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Wang K, She D, Zhang X, Wang Y, Wen H, Yu J, Wang Q, Han S, Wang W. Tree richness increased biomass carbon sequestration and ecosystem stability of temperate forests in China: Interacted factors and implications. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 368:122214. [PMID: 39191057 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Biodiversity loss and forest degradation have received increasing attention worldwide, and their effects on forest biomass carbon storage and stability have not yet been well defined. This study examined 1275 tree plots using the field survey method to quantify the effects of tree diversity, tree sizes, and mycorrhizal symbiont abundance on biomass carbon storages (Cs) and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index)-based ecosystem stability (standard deviation/mean NDVI = NDVI_S) during the field survey period from 2008 to 2018. Our data showed Cs and NDVI_S averaged at 31-108 t ha-1 and 32.04-49.28, respectively, and positive relations between Cs and NDVI_S were observed (p < 0.05). Large forest-type and regional variations were found in these two parameters. Broadleaf forests had 74% of Cs (p < 0.05) of the conifer forests, but no differences were in NDVI_S. Cold regions at high latitudes had 71% of NDVI_S in the warm regions at low latitudes, while no differences were in Cs. Moist regions at high longitudes had 2.04 and 1.28-fold higher Cs and NDVI_S (p < 0.05). The >700 m a.s.l. regions had 1.24-fold higher Cs (p < 0.01) than the <700 m a.s.l. regions, but similar NDVI_S (p > 0.05). Nature Reserves had 1.94-fold higher Cs but 30% lower NDVI_S than outside Reserves (p < 0.001). > 40-year-old forests had 1.3- and 2-fold higher Cs and NDVI_S than the young forests. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical partitioning revealed the driving paths responsible for these variations. Tree richness was positively associated with Cs and ecosystem stability, contributing 21.6%-30.6% to the total effects on them; tree sizes significantly promoted the Cs, but had negligible impacts on NDVI_S. MAT's total effects on NDVI_S of conifer forests were 40% higher than that of broadleaf forests, MAP's total effects on Cs varied with forest types; arbuscular mycorrhizal tree dominance exhibited a smaller positive impact on Cs and ecosystem stability in comparison to other factors. Our findings underscore that the significance of climatic-adapted forest management, diversity conservation, and big-sized tree protections can support the achievement of carbon neutrality in China from biomass carbon sequestration and ecosystem stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, College of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China; Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China; School of Tourism, Bohai University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, 121000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Danqi She
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, College of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology (MOE), College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Xiting Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology (MOE), College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China; Leshan Normal University, School of Life Science, Leshan, 614000, China
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China
| | - Hui Wen
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology (MOE), College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Jinghua Yu
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Qinggui Wang
- College of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, China
| | - Shijie Han
- College of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, China
| | - Wenjie Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, College of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China; Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China.
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2
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Cecapolli E, Calò A, Giakoumi S, Di Lorenzo M, Greco S, Fanelli E, Milisenda G, Di Franco A. Sandy bottoms have limited species richness but substantially contribute to the regional coastal fish β-diversity: A case study of the Central Mediterranean Sea. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 201:106701. [PMID: 39178710 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2024] [Revised: 07/29/2024] [Accepted: 08/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/26/2024]
Abstract
Global marine biodiversity loss impairs entire ecosystems and their stability. Robust biodiversity estimates are key to inform policies and management strategies, and need to consider the contribution of diverse habitats, including those for which estimates of biodiversity are scattered or totally absent. This study assessed the fish diversity associated with three main coastal habitats (rocky bottoms, Posidonia oceanica meadows, sandy bottoms), and their role in shaping the overall coastal fish diversity, also in relation to potential environmental and anthropogenic drivers affecting patterns of fish diversity in coastal areas. Using underwater visual census, we sampled 62 sites distributed on the three habitats, for a total of 496 replicates. We assessed the contribution of each habitat to β-diversity, divided into Local Contribution to β-diversity (LCBD), a comparative indicator of the contributions to β-diversity of each habitat, and Species Contribution to β-diversity (SCBD), which measures the relative importance of each species in affecting β-diversity. Finally, we modelled species diversity in relation to potential environmental and anthropogenic drivers. Overall, 72 species were recorded, with the highest species richness observed on rocky bottoms (56 species, 16 unique to this habitat), followed by P. oceanica (38 species, 0 unique) and sandy bottoms (32 species, 14 unique). Sandy bottom assemblages had a significantly higher contribution to LCBD than P. oceanica meadows and rocky bottoms, and two of the five species with the highest contribution to SCBD are exclusively associated with sandy bottoms. Finally, sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, and habitat were highlighted as significant predictors of species richness. Our findings, aside from highlighting the environmental drivers of coastal fish diversity in the Mediterranean Sea, unravel the potential key role of sandy bottoms in contributing to overall coastal fish diversity and can inform conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Cecapolli
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine Centre, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, 90142, Palermo, Italy; National Research Council-Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnologies (CNR-IRBIM), Largo Fiera della Pesca 2, 60125, Ancona, Italy; Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131, Ancona, Italy.
| | - Antonio Calò
- Department of Earth and Marine Sciences (DiSTeM), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 20-22, 90123, Palermo, Italy; NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, 90133, Italy
| | - Sylvaine Giakoumi
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine Centre, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, 90142, Palermo, Italy
| | - Manfredi Di Lorenzo
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine Centre, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, 90142, Palermo, Italy
| | - Silvestro Greco
- Dipartimento Infrastrutture di ricerca per le risorse biologiche Marine, Implementazione tecnologica e Robotica Marina, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Roma, Italy; Calabria Marine Centre, CRIMAC, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology (EMI), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn - National Institute of Biology, Ecology and Marine Biotechnology, C.da Torre Spaccata, 87071, Amendolara, CS, Italy
| | - Emanuela Fanelli
- National Research Council-Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnologies (CNR-IRBIM), Largo Fiera della Pesca 2, 60125, Ancona, Italy; Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, 60131, Ancona, Italy; NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, 90133, Italy
| | - Giacomo Milisenda
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine Centre, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, 90142, Palermo, Italy; NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, 90133, Italy
| | - Antonio Di Franco
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine Centre, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo, 90142, Palermo, Italy; NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Palermo, 90133, Italy
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3
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Wang S, Hong P, Adler PB, Allan E, Hautier Y, Schmid B, Spaak JW, Feng Y. Towards mechanistic integration of the causes and consequences of biodiversity. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:689-700. [PMID: 38503639 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
The global biodiversity crisis has stimulated decades of research on three themes: species coexistence, biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships (BEF), and biodiversity-ecosystem functional stability relationships (BEFS). However, studies on these themes are largely independent, creating barriers to an integrative understanding of the causes and consequences of biodiversity. Here we review recent progress towards mechanistic integration of coexistence, BEF, and BEFS. Mechanisms underlying the three themes can be linked in various ways, potentially creating either positive or negative relationships between them. That said, we generally expect positive associations between coexistence and BEF, and between BEF and BEFS. Our synthesis represents an initial step towards integrating causes and consequences of biodiversity; future developments should include more mechanistic approaches and broader ecological contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaopeng Wang
- Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Pubin Hong
- Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Peter B Adler
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA
| | - Eric Allan
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013 Bern, Switzerland; Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, Bern 3012, Switzerland
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584, CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Bernhard Schmid
- Remote Sensing Laboratories, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jurg W Spaak
- Landscape ecology, RPTU Kaiserslautern Landau, 76829 Landau, Germany
| | - Yanhao Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
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Cui Z, Sun J, Wu GL. Plant diversity increases spatial stability of aboveground productivity in alpine grasslands. Oecologia 2024; 205:27-38. [PMID: 38652294 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-024-05552-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Plant diversity can significantly affect the grassland productivity and its stability. However, it remains unclear how plant diversity affects the spatial stability of natural grassland productivity, especially in alpine regions that are sensitive to climate change. We analyzed the interaction between plant (species richness and productivity, etc.) and climatic factors (precipitation, temperature, and moisture index, etc.) of alpine natural grassland on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. In addition, we tested the relationship between plant diversity and spatial stability of grassland productivity. Results showed that an increase in plant diversity significantly enhanced community productivity and its standard deviation, while reducing the coefficient of variation in productivity. The influence of plant diversity on productivity and the reciprocal of productivity variability coefficient was not affected by vegetation types. The absolute values of the regression slopes between climate factors and productivity in alpine meadow communities with higher plant diversity were smaller than those in alpine meadow communities with lower plant diversity. In other words, alpine meadow communities with higher plant diversity exhibited a weaker response to climatic factors in terms of productivity, whereas those with lower plant diversity showed a stronger response. Our results indicate that high plant diversity buffers the impact of ambient pressure (e.g., precipitation, temperature) on alpine meadow productivity, and significantly enhanced the spatial stability of grassland productivity. This finding provides a theoretical basis for maintaining the stability of grassland ecosystems and scientifically managing alpine grasslands under the continuous climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeng Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming On the Loess Plateau, College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering (Institute of Soil and Water Conservation), Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, China
- Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
| | - Jian Sun
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Gao-Lin Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming On the Loess Plateau, College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering (Institute of Soil and Water Conservation), Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
- Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Xi'an, 710061, China.
