Ecology: diversity and stability in plant communities.
The relationship between species diversity and ecosystem stability is controversial. Tilman et al. analyse biomass patterns over a decade in a grassland experiment with artificial plant communities, and provide evidence for a positive relationship between the number of plant species and the temporal stability of the ecosystem. Here we use data from a long-term biodiversity experiment with plant communities that were not controlled by weeding in order to show that diverse systems can be both stable and unstable.
Bezemer
T Martijn
TM
Department of Multitrophic Interactions, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, PO Box 40, 666, PO Box 406 ZG Heteren, The Netherlands.
van der Putten
Wim H
WH
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D017753:Ecosystem; D063245:Plant Development; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D006109:Poaceae / Q000502:physiology; D011156:Population Density; D012639:Seeds / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors