An excess of niche differences maximizes ecosystem functioning

Godoy, Oscar; Gómez-Aparicio, Lorena; Matías, Luis; Pérez-Ramos, Ignacio M.; Allan, Eric (2020). An excess of niche differences maximizes ecosystem functioning. Nature Communications, 11(1), p. 4180. Springer Nature 10.1038/s41467-020-17960-5

Preview

Text 2020_NatCommun_11_4180.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution (CC-BY). Download (1MB) | Preview

Ecologists have long argued that higher functioning in diverse communities arises from the niche differences stabilizing species coexistence and from the fitness differences driving competitive dominance. However, rigorous tests are lacking. We couple field-parameterized models of competition between 10 annual plant species with a biodiversity-functioning experiment under two contrasting environmental conditions, to study how coexistence determinants link to biodiversity effects (selection and complementarity). We find that complementarity effects positively correlate with niche differences and selection effects differences correlate with fitness differences. However, niche differences also contribute to selection effects and fitness differences to complementarity effects. Despite this complexity, communities with an excess of niche differences (where niche differences exceeded those needed for coexistence) produce more biomass and have faster decomposition rates under drought, but do not take up nutrients more rapidly. We provide empirical evidence that the mechanisms determining coexistence correlate with those maximizing ecosystem functioning.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

107 since deposited on 21 Sep 2020
26 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item