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Yu J, Hou G, Shi P, Zong N, Peng J. Nitrogen rather than phosphorous addition alters the asymmetric responses of primary productivity to precipitation variability across a precipitation gradient on the northern Tibetan Plateau. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 907:167856. [PMID: 37866615 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the response of alpine grassland productivity to precipitation fluctuations is essential for assessing the future changes of ecosystem services. However, the underlying mechanism by which grassland productivity responds to wet and dry years after nitrogen (N) or/and phosphorus (P) nutrient addition remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the dynamics of plant communities based on eight-year N or/and P addition gradient experiments in four grassland types across a precipitation gradient on the north Tibetan Plateau. The asymmetry index (AI) was used to evaluate the responses of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) to precipitation fluctuations where AI > 0 indicates a greater increase of ANPP in wet years compared to the decline in dry years, and AI < 0 indicates a greater decline of ANPP in dry years compared to the increase in wet years. Our results showed that the AI values at community level in four natural grasslands were non-significant trend across the precipitation gradient, and showed slightly negative asymmetry, suggesting that the increase of ANPP in wet years was less than the decrease in dry years. N addition resulted in a significant decrease in community-level AI values with increasing mean annual precipitation (MAP), indicating that improved nutrient availability may favor the recovery of productivity in drier grasslands in wet years. At the functional group level, nutrient addition resulted in a significant decrease in the AI values of grasses and legumes and an increase in the AI values of forbs as MAP increased. Furthermore, the coupling of nutrients with precipitation can influence the productivity responses to precipitation changes by affecting soil nutrient availability and species richness. This research provides new insights into better predicting vegetation activity on N deposition rates and precipitation changes exacerbated in the context of climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialuo Yu
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Ge Hou
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Peili Shi
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
| | - Ning Zong
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Jinlong Peng
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
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6
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Wang K, Wang Y, Wen H, Zhang X, Yu J, Wang Q, Han S, Wang W. Biomass carbon sink stability of conifer and broadleaf boreal forests: differently associated with plant diversity and mycorrhizal symbionts? ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:115337-115359. [PMID: 37882924 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-30445-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Forest biomass carbon stability is crucial in achieving carbon neutrality in the high-latitude northern hemisphere, and identifying the differences among forest types and decoupling their associations with plant traits and geoclimatic conditions is the basis for precise forest management. We conducted a large-scale field survey in state-owned forest areas in northeastern China, covering a total of 280,000 km2 forest area, 1275 arbor plots (30 m × 30 m), 5285 shrub plots (5 m × 5 m), and 7076 herb plots (1 m × 1 m). We hypothesized that the conifer and broadleaf forest differences in biomass carbon (C) storage and stability (environmental stability to climatic changes-ES and recalcitrant stability to be decomposed-RS) are associated with mycorrhizal abundance (EcM: ectomycorrhizal, AM: arbuscular mycorrhizal, NM-AM: non-mycorrhizal or arbuscular mycorrhizal), taxon diversity traits (richness, Simpson, Shannon-Wiener, and evenness), and structural differences (diameter, height, and density) in the arbor, shrub, and herb layers. Our results showed that (1) conifer forests had 13.1 Mg/ha higher C stocks and 30.9% higher RS, but 8.6% lower ES than broadleaf forests (p < 0.05). Trees in conifer forests had 1.5 m taller and 2.4 cm thicker trees, but 15% less tree density than those in broadleaf forests. Herbs in conifer forests were 14% shorter and 57% denser than in broadleaf forests. (2) The abundance of EcM-symbiont trees in conifer forests was 15% higher than in broadleaf forests, while their EcM-symbiont shrubs and AM-symbiont herbs were 5-6% lower (p < 0.05). Broadleaf forests had 7% higher tree richness and 19% higher herb richness but 9% lower shrub richness than conifer forests (p < 0.05). Tree and herb evenness was 5-6% higher in conifer forests (p < 0.05). (3) Variations of biomass C sink traits could be explained more by plant diversity in conifer forests (7%) than in broadleaf forests (3.4%). Mycorrhizal symbionts could explain more in broadleaf forests (9.7%) than conifer forests (6.7%). In conifer forests, fewer EcM trees (higher AM trees) and AM herbs, higher tree richness were accompanied by higher biomass C storage and ES. Broadleaf forests underwent similar changes, characterized by an elevation in both RS and ES. (4) Our research emphasized that variations in carbon sequestration between conifer and broadleaf forests could be attributed to mycorrhizal symbionts and species diversity besides tree size-related structural differences. Our findings support the precise management of boreal forests to achieve carbon neutrality based on leaf blade types, plant diversity, and mycorrhizal symbionts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Wang
- Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yuanyuan Wang
- Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China
| | - Hui Wen
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology (MOE), College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Xiting Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology (MOE), College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China
| | - Jinghua Yu
- Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China
| | - Qinggui Wang
- College of Life Science, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, 273165, China
| | - Shijie Han
- College of Life Science, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China
| | - Wenjie Wang
- Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, College of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, 311300, Zhejiang, China.
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Nie S, Zheng J, Luo M, Loreau M, Gravel D, Wang S. Will a large complex system be productive? Ecol Lett 2023. [PMID: 37190868 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
While the relationship between food web complexity and stability has been well documented, how complexity affects productivity remains elusive. In this study, we combine food web theory and a data set of 149 aquatic food webs to investigate the effect of complexity (i.e. species richness, connectance, and average interaction strength) on ecosystem productivity. We find that more complex ecosystems tend to be more productive, although different facets of complexity have contrasting effects. A higher species richness and/or average interaction strength increases productivity, whereas a higher connectance often decreases it. These patterns hold not only between realized complexity and productivity, but also characterize responses of productivity to simulated declines of complexity. Our model also predicts a negative association between productivity and stability along gradients of complexity. Empirical analyses support our predictions on positive complexity-productivity relationships and negative productivity-stability relationships. Our study provides a step forward towards reconciling ecosystem complexity, productivity and stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shipeng Nie
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Junjie Zheng
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
- Institute of S&T Foresight and Statistics, Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, Beijing, China
| | - Mingyu Luo
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Michel Loreau
- Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS and Paul Sabatier University, Moulis, France
| | - Dominique Gravel
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Kong X, Li L, Peng P, Zhang K, Hu Z, Wang X, Zhao G. Wheat cultivar mixtures increase grain yield under varied climate conditions. Basic Appl Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2023.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
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9
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Chaplin-Kramer R. Scale matters in service supply. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:176-177. [PMID: 36376601 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01924-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer
- Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA. .,SPRING, Oakland, CA, USA. .,Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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10
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Wang Z, Zhang Y, Li X, Li J, Zhao Z, Hou X. Mixed culture of plants improved nutrient removal in constructed wetlands: response of microbes and root exudates. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:5861-5872. [PMID: 35986110 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-22305-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Root exudates are determined by plant species configuration and affect microbial community, which in turn affect purification efficiency of constructed wetlands (CWs). However, it is not well understood how plant configuration affects CW purification efficiency through specific root exudates. Herein, four mixed culture CWs were constructed; CW-G3 with Iris pseudacorus, Iris sibirica, Juncus effusus, and Hydrocotyle vulgaris showed the optimal diversity nutrients removal efficiency (TN: 94.2%, TP: 82.9%, COD: 74.7%). Highly increased antioxidant enzymes (peroxidase and catalase) reduced photosynthesis-negative enzyme (malondialdehyde) activity of plants in CW-G3, which ensured oxygen (O2) and organic carbon (OC) production and successfully released to rhizosphere by well-developed root aeration tissues. Further, CW-G3 enriched higher abundance of genus Saccharimonadales and Flavobacterium, which benefited nitrogen removal. Moreover, as OC, higher contents of maltose in CW-G3 (6.6 ~ 11.1-fold of that in other three CWs), as well as lauramide, choline, triethylamine and urocanic acid contributed to microbial denitrifying. Differently, higher contents of unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid and oleic acid) in other three CWs inhibited microbial nitrifying as inhibitors, which also proved by co-occurrent network. Thereby, plant configuration in CW-G3 provided higher O2 and OC contents for bacteria and reduced nitrifying inhibitors, which contributed to higher purifying efficiency. The study promoted the understanding about root exudates' effects on bacteria through plant configurations and improved the purification efficiency of CWs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhufang Wang
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Engineering Research Center for Water Environment Ecology in Shanghai, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Yinjing Zhang
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Engineering Research Center for Water Environment Ecology in Shanghai, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Xiao Li
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Engineering Research Center for Water Environment Ecology in Shanghai, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Jinkun Li
