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Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in naturally assembled communities.

Fons van der Plas1

  • 1Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21-23, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.

Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
|February 7, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Biodiversity loss impacts ecosystem functioning. This review shows biodiversity boosts biomass production and pollination but its effects vary, with abiotic factors often being more critical.

Keywords:
biodiversitycommunity compositioncontext dependenceecosystem functioningecosystem multifunctionalityenvironmentglobal changeland usespatial scale

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Environmental Science

Background:

  • The field of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (BEF) emerged ~25 years ago to study the impact of biodiversity loss on ecosystems.
  • Early BEF research focused on theoretical and experimental studies with manipulated biodiversity.
  • Recent research increasingly examines BEF in natural, non-manipulated ecosystems, highlighting a need for synthesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review how biodiversity influences ecosystem functioning in naturally assembled terrestrial and aquatic communities.
  • To compare the importance of biodiversity against other drivers like community composition and abiotic conditions.
  • To synthesize current knowledge on real-world biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature review of 258 published studies.
  • Analysis of 726 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (BEF) relationships.
  • Assessment of effects across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Main Results:

  • Biodiversity generally enhances biomass production, temporal stability, and pollination success.
  • Effects on decomposition and multifunctionality were mixed (positive, negative, neutral), with neutral being common.
  • Functional diversity metrics were stronger predictors than taxonomic diversity; abiotic factors often outweighed biodiversity effects.

Conclusions:

  • Naturally assembled biodiversity positively drives several ecosystem functions, but effects are variable.
  • Abiotic conditions and functional composition can be more influential than biodiversity alone.
  • Conservation efforts should consider both biodiversity and favorable abiotic conditions for species with beneficial traits.