Biodiversity and ecosystem stability in a decade-long grassland experiment
Loading...
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
Biodiversity and ecosystem stability in a decade-long grassland experiment
Published Date
2006
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Type
Article
Abstract
Human-driven ecosystem simplification has highlighted questions about how the number of species in an ecosystem influences its functioning. Although biodiversity is now known to affect ecosystem productivity1–6, its effects on stability are debated6–13. Here we present a long-term experimental field test of the diversity–stability hypothesis. During a decade of data collection in an experiment that directly controlled the number of perennial prairie species4 , growing-season climate varied considerably, causing year-to-year variation in abundances of plant species and in ecosystem productivity. We found that greater numbers of plant species led to greater temporal stability of ecosystem annual aboveground plant production. In particular, the decadal temporal stability of the ecosystem, whether measured with intervals of two, five or ten years, was significantly greater at higher plant diversity and tended to increase as plots matured. Ecosystem stability was also positively dependent on root mass, which is a measure of perenniating biomass. Temporal stability of the ecosystem increased with diversity, despite a lower temporal stability of individual species, because of both portfolio (statistical averaging) and overyielding effects. However, we found no evidence of a covariance effect. Our results indicate that the reliable, efficient and sustainable supply of some foods (for example, livestock fodder), biofuels and ecosystem services can be enhanced by the use of biodiversity.
Keywords
Description
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7093/full/nature04742.html
Related to
Replaces
License
Collections
Series/Report Number
Funding information
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
10.1038/nature04742
Previously Published Citation
David Tilman, Peter B. Reich, & Johannes M. H. Knops. (2006). Biodiversity and ecosystem stability in a decade-long grassland experiment. Nature, 441(7093), 629.
Suggested citation
Tilman, David; Reich, Peter B; Knops, Johannes M H. (2006). Biodiversity and ecosystem stability in a decade-long grassland experiment. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, 10.1038/nature04742.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.