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Engineering Research Center for Water Environment Ecology in Shanghai, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China
| | - Zhimiao Zhao
- College of Marine Ecology and Environment, Engineering Research Center for Water Environment Ecology in Shanghai, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
| | - Xin Hou
- Chongqing Water Resources and Electric Engineering College, Chongqing, 402160, China
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Guo Y, Song B, Li A, Wu Q, Huang H, Li N, Yang Y, Adams JM, Yang L. Higher pH is associated with enhanced co-occurrence network complexity, stability and nutrient cycling functions in the rice rhizosphere microbiome. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:6200-6219. [PMID: 36076153 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The rice rhizosphere microbiota is crucial for crop yields and nutrient use efficiency. However, little is known about how co-occurrence patterns, keystone taxa and functional gene assemblages relate to soil pH in the rice rhizosphere soils. Using shotgun metagenome analysis, the rice rhizosphere microbiome was investigated across 28 rice fields in east-central China. At higher pH sites, the taxonomic co-occurrence network of rhizosphere soils was more complex and compact, as defined by higher average degree, graph density and complexity. Network stability was greatest at medium pH (6.5 < pH < 7.5), followed by high pH (7.5 < pH). Keystone taxa were more abundant at higher pH and correlated significantly with key ecosystem functions. Overall functional genes involved in C, N, P and S cycling were at a higher relative abundance in higher pH rhizosphere soils, excepting C degradation genes (e.g. key genes involved in starch, cellulose, chitin and lignin degradation). Our results suggest that the rice rhizosphere soil microbial network is more complex and stable at higher pH, possibly indicating increased efficiency of nutrient cycling. These observations may indicate routes towards more efficient soil management and understanding of the potential effects of soil acidification on the rice rhizosphere system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaping Guo
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Bin Song
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Anqi Li
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qi Wu
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Haili Huang
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Na Li
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Yang
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jonathan Miles Adams
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Yang
- School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
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12
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Eschenbrenner J, Thébault É. Diversity, food web structure and the temporal stability of total plant and animal biomasses. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jérôme Eschenbrenner
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université Paris Est Créteil, Université Paris Cité, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris (iEES‐Paris) Paris France
- Sorbonne Univ., Univ. Paris Est Créteil, Univ. de Paris, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Inst. d'Écologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement – Paris, iEES‐Paris Paris France
| | - Élisa Thébault
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Université Paris Est Créteil, Université Paris Cité, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris (iEES‐Paris) Paris France
- Sorbonne Univ., Univ. Paris Est Créteil, Univ. de Paris, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Inst. d'Écologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement – Paris, iEES‐Paris Paris France
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13
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Xu F, Li J, Wu L, Su J, Wang Y, Chen D, Bai Y. Linking leaf traits to the temporal stability of above- and belowground productivity under global change and land use scenarios in a semi-arid grassland of Inner Mongolia. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 818:151858. [PMID: 34822882 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The biotic drivers for the temporal stability of aboveground net productivity (ANPP) in natural ecosystems are well understood. However, knowledge gaps still exist regarding the relative importance of biotic and abiotic drivers regulating the temporal stability of aboveground productivity (ANPP), belowground net productivity (BNPP), and community net productivity (NPP) under global change and land use scenarios. Thus, in this study, we aimed to study the effects of increased water and nitrogen availability on temporal stability of ANPP, BNPP, and NPP and underlying mechanisms at sites with different long-term grazing histories in typical grasslands of the Inner Mongolia. The results suggested that resource addition affected the ANPP stability, but it did not change the stability of BNPP and NPP, which were all mediated by grazing histories. Most importantly, our study further indicated that species asynchrony, primarily contributed to the stability of ANPP and NPP by weakening their variation, and species asynchrony was regulated directly by plant diversity-related variables and indirectly by soil variables which were affected by resource addition and grazing history. In addition, an increase of ANPP stimulated under resource addition was a secondary contributor to ANPP stability. Specifically, the community-weighted mean of specific leaf area (CWM SLA) regulated the ANPP stability indirectly by promoting species asynchrony, while functional diversity of leaf area and SLA both directly controlled the BNPP stability. Findings of our study demonstrate that different mechanisms drove temporal stability of above- and belowground productivity. Our study has important implications for maintaining the temporal stability of community productivity and for establishing sustainable management practices of semi-arid grasslands under global change and land use scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengwei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; Research Institute of Ecological Protection and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China; Grassland Research Center, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100091, China.
| | - Jianjun Li
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Jiangxi Typical Trees Cultivation and Utilization, College of Forestry, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
| | - Liji Wu
- College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China
| | - Jishuai Su
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Yang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
| | - Dima Chen
- College of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China
| | - Yongfei Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
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14
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Jarzyna MA, Norman KEA, LaMontagne JM, Helmus MR, Li D, Parker SM, Perez Rocha M, Record S, Sokol ER, Zarnetske PL, Surasinghe TD. Community stability is related to animal diversity change. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Marta A. Jarzyna
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio USA
- Translational Data Analytics Institute The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio USA
| | - Kari E. A. Norman
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California Berkeley Berkeley California USA
| | | | - Matthew R. Helmus
- Department of Biology Temple University Philadelphia Pennsylvania USA
| | - Daijiang Li
- Department of Biological Sciences Louisiana State University Baton Rouge Louisiana USA
- Center for Computation and Technology Louisiana State University Baton Rouge Louisiana USA
| | | | | | - Sydne Record
- Department of Biology Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania USA
| | - Eric R. Sokol
- Battelle National Ecological Observatory Network Boulder Colorado USA
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research University of Colorado Boulder Boulder Colorado USA
| | - Phoebe L. Zarnetske
- Department of Integrative Biology Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA
| | - Thilina D. Surasinghe
- Department of Biological Sciences Bridgewater State University Bridgewater Massachusetts USA
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15
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Loy X, Brosi BJ. The effects of pollinator diversity on pollination function. Ecology 2022; 103:e3631. [PMID: 35050504 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Pollination is a key ecological function of most terrestrial ecosystems. Decades of research on single-trophic-level communities, particularly plant communities, have helped build the foundation of diversity-function theory. Yet as it stands, this theory appears to be less useful for inter-trophic-level functions such as pollination, as evidenced by empirical findings that are often inconsistent with theoretical expectations. In this review, we evaluate how canonical diversity-function theory has been applied to pollination function, focusing on empirical studies of the mechanisms that drive pollinator diversity-function relationships. We first identify key features of pollination function that have hampered reconciliation with current theory. We then examine terminology for mechanisms used to discuss the findings from pollinator diversity-function studies that are sometimes inconsistent with established ecological concepts. We propose a revised diversity-function framework and describe two non-canonical diversity-function mechanisms that are particularly applicable to pollination. The first, 'interactive functional complementarity', was identified previously but remains overlooked. The second, a new diversity-function mechanism, 'functional enhancement', occurs when pollinator diversity increases within-niche activity. Finally, we discuss experimental approaches necessary to detect diversity-function effects in pollination. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingwen Loy
- Conservation & Research Department, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA
| | - Berry J Brosi
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
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16
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Carroll O, Batzer E, Bharath S, Borer ET, Campana S, Esch E, Hautier Y, Ohlert T, Seabloom EW, Adler PB, Bakker JD, Biederman L, Bugalho MN, Caldeira M, Chen Q, Davies KF, Fay PA, Knops JMH, Komatsu K, Martina JP, McCann KS, Moore JL, Morgan JW, Muraina TO, Osborne B, Risch AC, Stevens C, Wilfahrt PA, Yahdjian L, MacDougall AS. Nutrient identity modifies the destabilising effects of eutrophication in grasslands. Ecol Lett 2021; 25:754-765. [PMID: 34957674 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Nutrient enrichment can simultaneously increase and destabilise plant biomass production, with co-limitation by multiple nutrients potentially intensifying these effects. Here, we test how factorial additions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium with essential nutrients (K+) affect the stability (mean/standard deviation) of aboveground biomass in 34 grasslands over 7 years. Destabilisation with fertilisation was prevalent but was driven by single nutrients, not synergistic nutrient interactions. On average, N-based treatments increased mean biomass production by 21-51% but increased its standard deviation by 40-68% and so consistently reduced stability. Adding P increased interannual variability and reduced stability without altering mean biomass, while K+ had no general effects. Declines in stability were largest in the most nutrient-limited grasslands, or where nutrients reduced species richness or intensified species synchrony. We show that nutrients can differentially impact the stability of biomass production, with N and P in particular disproportionately increasing its interannual variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Carroll
