Plant diversity maintains multiple soil functions in future environments

Abstract

Biodiversity increases ecosystem functions underpinning a suite of services valued by society, including services provided by soils. To test whether, and how, future environments alter the relationship between biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions, we measured grassland plant diversity effects on single soil functions and ecosystem multifunctionality, and compared relationships in four environments: ambient conditions, elevated atmospheric CO2, enriched N supply, and elevated CO2 and N in combination. Our results showed that plant diversity increased three out of four soil functions and, consequently, ecosystem multifunctionality. Remarkably, biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships were similarly significant under current and future environmental conditions, yet weaker with enriched N supply. Structural equation models revealed that plant diversity enhanced ecosystem multifunctionality by increasing plant community functional diversity, and the even provision of multiple functions. Conserving local plant diversity is therefore a robust strategy to maintain multiple valuable ecosystem services in both present and future environmental conditions.

Disentangling the Contributions of Plant Taxonomic and Functional Diversities in Shaping Aboveground Biomass of a Restored Forest Landscape in Southern China

“…Furthermore, the significant increase in aboveground biomass with increasing CWM LC, CWM LN, and CWM LP also suggests that short lived leaves (high SLA), having a higher leaf elemental concentration through their canopy properties, might improve soil properties by adding nutrients into the soil, which, in turn, might influence aboveground biomass [11]. These findings are in agreement with previous empirical studies in a tropical forest [29] and successional biomes of temperate [8] and tropical regions [12], which implies that the presence of a leaf economic spectrum [24] will have a significant impact on canopy properties and ecosystem processes.…”

“…Taxonomic diversity and plant functional diversity have linkage with aboveground biomass and soil properties [7,8]. Species richness has been positively linked with aboveground biomass from strata (understorey and overstorey) to the whole community [7].…”

Cocoa agroforest multifunctionality and soil fertility explained by shade tree litter traits

“…Considering other benefits potentially associated with maintaining high tree diversity at the field scale, such as complementarity in resource use (Gross et al, 2017), stability of ecosystem functioning in conditions of climate change (Eisenhauer et al, 2018) and their resistance to perturbations (Loreau & de Mazancourt, 2013) would also be useful. Note: RI varies from 0 to 1 and represents the sum of the Akaike weights of the models in which each variable is used.…”

Resistance of soil biota and plant growth to disturbance increases with plant diversity

“…This indicates that diversity may affect responses of soil biota to environmental change, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Increases in primary productivity driven by plant diversity can increase the abundance of soil biota (Zak et al 2003;Eisenhauer et al 2013) and may buffer their responses to global change (Eisenhauer et al 2018). Alternatively, more diverse plant communities may contain more complex soil microbial communities, or specific microbial groups or species, which may also be more resistant to disturbance (Griffiths & Philippot 2013).…”