Scaling‐up biodiversity‐ecosystem functioning research

Abstract

A rich body of knowledge links biodiversity to ecosystem functioning (BEF), but it is primarily focused on small scales. We review the current theory and identify six expectations for scale dependence in the BEF relationship: (1) a nonlinear change in the slope of the BEF relationship with spatial scale; (2) a scale‐dependent relationship between ecosystem stability and spatial extent; (3) coexistence within and among sites will result in a positive BEF relationship at larger scales; (4) temporal autocorrelation in environmental variability affects species turnover and thus the change in BEF slope with scale; (5) connectivity in metacommunities generates nonlinear BEF and stability relationships by affecting population synchrony at local and regional scales; (6) spatial scaling in food web structure and diversity will generate scale dependence in ecosystem functioning. We suggest directions for synthesis that combine approaches in metaecosystem and metacommunity ecology and integrate cross‐scale feedbacks. Tests of this theory may combine remote sensing with a generation of networked experiments that assess effects at multiple scales. We also show how anthropogenic land cover change may alter the scaling of the BEF relationship. New research on the role of scale in BEF will guide policy linking the goals of managing biodiversity and ecosystems.

A meta-analysis on decomposition quantifies afterlife effects of plant diversity as a global change driver

“…Especially, there has been a primary focus on the diversity effects of plants as primary producers on the flows and stock of the organic matter and energy in ecosystems 5 . Currently, such evidence is becoming even more important at the scales that are relevant to policy-making 1 , 9 . Hundreds of previous studies have considered how the diversity of living primary producers affects productivity and decomposition 10 , 11 .…”

A cross‐scale assessment of productivity–diversity relationships

“…The striking mismatch between the spatial grains of BEF experiments (from square centimetres to square metres; Cardinale et al, 2011), observational studies of BEF (from 0.04 to 1.0 ha; Chisholm et al, 2013;Liang et al, 2016) and macroecological diversity-productivity correlations (from square metres to thousands of square kilometres; Adler et al, 2011;Field et al, 2009;Hawkins et al, 2003;Mittelbach et al, 2001) further obscures comparisons between perspectives. However, there is a diverse array of theoretical expectations for grain dependence of the effects of productivity on diversity (NPP → S) and of diversity on productivity (S → NPP), which predict effects either to strengthen or to weaken as the spatial grain increases (Table 1; Gonzalez et al, 2020). For example, spatial turnover of species that are functionally equivalent within the regional grain can offset low species richness at local grains, resulting in a strengthening of S → NPP with increasing spatial grain.…”

Determinants of ecosystem stability in a diverse temperate forest

“…in patches with more intense competition, and that 2) higher species or phylogenetic diversity will directly enhance ecosystem stability via increased trait diversity and greater mean biomass production over time and indirectly via increased asynchrony. Because the intensity of species interactions and compensatory dynamics can be highly scale‐dependent (Gonzalez et al 2020), we analyzed the relationship between stability and asynchrony, and multiple facets of biodiversity at three different spatial scales. Direct and indirect effects of the different facets of biodiversity on asynchrony and stability were assessed using structural equation models.…”