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Evan Batzer
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Siddharth Bharath
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Elizabeth T Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Sofía Campana
- Facultad de Agronomía, IFEVA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ellen Esch
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Timothy Ohlert
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Eric W Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Peter B Adler
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Jonathan D Bakker
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Lori Biederman
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Miguel N Bugalho
- Centre for Applied Ecology "Prof. Baeta Neves" (CEABN-InBIO), School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Maria Caldeira
- Forest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Qingqing Chen
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Kendi F Davies
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Philip A Fay
- USDA-ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Lab, Temple, Texas, USA
| | - Johannes M H Knops
- Department of health and Environmental Sciences, Xián Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Kimberly Komatsu
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA
| | - Jason P Martina
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | - Kevin S McCann
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joslin L Moore
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - John W Morgan
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
| | - Taofeek O Muraina
- Department of Animal Health & Production, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igbo-Ora, Nigeria
| | - Brooke Osborne
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Anita C Risch
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Carly Stevens
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Peter A Wilfahrt
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
| | - Laura Yahdjian
- Facultad de Agronomía, IFEVA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Andrew S MacDougall
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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17
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Wang T, Guo C, Sang S, Liu Y, Liu G, Qi D, Zhu Z. Temporal stability and maintenance mechanisms of alpine meadow communities under clipping and fertilization. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:15545-15555. [PMID: 34824774 PMCID: PMC8601914 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Negative effects of long-term overgrazing have been seriously, grasslands temporal stability is an important ecological concern we need to research. Here, we performed a 12-year-long (2007-2018) two-factor controlled experiment on Kobresia humilis meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. The manipulations included three clipping levels (no clipping, NC; moderate clipping, MC; heavy clipping, HC) and two fertilization levels (no fertilization, NF; fertilization, F). Our results revealed that the two clipping manipulations significantly increased the temporal stability of alpine meadow communities, whose significant increase was more pronounced under the MC than HC treatment. Species asynchrony had a significant positive correlation with species abundance along with compound community gradient. Moreover, asynchrony effects, portfolio effects, and facilitation interactions were all present in the communities under the six types of experimental treatment combinations. Additionally, a selection effect was detected in the compound communities, demonstrating characteristics that are common to different mechanisms. There were no significant differences in the effects of these mechanisms on community temporal stability between the NC-NF and MC-NF interactive communities. The portfolio effects predominated when clipping intensity was moderate under both fertilization and nonfertilization conditions. By contrast, in the compound communities, the selection effect predominated. In summary, we conclude that in meadow communities that undergo clipping and fertilization disturbances, facilitation interactions and weak interactions make a greater contribution toward maintaining their temporal stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Wang
- College of Life SciencesShaanxi Normal UniversityXi’anChina
- Key Laboratory of Medicinal Animal and Plant Resources of Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai ProvinceXiningChina
| | - Chenglong Guo
- College of Life SciencesShaanxi Normal UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Silin Sang
- College of Life SciencesShaanxi Normal UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Yiting Liu
- College of Life SciencesShaanxi Normal UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Gang Liu
- College of Life SciencesShaanxi Normal UniversityXi’anChina
| | - Desheng Qi
- College of Life SciencesQinghai Normal UniversityXiningChina
| | - Zhihong Zhu
- College of Life SciencesShaanxi Normal UniversityXi’anChina
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18
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Biocrude Oil Production by Integrating Microalgae Polyculture and Wastewater Treatment: Novel Proposal on the Use of Deep Water-Depth Polyculture of Mixotrophic Microalgae. ENERGIES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/en14216992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Microalgae have attracted significant attention worldwide as one of the most promising feedstock fossil fuel alternatives. However, there are a few challenges for algal fuels to compete with fossil fuels that need to be addressed. Therefore, this study reviews the R&D status of microalgae-based polyculture and biocrude oil production, along with wastewater treatment. Mixotrophic algae are free to some extent from light restrictions using organic matter and have the ability to grow well even in deep water-depth cultivation. It is proposed that integrating the mixotrophic microalgae polyculture and wastewater treatment process is the most promising and harmonizing means to simultaneously increase capacities of microalgae biomass production and wastewater treatment with a low land footprint and high robustness to perturbations. A large amount of mixotrophic algae biomass is harvested, concentrated, and dewatered by combining highly efficient sedimentation through flocculation and energy efficient filtration, which reduce the carbon footprint for algae fuel production and coincide with the subsequent hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) conversion. HTL products are obtained with a relatively low carbon footprint and separated into biocrude oil, solid, aqueous, and gas fractions. Algae biomass feedstock-based HTL conversion has a high biocrude oil yield and quality available for existing oil refineries; it also has a bioavailability of the recycled nitrogen and phosphorus from the aqueous phase of algae community HTL. The HTL biocrude oil represents higher sustainability than conventional liquid fuels and other biofuels for the combination of greenhouse gas (GHG) and energy return on investment (EROI). Deep water-depth polyculture of mixotrophic microalgae using sewage has a high potential to produce sustainable biocrude oil within the land area of existing sewage treatment plants in Japan to fulfill imported crude oil.
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19
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Loreau M, Barbier M, Filotas E, Gravel D, Isbell F, Miller SJ, Montoya JM, Wang S, Aussenac R, Germain R, Thompson PL, Gonzalez A, Dee LE. Biodiversity as insurance: from concept to measurement and application. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2333-2354. [PMID: 34080283 PMCID: PMC8519139 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Biological insurance theory predicts that, in a variable environment, aggregate ecosystem properties will vary less in more diverse communities because declines in the performance or abundance of some species or phenotypes will be offset, at least partly, by smoother declines or increases in others. During the past two decades, ecology has accumulated strong evidence for the stabilising effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning. As biological insurance is reaching the stage of a mature theory, it is critical to revisit and clarify its conceptual foundations to guide future developments, applications and measurements. In this review, we first clarify the connections between the insurance and portfolio concepts that have been used in ecology and the economic concepts that inspired them. Doing so points to gaps and mismatches between ecology and economics that could be filled profitably by new theoretical developments and new management applications. Second, we discuss some fundamental issues in biological insurance theory that have remained unnoticed so far and that emerge from some of its recent applications. In particular, we draw a clear distinction between the two effects embedded in biological insurance theory, i.e. the effects of biodiversity on the mean and variability of ecosystem properties. This distinction allows explicit consideration of trade-offs between the mean and stability of ecosystem processes and services. We also review applications of biological insurance theory in ecosystem management. Finally, we provide a synthetic conceptual framework that unifies the various approaches across disciplines, and we suggest new ways in which biological insurance theory could be extended to address new issues in ecology and ecosystem management. Exciting future challenges include linking the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning and stability, incorporating multiple functions and feedbacks, developing new approaches to partition biodiversity effects across scales, extending biological insurance theory to complex interaction networks, and developing new applications to biodiversity and ecosystem management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel Loreau
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS2 route du CNRSMoulis09200France
| | - Matthieu Barbier
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS2 route du CNRSMoulis09200France
| | - Elise Filotas
- Center for Forest ResearchUniversité du Québec (TELUQ)5800 Saint‐DenisMontrealQCH2S 3L5Canada
| | - Dominique Gravel
- Département de BiologieUniversité de Sherbrooke2500 Boulevard de l'UniversitéSherbrookeQCJ1K 2R1Canada
| | - Forest Isbell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and BehaviorUniversity of Minnesota1479 Gortner AveSt. PaulMN55108U.S.A.
| | - Steve J. Miller
- Environmental Studies ProgramUniversity of Colorado, Boulder4001 Discovery DriveBoulderCO80303U.S.A.
| | - Jose M. Montoya
- Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS2 route du CNRSMoulis09200France
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of EducationPeking UniversityBeijing100871China
| | - Raphaël Aussenac
- Université Grenoble Alpes, INRAE, LESSEMSt‐Martin‐d'HèresF‐38402France
| | - Rachel Germain
- Biodiversity Research Centre and Department of ZoologyUniversity of British Columbia6270 University Blvd.VancouverBCV6T 1Z4Canada
| | - Patrick L. Thompson
- Biodiversity Research Centre and Department of ZoologyUniversity of British Columbia6270 University Blvd.VancouverBCV6T 1Z4Canada
| | - Andrew Gonzalez
- Department of BiologyMcGill University1205 Dr. Penfield AvenueMontrealQCH3A 1B1Canada
| | - Laura E. Dee
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of Colorado, Boulder1900 Pleasant St.BoulderCO80303U.S.A.
