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Updated: Feb 21, 2026

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning
Published on: March 21, 2025
Diversity-dependent temporal divergence of ecosystem functioning in experimental ecosystems
Nathaly R Guerrero-Ramírez1,2, Dylan Craven3,4, Peter B Reich5,6
1German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, 04103, Germany. kirana1015@gmail.com.
Abstract:
The effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning generally increase over time, but the underlying processes remain unclear. Using 26 long-term grassland and forest experimental ecosystems, we demonstrate that biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships strengthen mainly by greater increases in functioning in high-diversity communities in grasslands and forests. In grasslands, biodiversity effects also strengthen due to decreases in functioning in low-diversity communities. Contrasting trends across grasslands are associated with differences in soil characteristics.
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