Flooding disturbances increase resource availability and productivity but reduce stability in diverse plant communities

Alexandra J. Wright (), Anne Ebeling, Hans de Kroon, Christiane Roscher, Alexandra Weigelt, Nina Buchmann, Tina Buchmann, Christine Fischer, Nina Hacker, Anke Hildebrandt, Sophia Leimer, Liesje Mommer, Yvonne Oelmann, Stefan Scheu, Katja Steinauer, Tanja Strecker, Wolfgang Weisser, Wolfgang Wilcke and Nico Eisenhauer
Additional contact information
Alexandra J. Wright: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle–Jena–Leipzig
Anne Ebeling: Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Hans de Kroon: Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University
Christiane Roscher: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle–Jena–Leipzig
Alexandra Weigelt: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle–Jena–Leipzig
Nina Buchmann: Institute of Agricultural Sciences, ETH Zurich
Tina Buchmann: UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Community Ecology
Christine Fischer: Institute for Geosciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Nina Hacker: Institute of Geography, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen
Anke Hildebrandt: Institute for Geosciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Sophia Leimer: Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Liesje Mommer: Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology Group, Wageningen University
Yvonne Oelmann: Institute of Geography, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen
Stefan Scheu: J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Georg August University Göttingen
Katja Steinauer: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle–Jena–Leipzig
Tanja Strecker: J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, Georg August University Göttingen
Wolfgang Weisser: Technische Universität München
Wolfgang Wilcke: Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Nico Eisenhauer: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle–Jena–Leipzig

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract The natural world is increasingly defined by change. Within the next 100 years, rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations will continue to increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events. Simultaneously, human activities are reducing global biodiversity, with current extinction rates at ~1,000 × what they were before human domination of Earth’s ecosystems. The co–occurrence of these trends may be of particular concern, as greater biological diversity could help ecosystems resist change during large perturbations. We use data from a 200–year flood event to show that when a disturbance is associated with an increase in resource availability, the opposite may occur. Flooding was associated with increases in productivity and decreases in stability, particularly in the highest diversity communities. Our results undermine the utility of the biodiversity–stability hypothesis during a large number of disturbances where resource availability increases. We propose a conceptual framework that can be widely applied during natural disturbances.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7092

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