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ARS Home » Plains Area » Temple, Texas » Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #341247
Title: Multiple facets of biodiversity drive the diversity-stability relationship

Author
item CRAVEN, DYLAN - German Centre For Integrative Biodiversity Research (IDIV)
item EISENHAUER, NICO - Leipzig University
item PEARSE, WILLIAM - Utah State University
item HAUTIER, YANN - Utrecht University
item ISBELL, FOREST - University Of Minnesota
item ROSCHER, CHRISTIANE - Helmholtz Centre For Environmental Research
item BAHN, MICHAEL - University Of Innsbruck
item BEIERKUHNLEIN, CARL - University Of Bayreuth
item BONISCH, GERHARD - Max Planck Institute For Biogeochemistry
item BUCHMANN, NINA - Institute For Biochemistry - Switzerland
item BYUN, CHAEHO - Yonsei University
item CATFORD, JANE - University Of Southampton
item CERABOLINI, BRUNO - University Of Insubria
item CORNELISSEN, J HANS - Vrije University
item CRAINE, JOSEPH - Jonah Ventures Llc
item DE LUCA, ENRICA - University Of Zurich
item EBELING, ANNE - University Of Jena
item GRIFFIN, JOHN - Swansea University
item HECTOR, ANDY - University Of Oxford
item HINES, JES - German Centre For Integrative Biodiversity Research (IDIV)
item JENTSCH, ANKE - University Of Bayreuth
item KATTGE, JENS - German Centre For Integrative Biodiversity Research (IDIV)
item KREYLING, JURGEN - University Of Greifswald
item LANTA, VOJTECH - University Of South Bohemia
item LEMOINE, NATHAN - Colorado State University
item MEYER, SEBASIAN - Technische Universitat Munchen
item MINDEN, VANESSA - Free University Of Brussels
item ONIPCHENKO, VLADIMIR - Moscow State University
item Polley, Herbert
item REICH, PETER - University Of Minnesota
item VAN RUIJVEN, JASPER - University Of Wageningen
item SCHAMP, VLADIMIR - Algoma University
item SMITH, MELINDA - Colorado State University
item SOUDZILOVSKAIA, NADEJDA - Leiden University
item TILMAN, DAVID - University Of Minnesota
item WEIGELT, ALEXANDRA - German Centre For Integrative Biodiversity Research (IDIV)
item WILSEY, BRIAN - Iowa State University
item MANNING, PETE - Biodiversity And Climate Research Centre (BIK-F)

Submitted to: Nature Ecology and Evolution
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/24/2018
Publication Date: 8/27/2018
Citation: Craven, D., Eisenhauer, N., Pearse, W.D., Hautier, Y., Isbell, F., Roscher, C., Bahn, M., Beierkuhnlein, C., Bonisch, G., Buchmann, N., Byun, C., Catford, J.A., Cerabolini, B.E., Cornelissen, J.C., Craine, J.M., De Luca, E., Ebeling, A., Griffin, J.N., Hector, A., Hines, J., Jentsch, A., Kattge, J., Kreyling, J., Lanta, V., Lemoine, N., Meyer, S.T., Minden, V., Onipchenko, V., Polley, H.W., Reich, P.B., Van Ruijven, J., Schamp, V., Smith, M.D., Soudzilovskaia, N.A., Tilman, D., Weigelt, A., Wilsey, B., Manning, P. 2018. Multiple facets of biodiversity drive the diversity-stability relationship. Nature Ecology and Evolution. 2:1579-1587. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0647-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0647-7

Interpretive Summary: Numerous experimental and observational studies have demonstrated that year-to-year variability in plant productivity is smaller in grasslands with many than few plant species. Variability is reduced and stability is increased when grassland plants grow at different times of the year or are favored in different years. But, it remains unclear just which plant characteristics or trait differences contribute the most to stability. This information could be critical in learning to maintain or design stable and productive grasslands that meet human needs. We used data from 39 multi-year experiments in grasslands from around the world to investigate the roles of various characteristics of plants and plant assemblages that promote growth stability. We found that large differences in genetic relatedness among species stabilized biomass production by enhancing species differences in the timing of growth. These results imply that greater stability of forage or fodder production could be realized by managing to increase both the genetic diversity and number of plant species present in grasslands.

Technical Abstract: A significant body of evidence has demonstrated that biodiversity stabilizes ecosystem functioning in grassland ecosystems. However, the relative importance of the biological drivers underlying these relationships remains unclear. Here we used data from 39 biodiversity experiments and a structural equation modeling approach to investigate the roles of species richness, phylogenetic diversity, functional diversity, community-level means of ‘fast-slow’ traits, species asynchrony, and climatic variability in driving the diversity-stability relationship. The structural equation model showed that high species richness and phylogenetic diversity both stabilized biomass production via enhanced asynchrony and, surprisingly, that low phylogenetic diversity enhanced ecosystem stability directly. The effects of functional diversity on ecosystem stability were weak and those of ‘fast-slow’ traits highly variable across sites. These results demonstrate that biodiversity influences ecosystem stability via multiple pathways, suggesting a more complex role of biodiversity in mediating ecosystem stability than previously recognized.