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The function-dominance correlation drives the direction and strength of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships
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  • Michael Crawford,
  • Kathryn Barry,
  • Adam Clark,
  • Caroline Farrior,
  • Jessica Hines,
  • Emma Ladouceur,
  • Jeremy Lichstein,
  • Isabelle Marechaux,
  • Felix May,
  • Björn Reineking,
  • Lindsay Turnbull,
  • Christian Wirth,
  • Nadja Rüger
Michael Crawford
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Kathryn Barry
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
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Adam Clark
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
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Caroline Farrior
The University of Texas at Austin
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Jessica Hines
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
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Emma Ladouceur
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
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Jeremy Lichstein
University of Florida
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Isabelle Marechaux
Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD
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Felix May
Freie Universität Berlin
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Björn Reineking
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, INRAE, LESSEM
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Lindsay Turnbull
Oxford University
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Christian Wirth
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
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Nadja Rüger
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
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Abstract

Community composition is a primary determinant of how biodiversity change influences ecosystem functioning and, therefore, the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). We examine the consequences of community composition across six structurally realistic plant community models. We find that a positive correlation between species’ functioning in monoculture vs. their dominance in mixture with regards to a specific function (the “function-dominance correlation”) generates a positive relationship between realized diversity and ecosystem functioning across species richness treatments. However, because realised diversity declines when few species dominate, a positive function-dominance correlation generates a negative relationship between realized diversity and ecosystem functioning within species richness treatments. Removing seed inflow strengthens the link between the function-dominance correlation and BEF relationships across species richness treatments but weakens it within them. These results suggest that changes in species’ identities in a local species pool may more strongly affect ecosystem functioning than changes in species richness.
02 Apr 2021Submitted to Ecology Letters
12 Apr 2021Assigned to Editor
12 Apr 2021Submission Checks Completed
14 Apr 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
14 Apr 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
21 Apr 2021Editorial Decision: Accept
Sep 2021Published in Ecology Letters volume 24 issue 9 on pages 1762-1775. 10.1111/ele.13776