen
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Edinburgh EH26 0QB, UK
| | - Aidan Keith
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, Bailrigg LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Heather Carter
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, Bailrigg LA1 4AP, UK
| | - M Glória Pereira
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster, Bailrigg LA1 4AP, UK
| | - Steve Hughes
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Inma Lebron
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Rd, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Andrew Wade
- Dept of Geography, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO, BOX 227 Reading, RG6 6AB, UK
| | - David L Jones
- School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, UK
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147
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Schrama M, van der Plas F, Berg MP, Olff H. Decoupled diversity dynamics in green and brown webs during primary succession in a saltmarsh. J Anim Ecol 2016; 86:158-169. [PMID: 27740686 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Terrestrial ecosystems are characterized by a strong functional connection between the green (plant-herbivore-based) and brown (detritus-detritivore-based) parts of the food web, which both develop over successional time. However, the interlinked changes in green and brown food web diversity patterns in relation to key ecosystem processes are rarely studied. Here, we demonstrate changes in species richness, diversity and evenness over a wide range of invertebrate green and brown trophic groups during 100 years of primary succession in a saltmarsh ecosystem, using a well-calibrated chronosequence. We contrast two hypotheses on the relationship between green and brown food web diversity across succession: (i) 'coupled diversity hypothesis', which predicts that all trophic groups covary similarly with the main drivers of successional ecosystem assembly vs. (ii) the 'decoupled diversity hypothesis', where green and brown trophic groups diversity respond to different drivers during succession. We found that, while species richness for plants and invertebrate herbivores (green web groups) both peaked at intermediate productivity and successional age, the diversity of macrodetritivores, microarthropod microbivores and secondary consumers (brown web groups) continuously increased towards the latest successional stages. These results suggest that green web trophic groups are mainly driven by vegetation parameters, such as the amount of bare soil, vegetation biomass production and vegetation height, while brown web trophic groups are mostly driven by the production and standing stock of dead organic material and soil development. Our results show that plant diversity cannot simply be used as a proxy for the diversity of all other species groups that drive ecosystem functioning, as brown and green diversity components in our ecosystem responded differently to successional gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maarten Schrama
- Institute for Environmental Science, University of Leiden, 2333 CC, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Soil and Ecosystem Ecology Group, University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, M13 9PT, Manchester, UK.,Community and Conservation Ecology, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Fons van der Plas
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland.,Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre BIK-F, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Matty P Berg
- Community and Conservation Ecology, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands.,Section Animal Ecology, Department of Ecological Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Han Olff
- Community and Conservation Ecology, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
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148
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Affiliation(s)
- J. A. Bissonette
- Department of Wildland Resources; Quinney College of Natural Resources; Utah State University; Logan UT 84322-5200 USA
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149
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Cojoc EI, Postolache C, Olariu B, Beierkuhnlein C. Effects of anthropogenic fragmentation on primary productivity and soil carbon storage in temperate mountain grasslands. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2016; 188:653. [PMID: 27822788 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-016-5667-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Habitat fragmentation is one of the most severe anthropogenic pressures exerted on ecosystem's biodiversity. Empirical studies to date focused with an overriding interest on the effects of habitat loss or habitat fragmentation per se on species richness patterns detrimental to biogeochemical processes. To account for changes in ecosystem fluxes, we investigated how anthropogenic fragmentation affects primary productivity and carbon storage in temperate mountain grasslands. A field study was conducted to assess the influence of grassland isolation on soil carbon stocks, N availability, species biomass, and plant functional groups distribution. We tested the hypothesis that increased isolation of grassland, within the land cover, decreases soil carbon stocks, and available N nutrient as well as aboveground biomass. Soil carbon concentration decreased with isolation but increased near the forest edge. We found significant differences in aboveground biomass distribution and relative contribution of plant functional groups between isolation conditions. The magnitude of edge effect on carbon stocks, N availability, and primary productivity intensified with increasing isolation as a consequence of the additive influence of edges. Our study reveals that the potential creation of artificially isolated patches diminished primary productivity, N availability, and C stocks. However, in highly managed landscapes, grazing pressure is an additional factor that changes biomass and nutrients patterns. We emphasize that spatial configuration of the landscape has a major role in modulating ecological flows and ecosystem service supply, in addition to changes in species richness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilia Ionela Cojoc
- Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainable Development, University of Bucharest, Splaiul Independentei 91-95, 050095, Bucharest, Romania.
| | - Carmen Postolache
- Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainable Development, University of Bucharest, Splaiul Independentei 91-95, 050095, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Bogdan Olariu
- Department of Geography, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Carl Beierkuhnlein
- Department of Biogeography, BayCEER, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
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150
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Houlahan JE, McKinney ST, Anderson TM, McGill BJ. The priority of prediction in ecological understanding. OIKOS 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.03726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeff E. Houlahan
- Dept of Biology; 100 Tucker Park Road, Univ. of New Brunswick; Saint John NB, E2L 4L5 Canada
| | - Shawn T. McKinney
- Univ. of Maine, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Orono Maine United States
| | | | - Brian J. McGill
- School of Biology and Ecology, Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, Univ. of Maine; Orono ME USA
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