TY - JOUR

T1 - Biodiversity-multifunctionality relationships depend on identity and number of measured functions

AU - Meyer, Sebastian T.

AU - Ptacnik, Robert

AU - Hillebrand, Helmut

AU - Bessler, Holger

AU - Buchmann, Nina

AU - Ebeling, Anne

AU - Eisenhauer, Nico

AU - Engels, Christof

AU - Fischer, Markus

AU - Halle, Stefan

AU - Klein, Alexandra Maria

AU - Oelmann, Yvonne

AU - Roscher, Christiane

AU - Rottstock, Tanja

AU - Scherber, Christoph

AU - Scheu, Stefan

AU - Schmid, Bernhard

AU - Schulze, Ernst Detlef

AU - Temperton, Victoria Martine

AU - Tscharntke, Teja

AU - Voigt, Winfried

AU - Weigelt, Alexandra

AU - Wilcke, Wolfgang

AU - Weisser, Wolfgang W.

PY - 2018/1/1

Y1 - 2018/1/1

N2 - Biodiversity ensures ecosystem functioning and provisioning of ecosystem services, but it remains unclear how biodiversity-ecosystem multifunctionality relationships depend on the identity and number of functions considered. Here, we demonstrate that ecosystem multifunctionality, based on 82 indicator variables of ecosystem functions in a grassland biodiversity experiment, increases strongly with increasing biodiversity. Analysing subsets of functions showed that the effects of biodiversity on multifunctionality were stronger when more functions were included and that the strength of the biodiversity effects depended on the identity of the functions included. Limits to multifunctionality arose from negative correlations among functions and functions that were not correlated with biodiversity. Our findings underline that the management of ecosystems for the protection of biodiversity cannot be replaced by managing for particular ecosystem functions or services and emphasize the need for specific management to protect biodiversity. More plant species from the experimental pool of 60 species contributed to functioning when more functions were considered. An individual contribution to multifunctionality could be demonstrated for only a fraction of the species.

AB - Biodiversity ensures ecosystem functioning and provisioning of ecosystem services, but it remains unclear how biodiversity-ecosystem multifunctionality relationships depend on the identity and number of functions considered. Here, we demonstrate that ecosystem multifunctionality, based on 82 indicator variables of ecosystem functions in a grassland biodiversity experiment, increases strongly with increasing biodiversity. Analysing subsets of functions showed that the effects of biodiversity on multifunctionality were stronger when more functions were included and that the strength of the biodiversity effects depended on the identity of the functions included. Limits to multifunctionality arose from negative correlations among functions and functions that were not correlated with biodiversity. Our findings underline that the management of ecosystems for the protection of biodiversity cannot be replaced by managing for particular ecosystem functions or services and emphasize the need for specific management to protect biodiversity. More plant species from the experimental pool of 60 species contributed to functioning when more functions were considered. An individual contribution to multifunctionality could be demonstrated for only a fraction of the species.

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85035133805&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41559-017-0391-4

DO - 10.1038/s41559-017-0391-4

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 29180710

AN - SCOPUS:85035133805

VL - 2

SP - 44

EP - 49

JO - Nature Ecology and Evolution

JF - Nature Ecology and Evolution

SN - 2397-334X

IS - 1

ER -