Biodiversity across trophic levels drives multifunctionality in highly diverse forests

Andreas Schuldt (), Thorsten Assmann, Matteo Brezzi, François Buscot, David Eichenberg, Jessica Gutknecht, Werner Härdtle, Jin-Sheng He, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Peter Kühn, Xiaojuan Liu, Keping Ma, Pascal A. Niklaus, Katherina A. Pietsch, Witoon Purahong, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Bernhard Schmid, Thomas Scholten, Michael Staab, Zhiyao Tang, Stefan Trogisch, Goddert Oheimb, Christian Wirth, Tesfaye Wubet, Chao-Dong Zhu and Helge Bruelheide
Additional contact information
Andreas Schuldt: (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigv
Thorsten Assmann: Leüphana University Lüneburg
Matteo Brezzi: University of Zurich
François Buscot: (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigv
David Eichenberg: (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigv
Jessica Gutknecht: UFZ-Hemholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Werner Härdtle: Leüphana University Lüneburg
Jin-Sheng He: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University
Alexandra-Maria Klein: University of Freiburg
Peter Kühn: Eberhard Karls-University of Tübingen
Xiaojuan Liu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Keping Ma: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Pascal A. Niklaus: University of Zurich
Katherina A. Pietsch: Leipzig University
Witoon Purahong: UFZ-Hemholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Michael Scherer-Lorenzen: University of Freiburg
Bernhard Schmid: University of Zurich
Thomas Scholten: Eberhard Karls-University of Tübingen
Michael Staab: University of Freiburg
Zhiyao Tang: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University
Stefan Trogisch: (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigv
Goddert Oheimb: (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigv
Christian Wirth: (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigv
Tesfaye Wubet: (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigv
Chao-Dong Zhu: Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Helge Bruelheide: (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigv

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Human-induced biodiversity change impairs ecosystem functions crucial to human well-being. However, the consequences of this change for ecosystem multifunctionality are poorly understood beyond effects of plant species loss, particularly in regions with high biodiversity across trophic levels. Here we adopt a multitrophic perspective to analyze how biodiversity affects multifunctionality in biodiverse subtropical forests. We consider 22 independent measurements of nine ecosystem functions central to energy and nutrient flow across trophic levels. We find that individual functions and multifunctionality are more strongly affected by the diversity of heterotrophs promoting decomposition and nutrient cycling, and by plant functional-trait diversity and composition, than by tree species richness. Moreover, cascading effects of higher trophic-level diversity on functions originating from lower trophic-level processes highlight that multitrophic biodiversity is key to understanding drivers of multifunctionality. A broader perspective on biodiversity-multifunctionality relationships is crucial for sustainable ecosystem management in light of non-random species loss and intensified biotic disturbances under future environmental change.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05421-z

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