scholarly journals The importance of rare species: a trait‐based assessment of rare species contributions to functional diversity and possible ecosystem function in tall‐grass prairies

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meha Jain ◽  
Dan F.B. Flynn ◽  
Case M. Prager ◽  
Georgia M. Hart ◽  
Caroline M. DeVan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Tall Grass

scholarly journals Agricultural intensification erodes taxonomic and functional diversity in Mediterranean olive groves by filtering out rare species

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubén Tarifa ◽  
Carlos Martínez‐Núñez ◽  
Francisco Valera ◽  
Juan P. González‐Varo ◽  
Teresa Salido ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Olive Groves

scholarly journals Modelling mixotrophic functional diversity and implications for ecosystem function

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 627-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzana GonÇalves Leles ◽  
Luca Polimene ◽  
Jorn Bruggeman ◽  
Jeremy Blackford ◽  
Stefano Ciavatta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Ecosystem Function

scholarly journals Traits matter: When rarity means more than abundance to functional diversity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Trott
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Rare Species ◽  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Rocky Intertidal ◽  
Taxonomic Distinctness ◽  
Ecological Traits ◽  
Mere Presence ◽  
Species Removal

Rare species can significantly contribute to ecosystem stability and resiliency. Furthermore, wider taxonomic trees can support a wider range of functional diversity. These ideas with the notion that functional diversity leads to ecosystem resiliency suggest rare species can disproportionately increase taxonomic and functional diversity. To test this hypothesis, functional distinctness was used to estimate functional diversity, and average taxonomic distinctness to evaluate taxonomic diversity for rocky intertidal species assemblages sampled by three surveys separated by years examining a total 41 locations spanning the Gulf of Maine. Fifteen life-history and ecological traits were assigned to the 95 species observed using a total of 90 options. Species were ranked either rare or abundant using incidence. Influence of rarity on functional and taxonomic distinctness was appraised by comparing intact assemblages to ones where rare species (observed once per location) were removed to imitate rare species loss. For intact assemblages, functional and taxonomic distinctness correlated. However, rare species removal significantly decreased functional diversity for some assemblages while taxonomic diversity was less affected. Removal of abundant species produced no significant effects. Results demonstrate rare species can increase functional diversity without necessarily being rare taxonomically. Abundant species exert their effects through their numbers; mere presence makes no difference.

Savanna Biome

Ecology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Hill
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Restoration Ecology ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Scenario Development ◽  
Tall Grass ◽  
Agricultural Conversion

The savanna biome represents the complex of vegetation made up of grassland with trees in varying densities and arrangements that occupies the transition zone between forests and grasslands. Whereas the lay observer could usually identify a forest or grassland, the savanna biome would provide a challenge, greatly influenced by the scale of observation, since it is characterized by high variability in density, arrangement, clumping, and structure of grassland and trees. The large-scale savannas of the world are quite different on the major continents of Africa, South America, and Australia, and distributed in smaller, highly variable arrangements and formations in North America and Eurasia. The nature and stability of the savanna biome has received increasing attention because of its perceived dependence on disturbance by fire and herbivory to maintain tree-grass balance and because some savannas are biodiversity hotspots. Evolution of savannas is thought to be associated with a lower CO2world where tropical grasses gain advantage from highly efficient photosynthetic systems and fire and grazing control woody encroachment. The explorer botanists of the early 20th century paid significant attention to the neotropical and peri-Amazonian savannas of South America with their extraordinary biodiversity. In the 1980s, the West African savannas became the terrestrial focus of the genesis of remote sensing of land systems and the development of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a global monitoring tool. During the early to mid-20th century, many temperate savannas were heavily converted to agriculture in the New World, and a similar trend is now continuing and potentially accelerating in tropical savannas of South America and Africa. The Australian tropical savanna has remained largely intact as it is generally too arid for agricultural conversion. As a result it has become increasingly important for ecological and process studies on tree-grass ecosystem function across spatial scales. Tropical tall grass-tree systems in Asia tend to have been extirpated by dense human activity but have also been treated differently in vegetation classifications and so do not clearly appear in global land cover maps. There has been limited attention paid to these systems in the literature. With global population and food demand potentially ballooning in the 21st century, accelerated conversion of savannas is likely to intensify both concerns about decline in ecosystem function, and competition for ecosystem services that will necessitate a significant expansion in integrated, interdisciplinary research, sophisticated modeling and future scenario development and research on restoration ecology and amelioration of land degradation.

Bird functional diversity decreases with time since disturbance: Does patchy prescribed fire enhance ecosystem function?

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Sitters ◽  
Julian Di Stefano ◽  
Fiona Christie ◽  
Matthew Swan ◽  
Alan York
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Prescribed Fire

scholarly journals Functional Diversity Can Predict Ecosystem Functions Better Than Dominant Species: The Case of Desert Plants in the Ebinur Lake Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2858
Author(s):  
Zhufeng Hou ◽  
Guanghui Lv ◽  
Lamei Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Available Phosphorus ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Soil Available Phosphorus ◽  
Ebinur Lake ◽  
Ebinur Lake Basin

Studying the impact of biodiversity on ecosystem multifunctionality is helpful for clarifying the ecological mechanisms (such as niche complementary effects and selection) of ecosystems providing multiple services. Biodiversity has a significant impact on ecosystem versatility, but the relative importance of functional diversity and dominant species to ecosystem functions needs further evaluation. We studied the desert plant community in Ebinur Lake Basin. Based on field survey data and experimental analysis, the relationship between the richness and functional diversity of dominant species and the single function of ecosystem was analyzed. The relative importance of niche complementary effect and selective effect in explaining the function of plant diversity in arid areas is discussed. There was no significant correlation between desert ecosystem functions (soil available phosphorus, organic matter, nitrate nitrogen, and ammonium nitrogen) and the richness of the dominant species Nitraria tangutorum (p < 0.05). Soil organic matter and available phosphorus had significant effects on specific leaf area and plant height (p < 0.05). Functional dispersion (FDis) had a significant effect on soil available phosphorus, while dominant species dominant species richness (SR) had no obvious effect on single ecosystem function. A structural equation model showed that dominant species had no direct effect on plant functional diversity and ecosystem function, but functional diversity had a strong direct effect on ecosystem function, and its direct coefficients of action were 0.226 and 0.422. The results can help to explain the response mechanism of multifunctionality to biodiversity in arid areas, which may provide referential significance for vegetation protection and restoration for other similar areas.

The relative contributions of functional diversity and functional identity to ecosystem function in water‐limited environments

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Dovrat ◽  
Ehud Meron ◽  
Moshe Shachak ◽  
Carly Golodets ◽  
Yagil Osem
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Functional Identity
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