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Assembly history dictates ecosystem functioning: evidence from wood decomposer communities
Tadashi Fukami1, Ian A Dickie, J Paula Wilkie
1Department of Biology, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA. fukamit@stanford.edu <fukamit@stanford.edu>
Ecology Letters
|April 24, 2010
Summary
Community assembly history significantly impacts ecosystem functioning. Small changes in species immigration history led to large differences in fungal communities, decomposition rates, and carbon release.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Ecosystem Functioning
Background:
- Community assembly history is a key factor shaping community structure.
- The influence of assembly history on ecosystem functioning remains poorly understood.
- Wood-decaying fungi provide a tractable model system for studying these dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how community assembly history affects ecosystem functioning.
- To determine if early immigration events can drive significant changes in ecosystem processes.
- To link changes in community structure resulting from assembly history to functional outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Experimental manipulation of early species immigration history in wood-decaying fungal communities.
- Quantification of fungal species richness and composition.
- Measurement of wood decomposition rates and carbon release under varying nitrogen availabilities.
Main Results:
- Small differences in immigration history caused substantial (three-fold) differences in fungal species richness and composition.
- These changes in community structure led to comparable differences in decomposition rates and carbon release.
- The observed effects were robust across a range of nitrogen availabilities relevant to natural forests.
Conclusions:
- Early community assembly history is a critical determinant of ecosystem functioning.
- History-dependent interactions (competition, facilitation) mediate the link between assembly and function.
- Understanding assembly history is essential for predicting ecosystem responses and processes.
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