Buch, Englisch, 392 Seiten, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 554 g
Empirical Progress and Theoretical Extensions
Buch, Englisch, 392 Seiten, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 554 g
Reihe: Monographs in Population Biology
ISBN: 978-0-691-08822-8
Verlag: Princeton University Press
Does biodiversity influence how ecosystems function? Might diversity loss affect the ability of ecosystems to deliver services of benefit to humankind? Ecosystems provide food, fuel, fiber, and drinkable water, regulate local and regional climate, and recycle needed nutrients, among other things. An ecosyste's ability to sustain functioning may depend on the number of species residing in the ecosystem--its biological diversity--but this has been a controversial hypothesis. There are many unanswered questions about how and why changes in biodiversity could alter ecosystem functioning. This volume, written by top researchers, synthesizes empirical studies on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and extends that knowledge using a novel and coordinated set of models and theoretical approaches.These experimental and theoretical analyses demonstrate that functioning usually increases with biodiversity, but also reveals when and under what circumstances other relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning might occur. It also accounts for apparent changes in diversity-functioning relationships that emerge over time in disturbed ecosystems, thereby addressing a major controversy in the field. The volume concludes with a blueprint for moving beyond small-scale studies to regional ones--a move of enormous significance for policy and conservation but one that will entail tackling some of the most fundamental challenges in ecology.In addition to the editors, the contributors are Juan Armesto, Claudia Neuhauser, Andy Hector, Clarence Lehman, Peter Kareiva, Sharon Lawler, Peter Chesson, Teri Balser, Mary K. Firestone, Robert Holt, Michel Loreau, Johannes Knops, David Wedin, Peter Reich, Shahid Naeem, Bernhard Schmid, Jasmin Joshi, and Felix Schläpfer.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
Weitere Infos & Material
Preface xiii List of Contributors xix List of Figures xxi List of Tables xxv Chapter 1. Opening Remarks by Ann P. Kinxig PART 1 Empirical Progress Chapter 1. Biodiversity, Composition, and Ecosystem Processes: Theory and Concepts byDavid Tilman and Clarence Lehman 9 Introduction 9 Definitions of Diversity 11 Problems Related to Experiments and Observations 14 Diversity, Productivity, and Resource Dynamics 15 Sampling Effect Models 16 Niche Differentiation Models 23 Diversity and Stability 29 Measures of Stability 29 Components of Temporal Stability 30 Diversity and Temporal Stability in Multispecies Models 34 Summary 39 Acknowledgments 41 Chapter 2. Experimental and Observational Studies of Diversity, Productivity, and Stability by David Tilman, Johannes Kncps, David Wedin, and Peter Reich 42 Diversity and Stability 43 Diversity, Productivity, and Nutrient Dynamics 49 New Results from the Cedar Creek Biodiversity Experiment 53 Methods 53 Soil Nitrate 54 Community Cover and Biomass 54 Species Number and Composition 60 Weedy Invasion and Fungal Pathogens 63 Patterns in Native Grassland 65 Summary and Synthesis 67 Acknowledgments 70 Chapter 4. Biodiversity and the Functioning of Grassland Ecosystems: Multi-Site Comparisons by Andy Hector 71 Introduction 71 The BIODEPTH Project 72 Multiple Influences on Productivity 74 Differences between Locations 74 Species Richness versus Functional Groups 75 Richness versus Composition 79 Effects of Nitrogen Fixers 81 The Sampling Effect and Biodiversity Mechanisms 82 Testing the Sampling Effect 84 Summary of the BIODEPTH Results 89 Comparisons with Related Studies 89 Relationships within and between Sites 93 Summary 94 Acknowledgments 95 Chapter 5. Autotrophic-Heterotrophic Interactions and Their Impacts on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning by Shahid Naeem 96 Introduction 96 Fundamentals 98 Classes of Trophically Defined Functional Groups 98 The Producer-Decomposer Codependency (PDC) 100 Fundamental Trophic Structure 101 Heterotrophic Diversity and Ecosystem Functioning 101 Decomposers and Producers Affect Each Other via Carbon Exchange 102 Consumers Affect the Biomass of Producers and Decomposers 103 Trophic Structure Influences Rates of Material Cycling 104 Heterotrophic Diversity Affects Levels and Stability of Ecosystem Processes 105 Heterotrophs Modulate Producer Diversity Effects 109 Summary of Empirical Findings 111 Implications for Autotroph-Only Models 112 Decomposers 113 Trophic Levels 113 Material Pools 113 Discussion 114 Chapter 6. Empirical Evidence for Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning Relationships by Bernhard Schmid, Jasmin joshi, and Felix Schldpfer 120 Introduction 120 Plant Diversity Effects on Ecosystem Functioning 123 General Patterns under Uniform Conditions 124 General Patterns under Variable Conditions 136 Biodiversity Effects among Trophic Levels 140 Review of Empirical Studies 140 Importance of Biological Interactions 140 Designing Empirical Studies to Measure Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning Relationships 141 Relevance of Existing Studies 141 Suggestions for Future Studies 148 Acknowledgments 150 Chapter 7. The Transition from Sampling to Complementarity by Stephen Pacala and David Tilman 151 Conclusions 165 PART 2 Theoretical Extensions Chapter 8. Introduction to Theory and the Common Ecosystem Model by Stephen Pacala and Ann P. Kinzig 169 The Common Ecosystem Model 171 Summary of the Basic Model 174 Chapter 9. Successional Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning by Ann P. Kinzig and Stephen Pacala 175 Introduction 175 The Successional Niche in a Simple Mechanistic Ecosystem Model 179 Case Studies 183 Results 185 Competition-Colonization in a Simple Mechanistic Ecosystem Model 193 Local versus Global Performance 195 Cases Considered 197 Results 202 Conclusions 212 Chapter 10. Environmental Niches and Ecosystem Functioning by Peter Chesson, Stephen Pacala, and Claudia N
