The DOI matches its Crossref record; 7 of the 7 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Functional traits explain ecosystem function through opposing mechanisms
Abstract
The ability to explain why multispecies assemblages produce greater biomass compared to monocultures, has been a central goal in the quest to understand biodiversity effects on ecosystem function. Species contributions to ecosystem function can be driven by two processes: niche complementarity and a selection effect that is influenced by fitness (competitive) differences, and both can be approximated with measures of species’ traits. It has been hypothesised that fitness differences are associated with few, singular traits while complementarity requires multidimensional trait measures. Here, using experimental data from plant assemblages, I show that the selection effect was strongest when trait dissimilarity was low, while complementarity was greatest with high trait dissimilarity. Selection effects were best explained by a single trait, plant height. Complementarity was correlated with dissimilarity across multiple traits, representing above and below ground processes. By identifying the relevant traits linked to ecosystem function, we obtain the ability to predict combinations of species that will maximise ecosystem function.
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Cites
Lavorel, S., & Garnier, E. (2002) · Functional Ecology · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00664.x · Cited by 3,452
Beyond species: functional diversity and the maintenance of ecological processes and services
Cadotte, M. W., Carscadden, K., & Mirotchnick, N. (2011) · Journal of Applied Ecology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02048.x · Cited by 2,396 · cited 7×
“It is now generally appreciated that functional trait data is required to understand ecosystem function (Diaz & Cabido © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS 2001; Cadotte et al. 2011; Lavorel et al. 2011), but very few studies have experimentally demonstrated how traits influence function.”
InfluentialSelf-citationDiversity and Productivity in a Long-Term Grassland Experiment
Tilman, D., Reich, P. B., Knops, J., Wedin, D., Mielke, T., & Lehman, C. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1060391 · Cited by 2,373
Effects of biodiversity on the functioning of trophic groups and ecosystems
Cardinale, B. J., Srivastava, D. S., Emmett Duffy, J., Wright, J. P., Downing, A. L., Sankaran, M., & Jouseau, C. (2006) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature05202 · Cited by 1,871
Cardinale, B. J., Wright, J. P., Cadotte, M. W., Carroll, I. T., Hector, A., Srivastava, D. S., Loreau, M., & Weis, J. J. (2007) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0709069104 · Cited by 1,537
Self-citationBiodiversity enhances ecosystem multifunctionality across trophic levels and habitats
Lefcheck, J. S., Byrnes, J. E. K., Isbell, F., Gamfeldt, L., Griffin, J. N., Eisenhauer, N., Hensel, M. J. S., Hector, A., Cardinale, B. J., & Duffy, J. E. (2015) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms7936 · Cited by 840
Biodiversity improves water quality through niche partitioning
Cardinale, B. J. (2011) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature09904 · Cited by 764
Metadata
- Authors
- Cadotte, M. W.
- Venue
- Ecology Letters
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-06-22
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 989-996
- ISSN
- 1461-023X (ISSN-L)
- 1461-0248
- OpenAlex
- W2636292757
- Cited by
- 420
- References
- 7
- FWCI
- 23.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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