Plant species richness and functional traits affect community stability after a flood event

Fischer, Felícia Miranda; Wright, Alexandra J.; Eisenhauer, Nico; Ebeling, Anne; Roscher, Christiane; Wagg, Cameron; Weigelt, Alexandra; Weisser, Wolfgang W.; Pillar, Valério D.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0276

Cited by 63 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…Further, while the co‐occurrence of a stress and a subsidy may have relatively little effect on species richness (this study, Fischer et al. ), the benefits of greater resource availability may offset the costs of a disturbance, leading to an increase in productivity but a decrease in stability, particularly in high diversity communities (Wright et al. , Fischer et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Stress and subsidy effects of seagrass wrack duration, frequency, and magnitude on salt marsh community structure

Hanley

Kimbro

Hughes

2017

Ecology

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Environmental perturbations can strongly affect community processes and ecosystem functions by acting primarily as a subsidy that increases productivity, a stress that decreases productivity, or both, with the predominant effect potentially shifting from subsidy to stress as the overall intensity of the perturbation increases. While perturbations are often considered along a single axis of intensity, they consist of multiple components (e.g., magnitude, frequency, and duration) that may not have equivalent stress and/or subsidy effects. Thus, different combinations of perturbation components may elicit community and ecosystem responses that differ in strength and/or direction (i.e., stress or subsidy) even if they reflect a similar overall perturbation intensity. To assess the independent and interactive effects of perturbation components, we experimentally manipulated the magnitude, frequency, and duration of wrack deposition, a common stress-subsidy in a variety of coastal systems. The effects of wrack perturbation on salt marsh community and ecosystem properties were assessed both in the short-term (at the end of a 12-week experimental manipulation) and long-term (6 months after the end of the experiment). In the short-term, plants and associated benthic invertebrates exhibited primarily stress-based responses to wrack perturbation. The extent of these stress effects on density of the dominant plant Spartina alterniflora, total plant percent cover, invertebrate abundance, and sediment oxygen availability were largely determined by perturbation duration. Yet, higher nitrogen content of Spartina, which indicates a subsidy effect of wrack, was influenced primarily by perturbation magnitude in the short-term. In the longer term, perturbation magnitude determined the extent of both stress and subsidy effects of wrack perturbation, with lower subordinate plant percent cover and snail density, and higher Spartina nitrogen content in high wrack biomass treatments. However, stress effects on the marsh community were generally less pronounced 6 months after the wrack perturbation, indicating capacity for recovery. Our results demonstrate that individual perturbation components can determine the degree to which its effects on the community elicit primarily stress- and/or subsidy-based responses. Further, the nature and extent of stress-subsidy effects can change over time, depending on species' relative ability to tolerate and/or recover from perturbation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Stress and subsidy effects of seagrass wrack duration, frequency, and magnitude on salt marsh community structure

Hanley

Kimbro

Hughes

2017

Ecology

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“…Although past studies have led to advances in our understanding of linkages between plant traits and ecosystem functions, they have mostly investigated them using artificially constructed plant communities or environmental gradients. Artificially constructed communities based on random selections of species typically include very low species and functional diversity (Fischer et al, ; Milcu et al, ; Roscher et al, ; Spehn et al, ; Tilman et al, ). Yet, under natural conditions, we know that species generally assemble non‐randomly and when very low levels of diversity do occur (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

et al. 2019

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The use of plant traits to predict ecosystem functions has been gaining growing attention. Above‐ground plant traits, such as leaf nitrogen (N) content and specific leaf area (SLA), have been shown to strongly relate to ecosystem productivity, respiration and nutrient cycling. Furthermore, increasing plant functional trait diversity has been suggested as a possible mechanism to increase ecosystem carbon (C) storage. However, it is uncertain whether below‐ground plant traits can be predicted by above‐ground traits, and if both above‐ and below‐ground traits can be used to predict soil properties and ecosystem‐level functions. Here, we used two adjacent field experiments in temperate grassland to investigate if above‐ and below‐ground plant traits are related, and whether relationships between plant traits, soil properties and ecosystem C fluxes (i.e. ecosystem respiration and net ecosystem exchange) measured in potted monocultures could be detected in mixed field communities. We found that certain shoot traits (e.g. shoot N and C, and leaf dry matter content) were related to root traits (e.g. root N, root C:N and root dry matter content) in monocultures, but such relationships were either weak or not detected in mixed communities. Some relationships between plant traits (i.e. shoot N, root N and/or shoot C:N) and soil properties (i.e. inorganic N availability and microbial community structure) were similar in monocultures and mixed communities, but they were more strongly linked to shoot traits in monocultures and root traits in mixed communities. Structural equation modelling showed that above‐ and below‐ground traits and soil properties improved predictions of ecosystem C fluxes in monocultures, but not in mixed communities on the basis of community‐weighted mean traits. Synthesis . Our results from a single grassland habitat detected relationships in monocultures between above‐ and below‐ground plant traits, and between plant traits, soil properties and ecosystem C fluxes. However, these relationships were generally weaker or different in mixed communities. Our results demonstrate that while plant traits can be used to predict certain soil properties and ecosystem functions in monocultures, they are less effective for predicting how changes in plant species composition influence ecosystem functions in mixed communities.

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“…The flooding of one controlled experiment, the Jena experiment, provides some information on disturbance effects on BEF relationships [59]. Surprisingly, this article rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org Phil.…”

Section: Issue (2): Non-equilibrium Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is the first detailed evidence of a negative biodiversity-stability relationship in plant communities in response to a flood disturbance. However, plant communities with higher functional trait diversity remain the most productive following the flood [59]. Multiple extreme events such as heat waves, droughts, cold snaps and floods are the focus of a article addressing multi-trophic freshwater communities [60].…”

Section: Issue (2): Non-equilibrium Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functimentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in dynamic landscapes

Brose

Hillebrand

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

165

167

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One contribution of 17 to a theme issue 'Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in dynamic landscapes'. The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) and its consequence for ecosystem services has predominantly been studied by controlled, short-term and small-scale experiments under standardized environmental conditions and constant community compositions. However, changes in biodiversity occur in real-world ecosystems with varying environments and a dynamic community composition. In this theme issue, we present novel research on BEF in such dynamic communities. The contributions are organized in three sections on BEF relationships in (i) multi-trophic diversity, (ii) non-equilibrium biodiversity under disturbance and varying environmental conditions, and (iii) large spatial and long temporal scales. The first section shows that multi-trophic BEF relationships often appear idiosyncratic, while accounting for species traits enables a predictive understanding. Future BEF research on complex communities needs to include ecological theory that is based on first principles of species-averaged body masses, stoichiometry and effects of environmental conditions such as temperature. The second section illustrates that disturbance and varying environments have direct as well as indirect (via changes in species richness, community composition and species' traits) effects on BEF relationships. Fluctuations in biodiversity (species richness, community composition and also trait dominance within species) can severely modify BEF relationships. The third section demonstrates that BEF at larger spatial scales is driven by different variables. While species richness per se and community biomass are most important, species identity effects and community composition are less important than at small scales. Across long temporal scales, mass extinctions represent severe changes in biodiversity with mixed effects on ecosystem functions. Together, the contributions of this theme issue identify new research frontiers and answer some open questions on BEF relationships in dynamic communities of real-world landscapes.

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Plant species richness and functional traits affect community stability after a flood event

Cited by 63 publications

References 28 publications

Stress and subsidy effects of seagrass wrack duration, frequency, and magnitude on salt marsh community structure

Stress and subsidy effects of seagrass wrack duration, frequency, and magnitude on salt marsh community structure

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in dynamic landscapes

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