Abstract
Biodiversity loss decreases ecosystem functioning at the local scales at which species interact, but it remains unclear how biodiversity loss affects ecosystem functioning at the larger scales of space and time that are most relevant to biodiversity conservation and policy. Theory predicts that additional insurance effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning could emerge across time and space if species respond asynchronously to environmental variation and if species become increasingly dominant when and where they are most productive. Even if only a few dominant species maintain ecosystem functioning within a particular time and place, ecosystem functioning may be enhanced by many different species across many times and places (β-diversity). Here, we develop and apply a new approach to estimate these previously unquantified insurance effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning that arise due to species turnover across times and places. In a long-term (18-year) grassland plant diversity experiment, we find that total insurance effects are positive in sign and substantial in magnitude, amounting to 19% of the net biodiversity effect, mostly due to temporal insurance effects. Species loss can therefore reduce ecosystem functioning both locally and by eliminating species that would otherwise enhance ecosystem functioning across temporally fluctuating and spatially heterogeneous environments.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 763-778 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Ecology letters |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2018 |
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Keywords
- Biodiversity
- complementarity effect
- ecosystem functioning
- insurance effect
- overyielding
- selection effect
Cite this
Quantifying effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning across times and places. / Isbell, Forest; Cowles, Jane M; Dee, Laura E; Loreau, Michel; Reich, Peter B; Gonzalez, Andrew; Hector, Andy; Schmid, Bernhard.
In: Ecology letters, Vol. 21, No. 6, 01.06.2018, p. 763-778.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantifying effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning across times and places
AU - Isbell, Forest
AU - Cowles, Jane M
AU - Dee, Laura E
AU - Loreau, Michel
AU - Reich, Peter B
AU - Gonzalez, Andrew
AU - Hector, Andy
AU - Schmid, Bernhard
PY - 2018/6/1
Y1 - 2018/6/1
N2 - Biodiversity loss decreases ecosystem functioning at the local scales at which species interact, but it remains unclear how biodiversity loss affects ecosystem functioning at the larger scales of space and time that are most relevant to biodiversity conservation and policy. Theory predicts that additional insurance effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning could emerge across time and space if species respond asynchronously to environmental variation and if species become increasingly dominant when and where they are most productive. Even if only a few dominant species maintain ecosystem functioning within a particular time and place, ecosystem functioning may be enhanced by many different species across many times and places (β-diversity). Here, we develop and apply a new approach to estimate these previously unquantified insurance effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning that arise due to species turnover across times and places. In a long-term (18-year) grassland plant diversity experiment, we find that total insurance effects are positive in sign and substantial in magnitude, amounting to 19% of the net biodiversity effect, mostly due to temporal insurance effects. Species loss can therefore reduce ecosystem functioning both locally and by eliminating species that would otherwise enhance ecosystem functioning across temporally fluctuating and spatially heterogeneous environments.
AB - Biodiversity loss decreases ecosystem functioning at the local scales at which species interact, but it remains unclear how biodiversity loss affects ecosystem functioning at the larger scales of space and time that are most relevant to biodiversity conservation and policy. Theory predicts that additional insurance effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning could emerge across time and space if species respond asynchronously to environmental variation and if species become increasingly dominant when and where they are most productive. Even if only a few dominant species maintain ecosystem functioning within a particular time and place, ecosystem functioning may be enhanced by many different species across many times and places (β-diversity). Here, we develop and apply a new approach to estimate these previously unquantified insurance effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning that arise due to species turnover across times and places. In a long-term (18-year) grassland plant diversity experiment, we find that total insurance effects are positive in sign and substantial in magnitude, amounting to 19% of the net biodiversity effect, mostly due to temporal insurance effects. Species loss can therefore reduce ecosystem functioning both locally and by eliminating species that would otherwise enhance ecosystem functioning across temporally fluctuating and spatially heterogeneous environments.
KW - Biodiversity
KW - complementarity effect
KW - ecosystem functioning
KW - insurance effect
KW - overyielding
KW - selection effect
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U2 - 10.1111/ele.12928
DO - 10.1111/ele.12928
M3 - Article
VL - 21
SP - 763
EP - 778
JO - Ecology Letters
JF - Ecology Letters
SN - 1461-023X
IS - 6
ER -