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20
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Gao WQ, Lei XD, Liang MW, Larjavaara M, Li YT, Gao DL, Zhang HR. Biodiversity increased both productivity and its spatial stability in temperate forests in northeastern China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 780:146674. [PMID: 34030338 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Although the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has been extensively studied, it remains unclear if the relationships of biodiversity with productivity and its spatial stability vary along productivity gradients in natural ecosystems. Based on a large dataset from 2324 permanent forest inventory plots across northeastern China, we examined the intensity of species richness (SR) and tree size diversity (Hd) effects on aboveground wood productivity (AWP) and its spatial stability among different productivity levels. Structural equation modeling was applied, integrating abiotic (climate and soil) and biotic (stand density) factors. Our results demonstrated that both SR and Hd positively affected AWP and its spatial stability, and the intensity of these positive effects decreased with increasing productivity. At low productivity levels, SR and Hd increased spatial stability by reducing spatial variability and increasing mean AWP. At high productivity levels, stability increased only through mean AWP increase. Moreover, temperature and stand density affected the AWP directly and indirectly via biodiversity, and the strength and direction of these effects varied among different productivity levels. We concluded that biodiversity could simultaneously enhance productivity and its spatial stability in temperate forests, and that the effect intensity was uniform along productivity gradients, which provided a new perspective on relationships within biodiversity-ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Qiang Gao
- Institute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Forest Management and Growth Modelling, State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
| | - Xiang-Dong Lei
- Institute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Forest Management and Growth Modelling, State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China.
| | - Mao-Wei Liang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Markku Larjavaara
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Tang Li
- Jilin Forestry Inventory and Planning Institute, Changchun, China
| | - Dong-Li Gao
- Institute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Forest Management and Growth Modelling, State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China; Planning and Design Institute of the Forest Products Industry of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100013, China
| | - Hui-Ru Zhang
- Institute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Key Laboratory of Forest Management and Growth Modelling, State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing, China
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21
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Gauna MC, Fernández C, Escobar JF, Parodi ER. Short-term temporal dynamics of morphological and feeder functional groups and species richness in relation to seasonal changes. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2021; 93:e20190563. [PMID: 34190840 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202120190563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examines the distribution of primary and secondary space holders integrated in morphological and feeder functional groups as well as the species richness over the seasons on northern Patagonian rocky shores. We also evaluated whether the temporal changes in species richness, assemblage structure and species turnover were related to seasonal changes. These patterns were studied by non-destructive samplings between December 2013 and March 2015. Thirty taxa were identified, including six algal morphological functional and three invertebrate feeder groups. The cover of seaweeds and invertebrates was positively correlated with changes in the environmental factors. The marked seasonality in this Patagonian zone changed between two contrasting periods. Species richness and assemblage structure were associated with seasonal changes and were influenced by the more abundant morphological and feeder functional groups. We suggest that habitat-formers, such as articulated calcareous and suspensor feeder groups, can expand and retract over time-scales of months to seasons, generating available space for the colonization and growth of other organisms. We conclude that seasonal changes and the dynamics of articulated calcareous and suspensor feeder groups drive changes in the algal and invertebrate abundances, in turn driving changes in species richness and assemblage structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Cecilia Gauna
- Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS) - CONICET, Camino Carrindanga 7.5 Km, B8000FWB Bahía Blanca, Argentina.,Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), San Juan 670, B8000FTN Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Carolina Fernández
- Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS) - CONICET, Camino Carrindanga 7.5 Km, B8000FWB Bahía Blanca, Argentina.,Centro de Emprendedorismo y Desarrollo Territorial Sostenible (CEDETS), Universidad Provincial del Sudoeste (UPSO) - Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CIC), Ciudad de Cali 320, B8003FTH Bahía Blanca, Argentina
| | - Juan Francisco Escobar
- Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral, CENPAT-CONICET, Bv. Almirante Brown 2915, U9120ACD Puerto Madryn, Argentina
| | - Elisa Rosalía Parodi
- Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS) - CONICET, Camino Carrindanga 7.5 Km, B8000FWB Bahía Blanca, Argentina.,Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), San Juan 670, B8000FTN Bahía Blanca, Argentina
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22
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Cheng H, Wang S, Wei M, Wu B, Du D, Wang C. Reproductive allocation of
Solidago canadensis
L. plays a key role in its invasiveness across a gradient of invasion degrees. POPUL ECOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/1438-390x.12091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Huiyuan Cheng
- School of the Environment and Safety Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang China
| | - Shu Wang
- School of the Environment and Safety Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang China
| | - Mei Wei
- School of the Environment and Safety Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang China
| | - Bingde Wu
- School of the Environment and Safety Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Zhaotong University Zhaotong China
| | - Daolin Du
- School of the Environment and Safety Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang China
| | - Congyan Wang
- School of the Environment and Safety Engineering Jiangsu University Zhenjiang China
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23
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Wang S, Isbell F, Deng W, Hong P, Dee LE, Thompson P, Loreau M. How complementarity and selection affect the relationship between ecosystem functioning and stability. Ecology 2021; 102:e03347. [PMID: 33742438 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The biotic mechanisms underlying ecosystem functioning and stability have been extensively-but separately-explored in the literature, making it difficult to understand the relationship between functioning and stability. In this study, we used community models to examine how complementarity and selection, the two major biodiversity mechanisms known to enhance ecosystem biomass production, affect ecosystem stability. Our analytic and simulation results show that although complementarity promotes stability, selection impairs it. The negative effects of selection on stability operate through weakening portfolio effects and selecting species that have high productivity but low tolerance to perturbations ("risk-prone" species). In contrast, complementarity enhances stability by increasing portfolio effects and reducing the relative abundance of risk-prone species. Consequently, ecosystem functioning and stability exhibit either a synergy, if complementarity effects prevail, or trade-off, if selection effects prevail. Across species richness levels, ecosystem functioning and stability tend to be positively related, but negative relationships can occur when selection co-varies with richness. Our findings provide novel insights for understanding the functioning-stability relationship, with potential implications for both ecological research and ecosystem management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Forest Isbell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
| | - Wanlu Deng
- Center for Statistical Science, Department of Industrial Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Pubin Hong
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Laura E Dee
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Patrick Thompson
- Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Michel Loreau
- Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, CNRS, Moulis, 09200, France
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24
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Zheng Y, Yang D, Dzakpasu M, Yang Q, Liu Y, Zhang H, Zhang L, Wang XC, Zhao Y. Effects of plants competition on critical bacteria selection and pollutants dynamics in a long-term polyculture constructed wetland. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2020; 316:123927. [PMID: 32750641 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The effects of mix planting on the functions of plants, microorganisms, and their interactions were studied in a CW planted with Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis over six years. Findings show notable competition among plant species, with excessive overgrowth of the dominant species (P. australis) over T. orientalis. The excessive outcompeting by P. australis resulted in significantly higher plant density and biomass of 20.1 times and 11.2 times, respectively than that of T. orientalis. Interspecific competition appeared to considerably intensify plants contributions to nitrogen and phosphorus removal, which increased from circa 9% in the first year up to 42% in the sixth year. High-throughput pyrosequencing and network analyses demonstrated that the dominant species stands harbor diverse bacterial communities that could enhance the wetland performance through carbon degradation, nutrient cycling, and supporting plant growth. These results provide useful insights into the interactive effects of plants and bacteria in polyculture constructed wetlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yucong Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China.
