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Biodiversity increases multitrophic energy use efficiency, flow and storage in grasslands
Oksana Y Buzhdygan1,2, Sebastian T Meyer3, Wolfgang W Weisser4
1Theoretical Ecology Group, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany. oksana.buzh@fu-berlin.de.
Nature Ecology & Evolution
|February 26, 2020
Summary
Global biodiversity loss threatens ecosystems. Higher plant diversity boosts energy flow and storage across all trophic levels, enhancing ecosystem function and services.
Area of Science:
- Ecosystem ecology
- Biodiversity science
- Environmental science
Background:
- Global biodiversity loss raises concerns about ecosystem functioning and services.
- Biodiversity's positive effects are known at single trophic levels, but a multitrophic perspective is crucial.
- Understanding ecosystem-wide impacts requires examining energy dynamics across trophic networks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the multitrophic effects of biodiversity on ecosystem energetics.
- To quantify how plant diversity influences energy storage, flow, and efficiency in a grassland ecosystem.
- To assess ecosystem-wide complementarity and its link to ecosystem services.
Main Methods:
- Applied ecosystem energetics methods to quantify trophic network structure and dynamics.
- Utilized data from a large-scale grassland biodiversity experiment.
- Analyzed energy storage, flow, and community-energy-use efficiency across trophic levels.
Main Results:
- Increased plant diversity led to greater energy storage and flow across the entire trophic network.
- Higher community-energy-use efficiency was observed with increased biodiversity.
- Biodiversity effects on energy dynamics were evident in multiple trophic groups and both aboveground and belowground components.
- Positive effects of biodiversity were consistent across trophic levels, indicating ecosystem-wide complementarity.
Conclusions:
- Biodiversity enhances ecosystem energy dynamics and efficiency across multiple trophic levels.
- Ecosystem-wide multitrophic complementarity, driven by biodiversity, is a key factor for ecosystem services.
- Maintaining biodiversity is essential for robust ecosystem functioning and the provision of vital services.
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