title: Temporal stability in forest productivity increases with tree diversity due to asynchrony in species dynamics.
abstract: Theory predicts a positive relationship between biodiversity and stability in ecosystem properties, while diversity is expected to have a negative impact on stability at the species level. We used virtual experiments based on a dynamic simulation model to test for the diversity-stability relationship and its underlying mechanisms in Central European forests. First our results show that variability in productivity between stands differing in species composition decreases as species richness and functional diversity increase. Second we show temporal stability increases with increasing diversity due to compensatory dynamics across species, supporting the biodiversity insurance hypothesis. We demonstrate that this pattern is mainly driven by the asynchrony of species responses to small disturbances rather than to environmental fluctuations, and is only weakly affected by the net biodiversity effect on productivity. Furthermore, our results suggest that compensatory dynamics between species may enhance ecosystem stability through an optimisation of canopy occupancy by coexisting species.
authors.affiliation: Forest Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, CH-8092, Switzerland; CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, Bioflux Team, 1919, route de Mende, F-34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Morin
authors.forename: Lorenz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fahse
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Mazancourt
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scherer-Lorenzen
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bugmann
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008954:Models, Biological; D013997:Time Factors; D014197:Trees
keywords: Asynchrony; biodiversity; ecosystem functioning; ecosystem predictability; forests; gap model; insurance hypothesis; productivity; stability; structural equation model