Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Our planet is facing significant changes of biodiversity across spatial scales. Although the negative effects of local biodiversity (α diversity) loss on ecosystem stability are well documented, the consequences of biodiversity changes at larger spatial scales, in particular biotic homogenization, that is, reduced species turnover across space (β diversity), remain poorly known. Using data from 39 grassland biodiversity experiments, we examine the effects of β diversity on the stability of simulated landscapes while controlling for potentially confounding biotic and abiotic factors. Our results show that higher β diversity generates more asynchronous dynamics among local communities and thereby contributes to the stability of ecosystem productivity at larger spatial scales. We further quantify the relative contributions of α and β diversity to ecosystem stability and find a relatively stronger effect of α diversity, possibly due to the limited spatial scale of our experiments. The stabilizing effects of both α and β diversity lead to a positive diversity-stability relationship at the landscape scale. Our findings demonstrate the destabilizing effect of biotic homogenization and suggest that biodiversity should be conserved at multiple spatial scales to maintain the stability of ecosystem functions and services.
Source: Ecology
DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3332
Authors: Shaopeng Wang, Michel Loreau, Claire de Mazancourt, Forest Isbell, Carl Beierkuhnlein, John Connolly, Douglas H. Deutschman, Jiří Doležal, Nico Eisenhauer, Andy Hector, Anke Jentsch, Jürgen Kreyling, Vojtech Lanta, Jan Lepš, H. Wayne Polley, Peter B. Reich, Jasper van Ruijven, Bernhard Schmid, David Tilman, Brian Wilsey, Dylan Craven
Institutions: Peking University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier, Station d’Écologie Théorique et Expérimentale, University of Minnesota, University of Bayreuth, University College Dublin, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Wilfrid Laurier University, Czech Academy of Sciences, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Leipzig University, University of Oxford, Universität Greifswald, Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Agricultural Research Service, Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory, Western Sydney University, Wageningen University & Research, University of Zurich, Iowa State University, Universidad Mayor
Language: English
Subfield: Nature and Landscape Conservation
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,300
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung Halle-Jena-Leipzig, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China-Guangdong Joint Fund, Division of Environmental Biology
Awards: G1123726700, Collaborative Research: The Complexity of Global Change - Interactive Effects of Warming, Water Availability, CO2 and N on Grassland Ecosystem Function, G1363356463, Towards a Unified theory of biotic Interactions: the roLe of environmental, Biodiversity in Native and Exotic Communities, LTER: Biodiversity, Multiple Drivers of Environmental Change and Ecosystem Functioning at the Prairie Forest Border, G204579599, G211635838, G2375213789, UMEB: Integrating Independent Research and Group Learning in Environmental Biology, G3001359899, G3327981859, LTREB: Testing Paradigms About Plant Functional Responses to Environmental Change, G3768393511, G3869195907, G39567056, G4617990, Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) National Communications Office (LNCO), G5371676599, G5593448104, G5632166549, G5801412093, G6232205536, G6249183033, G6264791252, G6422348001, G7658697405, G8233439065, MRI: Acquisition of an Enhanced Climate Change Simulator, U.S.-U.K.-Japan Collaboration: The Relationship Between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function
OpenAlex ID: W3135764693