TY - JOUR

T1 - The influence of balanced and imbalanced resource supply on biodiversity-functioning relationship across ecosystems

AU - Lewandowska, Aleksandra M.

AU - Biermann, Antje

AU - Borer, Elizabeth T.

AU - Cebrián-Piqueras, Miguel A.

AU - Declerck, Steven A.J.

AU - De Meester, Luc

AU - Van Donk, Ellen

AU - Gamfeldt, Lars

AU - Gruner, Daniel S.

AU - Hagenah, Nicole

AU - Harpole, W. Stanley

AU - Kirkman, Kevin P.

AU - Klausmeier, Christopher A.

AU - Kleyer, Michael

AU - Knops, Johannes M.H.

AU - Lemmens, Pieter

AU - Lind, Eric M.

AU - Litchman, Elena

AU - Mantilla-Contreras, Jasmin

AU - Martens, Koen

AU - Meier, Sandra

AU - Minden, Vanessa

AU - Moore, Joslin L.

AU - Venterink, Harry Olde

AU - Seabloom, Eric W.

AU - Sommer, Ulrich

AU - Striebel, Maren

AU - Trenkamp, Anastasia

AU - Trinogga, Juliane

AU - Urabe, Jotaro

AU - Vyverman, Wim

AU - Van de Waal, Dedmer B.

AU - Widdicombe, Claire E.

AU - Hillebrand, Helmut

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2016 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

PY - 2016/5/19

Y1 - 2016/5/19

N2 - Numerous studies show that increasing species richness leads to higher ecosystem productivity. This effect is often attributed to more efficient portioning of multiple resources in communities with higher numbers of competing species, indicating the role of resource supply and stoichiometry for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. Here, we merged theory on ecological stoichiometry with a framework of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning to understand how resource use transfers into primary production. We applied a structural equation model to define patterns of diversity-productivity relationships with respect to available resources. Meta-analysis was used to summarize the findings across ecosystem types ranging from aquatic ecosystems to grasslands and forests. As hypothesized, resource supply increased realized productivity and richness, but we found significant differences between ecosystems and study types. Increased richness was associated with increased productivity, although this effect was not seen in experiments. More even communities had lower productivity, indicating that biomass production is often maintained by a few dominant species, and reduced dominance generally reduced ecosystem productivity. This synthesis, which integrates observational and experimental studies in a variety of ecosystems and geographical regions, exposes common patterns and differences in biodiversity-functioning relationships, and increases the mechanistic understanding of changes in ecosystems productivity.

AB - Numerous studies show that increasing species richness leads to higher ecosystem productivity. This effect is often attributed to more efficient portioning of multiple resources in communities with higher numbers of competing species, indicating the role of resource supply and stoichiometry for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. Here, we merged theory on ecological stoichiometry with a framework of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning to understand how resource use transfers into primary production. We applied a structural equation model to define patterns of diversity-productivity relationships with respect to available resources. Meta-analysis was used to summarize the findings across ecosystem types ranging from aquatic ecosystems to grasslands and forests. As hypothesized, resource supply increased realized productivity and richness, but we found significant differences between ecosystems and study types. Increased richness was associated with increased productivity, although this effect was not seen in experiments. More even communities had lower productivity, indicating that biomass production is often maintained by a few dominant species, and reduced dominance generally reduced ecosystem productivity. This synthesis, which integrates observational and experimental studies in a variety of ecosystems and geographical regions, exposes common patterns and differences in biodiversity-functioning relationships, and increases the mechanistic understanding of changes in ecosystems productivity.

KW - Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning

KW - Evenness

KW - Nutrient network

KW - Productivity

KW - Richness

KW - Stoichiometry

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84964483855&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/cf616e70-31fd-3e98-b6f5-c4d54ca2e96f/

U2 - 10.1098/rstb.2015.0283

DO - 10.1098/rstb.2015.0283

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 27114584

AN - SCOPUS:84964483855

VL - 371

JO - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

JF - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

SN - 0962-8436

IS - 1694

M1 - 20150283

ER -