Browsing by Author "Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael"

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    Biodiversity simultaneously enhances the production and stability of community biomass, but the effects are independent
    (Ecological Society of America, 2013) Cardinale, Bradley J; Gross, Kevin; Fritschie, Keith; Flombaum, Pedro; Fox, Jeremy W; Rixen, Christian; Van Ruijven, Jasper; Reich, Peter B; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Wilsey, Brian J
    To predict the ecological consequences of biodiversity loss, researchers have spent much time and effort quantifying how biological variation affects the magnitude and stability of ecological processes that underlie the functioning of ecosystems. Here we add to this work by looking at how biodiversity jointly impacts two aspects of ecosystem functioning at once: (1) the production of biomass at any single point in time (biomass/area or biomass/volume), and (2) the stability of biomass production through time (the CV of changes in total community biomass through time). While it is often assumed that biodiversity simultaneously enhances both of these aspects of ecosystem functioning, the joint distribution of data describing how species richness regulates productivity and stability has yet to be quantified. Furthermore, analyses have yet to examine how diversity effects on production covary with diversity effects on stability. To overcome these two gaps, we reanalyzed the data from 34 experiments that have manipulated the richness of terrestrial plants or aquatic algae and measured how this aspect of biodiversity affects community biomass at multiple time points. Our reanalysis confirms that biodiversity does indeed simultaneously enhance both the production and stability of biomass in experimental systems, and this is broadly true for terrestrial and aquatic primary producers. However, the strength of diversity effects on biomass production is independent of diversity effects on temporal stability. The independence of effect sizes leads to two important conclusions. First, while it may be generally true that biodiversity enhances both productivity and stability, it is also true that the highest levels of productivity in a diverse community are not associated with the highest levels of stability. Thus, on average, diversity does not maximize the various aspects of ecosystem functioning we might wish to achieve in conservation and management. Second, knowing how biodiversity affects productivity gives no information about how diversity affects stability (or vice versa). Therefore, to predict the ecological changes that occur in ecosystems after extinction, we will need to develop separate mechanistic models for each independent aspect of ecosystem functioning.
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    Contributions of a global network of tree diversity experiments to sustainable forest plantations
    (Springer, 2016) Verheyen, Kris; Vanhellemont, Margot; Auge, Harald; Baeten, Lander; Baraloto, Christopher; Barsoum, Nadia; Bilodeau-Gauthier, Simon; Bruelheide, Helge; Castagneyrol, Bastien; Godbold, Douglas; Haase, Josephine; Hector, Andy; Jactel, Hervé; Koricheva, Julia; Loreau, Michel; Mereu, Simone; Messier, Christian; Muys, Bart; Nolet, Philippe; Paquette, Alain; Parker, John; Perring, Mike; Ponette, Quentin; Potvin, Catherine; Reich, Peter B; Smith, Andy; Weih, Martin; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael
    The area of forest plantations is increasing worldwide helping to meet timber demand and protect natural forests. However, with global change, monospecific plantations are increasingly vulnerable to abiotic and biotic disturbances. As an adaption measure we need to move to plantations that are more diverse in genotypes, species, and structure, with a design underpinned by science. TreeDivNet, a global network of tree diversity experiments, responds to this need by assessing the advantages and disadvantages of mixed species plantations. The network currently consists of 18 experiments, distributed over 36 sites and five ecoregions. With plantations 1–15 years old, TreeDivNet can already provide relevant data for forest policy and management. In this paper, we highlight some early results on the carbon sequestration and pest resistance potential of more diverse plantations. Finally, suggestions are made for new, innovative experiments in understudied regions to complement the existing network.
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    Data and code for spectral canopy transmittance in diverse tree communities
    (2024-12-02) Williams, Laura J.; Kovach, Kyle R.; Guzman Q., J. Antonio; Stefanski, Artur; Bermudez, Raimundo; Butler, Ethan E.; Glenn-Stone, Catherine; Hajek, Peter; Klama, Johanna; Moradi, Aboubakr; Park, Maria H.; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Townsend, Philip A.; Reich, Peter B.; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Schuman, Meredith C.; laura.williams@westernsydney.edu.au; Williams, Laura
    Light may shape forest function not only as a source of energy or a cause of stress but also as a context cue: plant photoreceptors can detect specific wavelengths of light, and plants use this information to assess their neighborhoods and adjust their patterns of growth and allocation. Here, we examined how the spectral profile of light (350-2200 nm) transmitted through tree canopies differs among communities within three tree diversity experiments on two continents (200 plots each planted with one to 12 tree species). This dataset includes data and metadata on canopy transmittance and leaf area index (LAI) measured on these plots as well as leaf-level transmittance measured for each species in monoculture plots. Data processing code and example analysis code are also provided.
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    High plant diversity is needed to maintain ecosystem services
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2011) Isbell, Forest; Calcagno, Vincent; Hector, Andy; Connolly, John; Harpole, W Stanley; Reich, Peter B; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Schmid, Bernhard; Tilman, David; van Ruijven, Jasper; Weigelt, Alexandra; Wilsey, Brian J.; Zavaleta, Erika S.; Loreau, Michel
    Biodiversity is rapidly declining worldwide1, and there is consensus that this can decrease ecosystem functioning and services2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. It remains unclear, though, whether few8 or many9 of the species in an ecosystem are needed to sustain the provisioning of ecosystem services. It has been hypothesized that most species would promote ecosystem services if many times, places, functions and environmental changes were considered9; however, no previous study has considered all of these factors together. Here we show that 84% of the 147 grassland plant species studied in 17 biodiversity experiments promoted ecosystem functioning at least once. Different species promoted ecosystem functioning during different years, at different places, for different functions and under different environmental change scenarios. Furthermore, the species needed to provide one function during multiple years were not the same as those needed to provide multiple functions within one year. Our results indicate that even more species will be needed to maintain ecosystem functioning and services than previously suggested by studies that have either (1) considered only the number of species needed to promote one function under one set of environmental conditions, or (2) separately considered the importance of biodiversity for providing ecosystem functioning across multiple years10, 11, 12, 13, 14, places15, 16, functions14, 17, 18 or environmental change scenarios12, 19, 20, 21, 22. Therefore, although species may appear functionally redundant when one function is considered under one set of environmental conditions7, many species are needed to maintain multiple functions at multiple times and places in a changing world.