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Terrestrial land-cover type richness is positively linked to landscape-level functioning
Jacqueline Oehri1, Bernhard Schmid2,3, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub2
1Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland. jacqueline.oehri@ieu.uzh.ch.
Nature Communications
|January 11, 2020
Summary
Landscape richness, measured by diverse land cover types, enhances ecosystem functioning and stability at large scales. This finding, consistent across various plot sizes, suggests landscape diversity is crucial for ecosystem management.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Remote Sensing
Background:
- Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiments link species richness to ecosystem function and stability.
- The applicability of BEF findings to real-world, larger-scale ecosystems remains under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between landscape richness and ecosystem functioning at larger spatial and temporal scales.
- To assess if landscape richness influences ecosystem productivity, stability, and surface energy budgets.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a quasi-experimental design with 4974 landscape plots (6.25 or 25 ha) across climatic gradients.
- Related 17-year satellite-sensed time series of ecosystem functioning to land-cover type richness.
- Ensured landscape richness was orthogonal to land-cover composition and environmental conditions.
Main Results:
- Landscape-scale productivity and temporal stability increased with landscape richness, independent of plot size.
- Mixed land-cover landscapes exhibited higher peak-season near-infrared surface albedo compared to single-type landscapes.
- Observed effect sizes were comparable to those from controlled BEF experiments.
Conclusions:
- Landscape richness promotes ecosystem functioning and stability at scales relevant to land management.
- The study provides evidence supporting the importance of landscape diversity for ecosystem services.
- Findings suggest that enhancing landscape heterogeneity can improve ecosystem resilience and function.
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