The multiple-mechanisms hypothesis of biodiversity–stability relationships

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Nico Eisenhauer - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Leipzig University (Author)
  • Kevin Mueller - , Cleveland State University (Author)
  • Anne Ebeling - , Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)
  • Gerd Gleixner - , Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (Author)
  • Yuanyuan Huang - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Leipzig University (Author)
  • Anna Maria Madaj - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Leipzig University (Author)
  • Christiane Roscher - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Author)
  • Alexandra Weigelt - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Leipzig University (Author)
  • Michael Bahn - , University of Innsbruck (Author)
  • Michael Bonkowski - , University of Cologne (Author)
  • Ulrich Brose - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)
  • Simone Cesarz - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Leipzig University (Author)
  • Hannes Feilhauer - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Leipzig University, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Author)
  • Claudia Guimaraes-Steinicke - , Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Leipzig University, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Author)
  • Anna Heintz-Buschart - , University of Amsterdam (Author)
  • Jes Hines - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Leipzig University (Author)
  • Markus Lange - , Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (Author)
  • Sebastian T. Meyer - , Technical University of Munich (Author)
  • Neha Mohanbabu - , University of Minnesota System (Author)
  • Liesje Mommer - , Wageningen University & Research (WUR) (Author)
  • Sigrid Neuhauser - , University of Innsbruck (Author)
  • Yvonne Oelmann - , University of Tübingen (Author)
  • Soroor Rahmanian - , German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle—Jena—Leipzig, Leipzig University, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Author)
  • Takehiro Sasaki - , Leipzig University, Yokohama National University, University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Stefan Scheu - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Holger Schielzeth - , Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)
  • Bernhard Schmid - , University of Zurich (Author)
  • Michael Schloter - , Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Technical University of Munich (Author)
  • Stefanie Schulz - , Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health (Author)
  • Sybille B. Unsicker - , Kiel University (Author)
  • Cordula Vogel - , Chair of Soil Resources and Land Use (Author)
  • Wolfgang W. Weisser - , Technical University of Munich (Author)
  • Forest Isbell - , University of Minnesota System (Author)

Abstract

Long-term research in grassland biodiversity experiments has provided empirical evidence that ecological and evolutionary processes are intertwined in determining both biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) and biodiversity–stability relationships. Focusing on plant diversity, we hypothesize that multifunctional stability is highest in high-diversity plant communities and that biodiversity–stability relationships increase over time due to a variety of forms of ecological complementarity including the interaction with other biota above and below ground. We introduce the multiple-mechanisms hypothesis of biodiversity–stability relationships suggesting that it is not an individual mechanism that drives long-term biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning and stability but that several intertwined processes produce increasingly positive ecosystem effects. The following six mechanisms are important. Low-diversity plant communities accumulate more plant antagonists over time (1), and use resources less efficiently and have more open, leaky nutrient cycles (2). Conversely, high-diversity plant communities support a greater diversity and activity of beneficial interaction partners across trophic levels (3); diversify in their traits over time and space, within and across species, to optimize temporal (intra- and interannual) and spatial complementarity (4), create a more stable microclimate (5), and foster higher top-down control of aboveground and belowground herbivores by predators (6). In line with the observation that different species play unique roles in ecosystems that are dynamic and multifaceted, the particular mechanism contributing most to the higher performance and stability of diverse plant communities might differ across ecosystem functions, years, locations, and environmental change scenarios. This indicates “between-context insurance” or “across-context complementarity” of different mechanisms. We introduce examples of experiments that will be conducted to test our hypotheses and which might inspire additional work.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)153-166
Number of pages14
JournalBasic and applied ecology
Volume79
Early online date20 Jul 2024
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-6525-2634/work/167215331

Keywords

Keywords

  • Biodiversity change, Biodiversity–ecosystem functioning, Complementarity, Recovery, Resilience, Resistance