title: A comparison of the strength of biodiversity effects across multiple functions.
abstract: In order to predict which ecosystem functions are most at risk from biodiversity loss, meta-analyses have generalised results from biodiversity experiments over different sites and ecosystem types. In contrast, comparing the strength of biodiversity effects across a large number of ecosystem processes measured in a single experiment permits more direct comparisons. Here, we present an analysis of 418 separate measures of 38 ecosystem processes. Overall, 45 % of processes were significantly affected by plant species richness, suggesting that, while diversity affects a large number of processes not all respond to biodiversity. We therefore compared the strength of plant diversity effects between different categories of ecosystem processes, grouping processes according to the year of measurement, their biogeochemical cycle, trophic level and compartment (above- or belowground) and according to whether they were measures of biodiversity or other ecosystem processes, biotic or abiotic and static or dynamic. Overall, and for several individual processes, we found that biodiversity effects became stronger over time. Measures of the carbon cycle were also affected more strongly by plant species richness than were the measures associated with the nitrogen cycle. Further, we found greater plant species richness effects on measures of biodiversity than on other processes. The differential effects of plant diversity on the various types of ecosystem processes indicate that future research and political effort should shift from a general debate about whether biodiversity loss impairs ecosystem functions to focussing on the specific functions of interest and ways to preserve them individually or in combination.
authors: Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena, Germany. eric.allan@ips.unibe.ch
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Allan
authors: Wolfgang W
authors: WW
authors: Weisser
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Fischer
authors: Ernst-Detlef
authors: ED
authors: Schulze
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Weigelt
authors: Christiane
authors: C
authors: Roscher
authors: Jussi
authors: J
authors: Baade
authors: Romain L
authors: RL
authors: Barnard
authors: Holger
authors: H
authors: Beßler
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authors: N
authors: Buchmann
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Ebeling
authors: Nico
authors: N
authors: Eisenhauer
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authors: C
authors: Engels
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authors: AJ
authors: Fergus
authors: Gerd
authors: G
authors: Gleixner
authors: Marlén
authors: M
authors: Gubsch
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Halle
authors: Alexandra M
authors: AM
authors: Klein
authors: Ilona
authors: I
authors: Kertscher
authors: Annely
authors: A
authors: Kuu
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Lange
authors: Xavier
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authors: Le Roux
authors: Sebastian T
authors: ST
authors: Meyer
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authors: VD
authors: Migunova
authors: Alexandru
authors: A
authors: Milcu
authors: Pascal A
authors: PA
authors: Niklaus
authors: Yvonne
authors: Y
authors: Oelmann
authors: Esther
authors: E
authors: Pašalić
authors: Jana S
authors: JS
authors: Petermann
authors: Franck
authors: F
authors: Poly
authors: Tanja
authors: T
authors: Rottstock
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authors: AC
authors: Sabais
authors: Christoph
authors: C
authors: Scherber
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Scherer-Lorenzen
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Scheu
authors: Sibylle
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authors: Steinbeiss
authors: Guido
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authors: Schwichtenberg
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authors: Temperton
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authors: Schmid
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D057486:Carbon Cycle; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D016014:Linear Models; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D058458:Nitrogen Cycle; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification*
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