| | - Dan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China
| | - Mawuli Dzakpasu
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China; International Science & Technology Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Xi'an 710055, PR China
| | - Qian Yang
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China
| | - Yang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China
| | - Hengfeng Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China
| | - Lu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China
| | - Xiaochang C Wang
- Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, PR China; International Science & Technology Cooperation Center for Urban Alternative Water Resources Development, Xi'an 710055, PR China
| | - Yaqian Zhao
- UCD Dooge Centre for Water Resources Research, School of Civil Engineering, Newstead Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
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25
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Common Species Stability and Species Asynchrony Rather than Richness Determine Ecosystem Stability Under Nitrogen Enrichment. Ecosystems 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-020-00543-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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26
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Lamy T, Koenigs C, Holbrook SJ, Miller RJ, Stier AC, Reed DC. Foundation species promote community stability by increasing diversity in a giant kelp forest. Ecology 2020; 101:e02987. [PMID: 31960414 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Foundation species structure communities, promote biodiversity, and stabilize ecosystem processes by creating locally stable environmental conditions. Despite their critical importance, the role of foundation species in stabilizing natural communities has seldom been quantified. In theory, the stability of a foundation species should promote community stability by enhancing species richness, altering the population fluctuations of individual species, or both. Here we tested the hypothesis that the stability of a marine foundation species, the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera, increased the stability of the aggregate biomass of a phylogenetically diverse assemblage of understory algae and sessile invertebrates that compete for space beneath the giant kelp canopy. To achieve this goal, we analyzed an 18-yr time series of the biomass of giant kelp and its associated benthic community collected from 32 plots distributed among nine shallow reefs in the Santa Barbara Channel, USA. We showed that the stability of understory algae and sessile invertebrates was positively and indirectly related to the stability of giant kelp, which primarily resulted from giant kelp's direct positive association with species richness. The stability of all community types was positively related to species richness via increased species stability and species asynchrony. The stabilizing effects of richness were three to four times stronger when algae and invertebrates were considered separately rather than in combination. Our finding that diversity-stability relationships were stronger in communities consisting of species with similar resource requirements suggests that competition for shared resources rather than differential responses to environmental conditions played a more important role in stabilizing the community. Increasing threats to structure-forming foundation species worldwide necessitates a detailed understanding of how they influence their associated community. This study is among the first to show that dampened temporal fluctuations in the biomass of a foundation species is an important determinant of the stability of the complex communities it supports.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Lamy
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
| | - Craig Koenigs
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
| | - Sally J Holbrook
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
| | - Robert J Miller
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
| | - Adrian C Stier
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
| | - Daniel C Reed
- Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 93106, USA
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27
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Abstract
Understanding the stability of ecological communities is a matter of increasing importance in the context of global environmental change. Yet it has proved to be a challenging task. Different metrics are used to assess the stability of ecological systems, and the choice of one metric over another may result in conflicting conclusions. Although each of the multitude of metrics is useful for answering a specific question about stability, the relationship among metrics is poorly understood. Such lack of understanding prevents scientists from developing a unified concept of stability. Instead, by investigating these relationships we can unveil how many dimensions of stability there are (i.e., in how many independent components stability metrics can be grouped), which should help build a more comprehensive concept of stability. Here we simultaneously measured 27 stability metrics frequently used in ecological studies. Our approach is based on dynamical simulations of multispecies trophic communities under different perturbation scenarios. Mapping the relationships between the metrics revealed that they can be lumped into 3 main groups of relatively independent stability components: early response to pulse, sensitivities to press, and distance to threshold. Selecting metrics from each of these groups allows a more accurate and comprehensive quantification of the overall stability of ecological communities. These results contribute to improving our understanding and assessment of stability in ecological communities.
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28
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29
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The Aquatic Organisms Diversity, Community Structure, and Environmental Conditions. DIVERSITY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/d11100190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Two main aspects of the study of diversity can be distinguished: the first is related to the inventory of living organisms, the second is related to the organization of life at the level of biotic communities. Quantitative assessment of diversity is two-components as the richness of elements and their evenness. A model of the ecosystem continuum is proposed. The greatest indicators of diversity should be expected in the middle part of the environmental gradients with temporal stability. Study of producers and consumers in water bodies of Ukraine showed a regular change in their community structure in the gradient of saprobity indices. The decreasing of community diversity estimated by the Shannon index and by species richness was found at both high and low values of the saprobity indices. The fundamental coincidence of the empirical point fields of the Shannon index for the communities of invertebrates and phytoplankton with the field points of the empirical model indicates the universality of the bimodal distribution of diversity indicators in the trophic gradient. It is shown that the estimates by zoobenthos overestimate organic pollution compared with the calculations of the same indicators by phytoplankton.
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30
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Xiao G, Liu S, Xiao Y, Zhu Y, Zhao H, Li A, Li Z, Feng J. Seasonal Changes in Gut Microbiota Diversity and Composition in the Greater Horseshoe Bat. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2247. [PMID: 31632369 PMCID: PMC6779692 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A large number of microorganisms colonize the intestines of animals. The gut microbiota plays an important role in nutrient metabolism and affects a number of physiological mechanisms in the host. Studies have shown that seasonal changes occur in the intestinal microbes of mammals that hibernate seasonally. However, these studies only focused on ground squirrels and bears. It remains unclear how hibernation might affect the intestinal microbes of bats. In this study, we measured microbial diversity and composition in the gut of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum in different periods (early spring, early summer, late summer, torpor, and interbout arousal) using 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing and PICRUSt to predict functional profiles. We found seasonal changes in the diversity and composition of the gut microbes in R. ferrumequinum. The diversity of gut microbiota was highest in the late summer and lowest in the early summer. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria was highest in the early summer and significantly lower in other periods. The relative abundance of Firmicutes was lowest in the early summer and significantly increased in the late summer, followed by a significant decrease in the early winter and early spring. The relative abundance of Tenericutes was significantly higher in the early spring compared with other periods. The results of functional prediction by PICRUSt showed seasonal variations in the relative abundance of metabolism-related pathways, including lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and energy metabolism. Functional categories for carbohydrate metabolism had significantly lower relative abundance in early winter-torpor compared with late summer, while those associated with lipid metabolism had significantly higher relative abundance in the early winter compared with late summer. Overall, our results show that seasonal physiological changes associated with hibernation alter the gut microbial community of R. ferrumequinum. Hibernation may also alter the metabolic function of intestinal microbes, possibly by converting the gut microflora from carbohydrate-related to lipid-related functional categories. This study deepens our understanding of the symbiosis between hibernating mammals and gut microbes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guohong Xiao
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Sen Liu
- Institute of Resources and Environment, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China
| | - Yanhong Xiao
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Yue Zhu
- Institute of Resources and Environment, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China
| | - Hanbo Zhao
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Aoqiang Li
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Zhongle Li
- School of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Jiang Feng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China.,School of Life Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
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31
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Global evidence of positive biodiversity effects on spatial ecosystem stability in natural grasslands. Nat Commun 2019; 10:3207. [PMID: 31324792 PMCID: PMC6642091 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11191-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of biodiversity on primary productivity has been a hot topic in ecology for over 20 years. Biodiversity–productivity relationships in natural ecosystems are highly variable, although positive relationships are most common. Understanding the conditions under which different relationships emerge is still a major challenge. Here, by analyzing HerbDivNet data, a global survey of natural grasslands, we show that biodiversity stabilizes rather than increases plant productivity in natural grasslands at the global scale. Our results suggest that the effect of species richness on productivity shifts from strongly positive in low-productivity communities to strongly negative in high-productivity communities. Thus, plant richness maintains community productivity at intermediate levels. As a result, it stabilizes plant productivity against environmental heterogeneity across space. Unifying biodiversity–productivity and biodiversity–spatial stability relationships at the global scale provides a new perspective on the functioning of natural ecosystems. Biodiversity–productivity relationships in natural ecosystems are highly variable, although positive relationships are most common. Here, using HerbDivNet data, the authors show that biodiversity stabilizes rather than increases plant productivity in natural grasslands at the global scale.
