TY - JOUR
T1 - Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
AU - Tilman, David
AU - Isbell, Forest
AU - Cowles, Jane M.
N1 - Times Cited: 0 Futuyma, DJ 0 978-0-8243-1445-3
PY - 2014/11/23
Y1 - 2014/11/23
N2 - Species diversity is a major determinant of ecosystem productivity stability invasibility, and nutrient dynamics. Hundreds of studies spanning terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems show that high-diversity mixtures are approximately twice as productive as monocultures of the same species and that this difference increases through time. These impacts of higher diversity have multiple causes, including interspecific complementarity, greater use of limiting resources, decreased herbivory and disease, and nutrient-cycling feedbacks that increase nutrient stores and supply rates over the long term. These experimentally observed effects of diversity are consistent with predictions based on a variety of theories that share a common feature: All have trade-off-based mechanisms that allow long-term coexistence of many different competing species. Diversity loss has an effect as great as, or greater than, the effects of herbivory, fire, drought, nitrogen addition, elevated CO2, and other drivers of environmental change. The preservation, conservation, and restoration of biodiversity should be a high global priority.
AB - Species diversity is a major determinant of ecosystem productivity stability invasibility, and nutrient dynamics. Hundreds of studies spanning terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems show that high-diversity mixtures are approximately twice as productive as monocultures of the same species and that this difference increases through time. These impacts of higher diversity have multiple causes, including interspecific complementarity, greater use of limiting resources, decreased herbivory and disease, and nutrient-cycling feedbacks that increase nutrient stores and supply rates over the long term. These experimentally observed effects of diversity are consistent with predictions based on a variety of theories that share a common feature: All have trade-off-based mechanisms that allow long-term coexistence of many different competing species. Diversity loss has an effect as great as, or greater than, the effects of herbivory, fire, drought, nitrogen addition, elevated CO2, and other drivers of environmental change. The preservation, conservation, and restoration of biodiversity should be a high global priority.
KW - biodiversity
KW - coexistence
KW - ecosystem functioning
KW - invasibility complementarity
KW - niche differentiation
KW - productivity
KW - stability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84913601239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84913601239&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-120213-091917
DO - 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-120213-091917
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84913601239
SN - 1543-592X
VL - 45
SP - 471
EP - 493
JO - Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
JF - Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
ER -