title: Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness.
abstract: For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing productivity. Although recent meta-analyses questioned the generality of hump-shaped patterns, these syntheses have been criticized for failing to account for methodological differences among studies. We addressed such concerns by conducting standardized sampling in 48 herbaceous-dominated plant communities on five continents. We found no clear relationship between productivity and fine-scale (meters(-2)) richness within sites, within regions, or across the globe. Ecologists should focus on fresh, mechanistic approaches to understanding the multivariate links between productivity and richness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, 5230 Old Main, Logan, UT 84322, USA. peter.adler@usu.edu
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: Eric W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Seabloom
authors.forename: Elizabeth T
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authors.lastname: Borer
authors.forename: Helmut
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authors.lastname: Hillebrand
authors.forename: Yann
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authors.lastname: Hautier
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authors.forename: Lydia R
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authors.lastname: Grace
authors.forename: T Michael
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authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Jonathan D
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authors.lastname: Biederman
authors.forename: Cynthia S
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authors.initials: KL
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authors.lastname: Gasarch
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authors.lastname: Hagenah
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authors.lastname: Kirkman
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authors.lastname: Knops
authors.forename: Kimberly J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: La Pierre
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authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Lambrinos
authors.forename: Wei
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authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: MacDougall
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: McCulley
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authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Melbourne
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authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Joslin L
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authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.forename: Brent
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authors.lastname: Mortensen
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Orrock
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Prober
authors.forename: David A
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authors.lastname: Pyke
authors.forename: Anita C
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authors.lastname: Risch
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authors.lastname: Schuetz
authors.forename: Melinda D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Carly J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Lauren L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Sullivan
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authors.lastname: Wang
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authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D001315:Australia; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D002681:China; D017753:Ecosystem; D005060:Europe; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009656:North America; D063245:Plant Development; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D010944:Plants; D012044:Regression Analysis