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32
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Wang C, Wei M, Wu B, Wang S, Jiang K. Alpine grassland degradation reduced plant species diversity and stability of plant communities in the Northern Tibet Plateau. ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2019.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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33
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Kohli M, Borer ET, Kinkel L, Seabloom EW. Stability of grassland production is robust to changes in the consumer food web. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:707-716. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mayank Kohli
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minnesota USA
| | - Elizabeth T. Borer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minnesota USA
| | - Linda Kinkel
- Department of Plant Pathology University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minnesota USA
| | - Eric W. Seabloom
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota Twin Cities Minnesota USA
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34
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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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35
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Laws AN, Prather CM, Branson DH, Pennings SC. Effects of grasshoppers on prairies: Herbivore composition matters more than richness in three grassland ecosystems. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1727-1737. [PMID: 30102785 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how biodiversity affects ecosystem processes is a key question in ecology. Previous research has found that increasing plant diversity often enhances many ecosystem processes, but less is known about the role of consumer diversity to ecosystem processes, especially in terrestrial ecosystems. Furthermore, we do not know how general biodiversity responses are among ecosystem types. We examined the role of insect herbivore (Orthoptera) diversity on plant production using parallel field experiments in three grassland ecosystems (mixed grass prairie, tallgrass prairie and coastal tallgrass prairie) to determine whether the effects of grasshopper diversity were consistent among sites. Using mesocosms, we manipulated orthopteran species richness (0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 species), functional richness (number of functional feeding groups present; 0, 1 or 2 functional groups) and functional composition (composition of functional groups present; mixed-feeders only, grass-feeders only, both mixed-feeders and grass-feeders). Diversity treatments were maintained throughout the experiment by replacing dead individuals. Plant biomass was destructively sampled at the end of the experiment. We found no effect of species richness or functional richness on plant biomass. However, herbivore functional composition was important, and effects were qualitatively similar across sites: The presence of only grass-feeding species reduced plant biomass more than either mixed-feeding species alone or both groups together. Orthopterans had consistent effects across a range of abiotic conditions, as well as different plant community and orthopteran community compositions. Our results suggest that functional composition of insect herbivores affects plant communities in grasslands more than herbivore species richness or functional richness, and this pattern was robust among grassland types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela N Laws
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.,Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
| | - Chelse M Prather
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
| | - David H Branson
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Sidney, Montana
| | - Steven C Pennings
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
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36
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Carol Adair E, Hooper DU, Paquette A, Hungate BA. Ecosystem context illuminates conflicting roles of plant diversity in carbon storage. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1604-1619. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.13145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- E. Carol Adair
- Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont Burlington VT05405 USA
| | - David U. Hooper
- Department of Biology Western Washington University Bellingham WA98225‐9160 USA
| | - Alain Paquette
- Centre for Forest Research Département des sciences biologiques Université du Québec à Montréal CP 8888, Succursale Centre‐ville Montréal QC Canada H3C 3P8
| | - Bruce A. Hungate
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society and Department of Biological Sciences Northern Arizona University Flagstaff AZ86011 USA
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37
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Long-term effects of species loss on community properties across contrasting ecosystems. Nature 2018; 557:710-713. [PMID: 29795345 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0138-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Biodiversity loss can heavily affect the functioning of ecosystems, and improving our understanding of how ecosystems respond to biodiversity decline is one of the main challenges in ecology1-4. Several important aspects of the longer-term effects of biodiversity loss on ecosystems remain unresolved, including how these effects depend on environmental context5-7. Here we analyse data from an across-ecosystem biodiversity manipulation experiment that, to our knowledge, represents the world's longest-running experiment of this type. This experiment has been set up on 30 lake islands in Sweden that vary considerably in productivity and soil fertility owing to differences in fire history8,9. We tested the effects of environmental context on how plant species loss affected two fundamental community attributes-plant community biomass and temporal variability-over 20 years. In contrast to findings from artificially assembled communities10-12, we found that the effects of species loss on community biomass decreased over time; this decrease was strongest on the least productive and least fertile islands. Species loss generally also increased temporal variability, and these effects were greatest on the most productive and most fertile islands. Our findings highlight that the ecosystem-level consequences of biodiversity loss are not constant across ecosystems and that understanding and forecasting these consequences necessitates taking into account the overarching role of environmental context.
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38
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Abstract
The escalating spread of invasive species increases the risk of disrupting the pathways of energy flow through native ecosystems, modify the relative importance of resource (‘bottom-up’) and consumer (‘top-down’) control in food webs and thereby govern biomass production at different trophic levels. The current lack of understanding of interaction cascades triggered by non-indigenous species underscores the need for more basic exploratory research to assess the degree to which novel species regulate bottom-up and/or top down control. Novel predators are expected to produce the strongest effects by decimating consumers, and leading to the blooms of primary producers. Here we show how the arrival of the invasive crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii into the Baltic Sea – a bottom-up controlled ecosystem where no equivalent predators ever existed – appeared to trigger not only strong top-down control resulting in a decline in richness and biomass of benthic invertebrates, but also an increase in pelagic nutrients and phytoplankton biomass. Thus, the addition of a novel interaction – crab predation – to an ecosystem has a potential to reduce the relative importance of bottom-up regulation, relax benthic-pelagic coupling and reallocate large amounts of nutrients from benthic to pelagic processes, resulting in a regime shift to a degraded ecosystem state.
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39
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Mandal S, Shurin JB, Efroymson RA, Mathews TJ. Heterogeneity in Nitrogen Sources Enhances Productivity and Nutrient Use Efficiency in Algal Polycultures. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2018; 52:3769-3776. [PMID: 29466661 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.7b05318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Algae hold much promise as a potential feedstock for biofuels and other products, but scaling up biomass production remains challenging. We hypothesized that multispecies assemblages, or polycultures, could improve crop yield when grown in media with mixed nitrogen sources, as found in wastewater. We grew mono- and poly- cultures of algae in four distinct growth media that differed in the form (i.e., nitrate, ammonium, urea, plus a mixture of all three) but not the concentration of nitrogen. We found that mean biomass productivity was positively correlated with algal species richness, and that this relationship was strongest in mixed nitrogen media (on average 88% greater biomass production in 5-species polycultures than in monocultures in mixed nitrogen treatment). We also found that the relationship between nutrient use efficiency and species richness was positive across nitrogen treatments, but greatest in mixed nitrogen media. While polycultures outperformed the most productive monoculture only 0-14% of the time in this experiment, they outperformed the average monoculture 26-52% of the time. Our results suggest that algal polycultures have the potential to be highly productive, and can be effective in recycling nutrients and treating wastewater, offering a sustainable and cost-effective solution for biofuel production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shovon Mandal
- Environmental Sciences Division , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
| | - Jonathan B Shurin
- University of California at San Diego , La Jolla , California 92093 , United States
| | - Rebecca A Efroymson
- Environmental Sciences Division , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
| | - Teresa J Mathews
- Environmental Sciences Division , Oak Ridge National Laboratory , Oak Ridge , Tennessee 37831 , United States
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40
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Pires APF, Srivastava DS, Farjalla VF. Is Biodiversity Able to Buffer Ecosystems from Climate Change? What We Know and What We Don’t. Bioscience 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biy013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Aliny P F Pires
- Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and an associated researcher at Fundação Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável (FBDS), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Brazilian Research Network on Climate Change (Rede Clima) and to the Brazilian Plataform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES)
| | - Diane S Srivastava
- University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada and the director of the Canadian Institute of Ecology and Evolution (CIEE/ICEE)
| | - Vinicius F Farjalla
- Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and an associated researcher at Laboratorio Internacional en Cambio Global, LINCGlobal
- Brazilian Research Network on Climate Change (Rede Clima) and to the Brazilian Plataform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES)
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41
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Parker SP, Bowden WB, Flinn MB, Giles CD, Arndt KA, Beneš JP, Jent DG. Effect of particle size and heterogeneity on sediment biofilm metabolism and nutrient uptake scaled using two approaches. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel P. Parker
- Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont Burlington Vermont 05405 USA
| | - William B. Bowden
- Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont Burlington Vermont 05405 USA
| | - Michael B. Flinn
- Biological Sciences Murray State University Murray Kentucky 42071 USA
| | - Courtney D. Giles
- College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences University of Vermont Burlington Vermont 05405 USA
| | - Kyle A. Arndt
- Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont Burlington Vermont 05405 USA
| | - Joshua P. Beneš
- Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont Burlington Vermont 05405 USA
| | - Derrick G. Jent
- Biological Sciences Murray State University Murray Kentucky 42071 USA
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Reiss ER, Drinkwater LE. Cultivar mixtures: a meta-analysis of the effect of intraspecific diversity on crop yield. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2018; 28:62-77. [PMID: 28940830 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Extensive research has shown that greater plant community diversity leads to higher levels of productivity and other ecosystem services, and such increased diversity has been suggested as a way to improve yield and agricultural sustainability. Increasing intraspecific diversity with cultivar mixtures is one way to increase diversity in agricultural systems. We examined the relationship between intraspecific diversity and yield in cultivar mixtures using a meta-analysis of 91 studies and >3,600 observations. Additionally, we investigated how environmental and management factors might influence this relationship, and if the yield stability of cultivar mixtures differed from that of monocultures. We found that the yield increased by 2.2% overall in cultivar mixtures relative to their monoculture components. Mixtures with more cultivars and those with more functional trait diversity showed higher relative yields. Under biotic stressors, such as disease pressure, and abiotic stressors, such as low levels of soil organic matter and nutrient availability, this diversity effect was stronger, resulting in higher relative yields. Finally, cultivar mixtures generally showed higher yield stability compared to monocultures, especially in response to annual weather variability at a site over time. This practice of mixing cultivars can be integrated into intensified cropping systems where species monocultures dominate, as well as in smallholder cropping systems where low-cost improvements are in demand. Overall, these results suggest that cultivar mixtures are a viable strategy to increase diversity in agroecosystems, promoting increased yield and yield stability, with minimal environmental impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily R Reiss
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA
| | - Laurie E Drinkwater
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA
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43
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Feng W, Bailey RM. Unifying relationships between complexity and stability in mutualistic ecological communities. J Theor Biol 2017; 439:100-126. [PMID: 29203123 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.11.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Revised: 11/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Conserving ecosystem function and associated services requires deep understanding of the underlying basis of system stability. While the study of ecological dynamics is a mature and diverse field, the lack of a general model that predicts a broad range of theoretical and empirical observations has allowed unresolved contradictions to persist. Here we provide a general model of mutualistic ecological interactions between two groups and show for the first time how the conditions for bi-stability, the nature of critical transitions, and identifiable leading indicators in time-series can be derived from the basic parameters describing the underlying ecological interactions. Strong mutualism and nonlinearity in handling-time are found to be necessary conditions for the occurrence of critical transitions. We use the model to resolve open questions concerning the effects of heterogeneity in inter-species interactions on both resilience and abundance, and discuss these in terms of potential trade-offs in real systems. This framework provides a basis for rich investigations of ecological system dynamics, and may be generalizable across many ecological contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfeng Feng
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, Henan 454003, China; School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK
| | - Richard M Bailey
- School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK.
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44
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Barnes AD, Weigelt P, Jochum M, Ott D, Hodapp D, Haneda NF, Brose U. Species richness and biomass explain spatial turnover in ecosystem functioning across tropical and temperate ecosystems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0279. [PMID: 27114580 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Predicting ecosystem functioning at large spatial scales rests on our ability to scale up from local plots to landscapes, but this is highly contingent on our understanding of how functioning varies through space. Such an understanding has been hampered by a strong experimental focus of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research restricted to small spatial scales. To address this limitation, we investigate the drivers of spatial variation in multitrophic energy flux-a measure of ecosystem functioning in complex communities-at the landscape scale. We use a structural equation modelling framework based on distance matrices to test how spatial and environmental distances drive variation in community energy flux via four mechanisms: species composition, species richness, niche complementarity and biomass. We found that in both a tropical and a temperate study region, geographical and environmental distance indirectly influence species richness and biomass, with clear evidence that these are the dominant mechanisms explaining variability in community energy flux over spatial and environmental gradients. Our results reveal that species composition and trait variability may become redundant in predicting ecosystem functioning at the landscape scale. Instead, we demonstrate that species richness and total biomass may best predict rates of ecosystem functioning at larger spatial scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D Barnes
- Systemic Conservation Biology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Patrick Weigelt
- Systemic Conservation Biology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany Biodiversity, Macroecology and Conservation Biogeography Group, Faculty of Forest Sciences, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Malte Jochum
- Systemic Conservation Biology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - David Ott
- Systemic Conservation Biology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dorothee Hodapp
- ICBM-Terramare, University of Oldenburg, Schleusenstrasse 1, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | - Noor Farikhah Haneda
- Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural University, Darmaga Campus, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
| | - Ulrich Brose
- Systemic Conservation Biology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Berliner Strasse 28, 37073 Göttingen, Germany German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger Strasse 159, 07743 Jena, Germany
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Ratcliffe S, Wirth C, Jucker T, van der Plas F, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Verheyen K, Allan E, Benavides R, Bruelheide H, Ohse B, Paquette A, Ampoorter E, Bastias CC, Bauhus J, Bonal D, Bouriaud O, Bussotti F, Carnol M, Castagneyrol B, Chećko E, Dawud SM, Wandeler HD, Domisch T, Finér L, Fischer M, Fotelli M, Gessler A, Granier A, Grossiord C, Guyot V, Haase J, Hättenschwiler S, Jactel H, Jaroszewicz B, Joly FX, Kambach S, Kolb S, Koricheva J, Liebersgesell M, Milligan H, Müller S, Muys B, Nguyen D, Nock C, Pollastrini M, Purschke O, Radoglou K, Raulund-Rasmussen K, Roger F, Ruiz-Benito P, Seidl R, Selvi F, Seiferling I, Stenlid J, Valladares F, Vesterdal L, Baeten L. Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning relations in European forests depend on environmental context. Ecol Lett 2017; 20:1414-1426. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 183] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2017] [Revised: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 08/13/2017] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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Spatially destabilising effect of woody plant diversity on forest productivity in a subtropical mountain forest. Sci Rep 2017; 7:9551. [PMID: 28842647 PMCID: PMC5573360 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09922-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 08/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We used geographically weighted regression to investigate the relationship between biodiversity and the spatial stability of forest productivity (SSFP) in a subtropical mountain forest. We examined the effect of elevation on this relationship and on its spatial non-stationarity. We found that higher woody plant diversity reduced SSPF. Higher woody plant diversity strengthened the asynchrony of species responses to spatial heterogeneity of forest habitats, which contributed to SSFP, but reduced two factors that enhanced SSFP: species dominance and the spatial stability of the dominant species. The percentage of variation in SSFP explained by diversity measures was highest for the Shannon-Wiener index, lowest for functional dispersion, and intermediate for species richness. The correlations of woody plant diversity with SSFP became stronger with elevation and varied among plots, indicating that the spatial non-stationarity existed in the biodiversity-SSFP relationship. These correlations became weaker in most cases after controlling for elevation. Our results suggest that in the subtropical mountain forest higher woody plant diversity has a spatially destabilising effect on forest productivity, particularly at higher elevations.
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47
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Yamane L, Botsford LW, Kilduff DP. Tracking restoration of population diversity via the portfolio effect. J Appl Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Yamane
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology; University of California, Davis; Davis CA USA
| | - Louis W. Botsford
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology; University of California, Davis; Davis CA USA
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48
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Wang J, Knops JMH, Brassil CE, Mu C. Increased productivity in wet years drives a decline in ecosystem stability with nitrogen additions in arid grasslands. Ecology 2017; 98:1779-1786. [DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Revised: 02/17/2017] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Junfeng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education; Institute of Grassland Sciences; Northeast Normal University; Changchun 130024 China
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Nebraska; Lincoln Nebraska 68588-0118 USA
| | - Johannes M. H. Knops
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Nebraska; Lincoln Nebraska 68588-0118 USA
| | - Chad E. Brassil
- School of Biological Sciences; University of Nebraska; Lincoln Nebraska 68588-0118 USA
| | - Chunsheng Mu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education; Institute of Grassland Sciences; Northeast Normal University; Changchun 130024 China
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49
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Climate warming reduces the temporal stability of plant community biomass production. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15378. [PMID: 28488673 PMCID: PMC5436222 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 167] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 03/24/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic climate change has emerged as a critical environmental problem, prompting frequent investigations into its consequences for various ecological systems. Few studies, however, have explored the effect of climate change on ecological stability and the underlying mechanisms. We conduct a field experiment to assess the influence of warming and altered precipitation on the temporal stability of plant community biomass in an alpine grassland located on the Tibetan Plateau. We find that whereas precipitation alteration does not influence biomass temporal stability, warming lowers stability through reducing the degree of species asynchrony. Importantly, biomass temporal stability is not influenced by plant species diversity, but is largely determined by the temporal stability of dominant species and asynchronous population dynamics among the coexisting species. Our findings suggest that ongoing and future climate change may alter stability properties of ecological communities, potentially hindering their ability to provide ecosystem services for humanity. Temporal stability of plant communities is driven by several mechanisms and may be influenced by climate change. Here it is shown that warming, but not precipitation, reduces species asynchrony in an alpine grassland, leading to lower biomass temporal stability.
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50
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Weber MG, Wagner CE, Best RJ, Harmon LJ, Matthews B. Evolution in a Community Context: On Integrating Ecological Interactions and Macroevolution. Trends Ecol Evol 2017; 32:291-304. [PMID: 28215448 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2017.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Revised: 01/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Despite a conceptual understanding that evolution and species interactions are inextricably linked, it remains challenging to study ecological and evolutionary dynamics together over long temporal scales. In this review, we argue that, despite inherent challenges associated with reconstructing historical processes, the interplay of ecology and evolution is central to our understanding of macroevolution and community coexistence, and cannot be safely ignored in community and comparative phylogenetic studies. We highlight new research avenues that foster greater consideration of both ecological and evolutionary dynamics as processes that occur along branches of phylogenetic trees. By promoting new ways forward using this perspective, we hope to inspire further integration that creatively co-utilizes phylogenies and ecological data to study eco-evolutionary dynamics over time and space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie G Weber
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA.
| | - Catherine E Wagner
- Biodiversity Institute and Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Rebecca J Best
- Eawag, Department of Aquatic Ecology, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland; School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, 525 S. Beaver Street, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Luke J Harmon
- Eawag, Department of Aquatic Ecology, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Blake Matthews
- Eawag, Department of Aquatic Ecology, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
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