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

Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Abu Hanif ◽  
Qingshui Yu ◽  
Xingquan Rao ◽  
Weijun Shen
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Functional Versus ◽  
Positive Regulators ◽  
Community Weighted Mean

Restoration is essential for supporting key ecosystem functions such as aboveground biomass production. However, the relative importance of functional versus taxonomic diversity in predicting aboveground biomass during restoration is poorly studied. Here, we used a trait-based approach to test for the importance of multiple plant diversity attributes in regulating aboveground biomass in a 30-years-old restored subtropical forest in southern China. We show that both taxonomic and functional diversities are significant and positive regulators of aboveground biomass; however, functional diversity (FD) was more important than taxonomic diversity (species richness) in controlling aboveground biomass. FD had the strongest direct effect on aboveground biomass compared with species richness, soil nutrients, and community weighted mean (CWM) traits. Our results further indicate that leaf and root morphological traits and traits related to the nutrient content in plant tissues represent the existence of a leaf and root economic spectrum, and the acquisitive resource use strategy influenced aboveground biomass. Our results suggest that both taxonomic and FD play a role in shaping aboveground biomass, but FD is more important in supporting aboveground biomass in this type of environments. These results imply that enhancing FD is important to restoring and managing degraded forest landscapes.

scholarly journals Assessing above-ground biomass-functional diversity relationships in temperate forests in northern Mexico

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedicto Vargas-Larreta ◽  
Jorge Omar Lopez Martinez ◽  
Edgar J. González ◽  
Jose Javier Corral-Rivas ◽  
Francisco Javier Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Above Ground Biomass ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Sierra Madre ◽  
Community Weighted Mean ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background: Studies on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity have suggested that species richness and functional diversity are the main drivers of ecosystem processes. Several patterns on this relationship have been found, including positive, unimodal, negative, and neutral trends, keeping the issue controversial. In this study, taxonomic diversity and functional diversity as drivers of above-ground biomass (AGB) were comparated, and the mechanisms that influence biomass production were investigated by testing the complementarity and the mass-ratio hypotheses.Methods: Using data from 414 permanent sample plots, covering 23% of temperate forest in the Sierra Madre Oriental (México). We estimated the above-gound biomass (AGB), taxonomic and functional diversity indices, as well as community weighted mean values (CWM) for three functional trais (maximum height, leaf size and wood density) for trees ≥7.5 cm d.b.h., in managed and unmanaged stands. To compare taxonomic diversity differences between managed and unmanaged stands we carried out a rarefaction analysis. Furthermore, we evaluated the relationship between AGB and taxonomic and functional diversity metrics, as well as CWM traits throught spatial autoregressive models.Results: We found a hump-shaped relationship between AGB and species richness in managed and unmanaged forests. CMW of maximum height was the most important predictor of AGB in both stands, which suggested that the mechanism underlaying the AGB-diversity relationship is the dominance of some highly productive species, supporting the mass-ratio hypothesis. Above-ground biomass was significantly correlated with three of the five functional diversity metrics, CWM maximum height and species richness. Our results show the importance of take into account spatial autocorrelation in the construction of predictive models to avoid spurious patterns in the AGB-diversity relationship.Conclusion: Species richness, maximum height, functional richness, functional dispersion and RaoQ indices relate with above-ground biomass production in temperate mixed-species and uneven-aged forests of northern Mexico. These forests show a hump-shaped AGB-species richness relationship. Functional diversity explains better AGB production than classical taxonomic diversity. Community weighted mean traits provide key information to explain stand biomass in these forests, where maximum tree height seems to be a more suitable trait for understanding the biomass accumulation process in these ecosystems. Although the impact of forest management on biodiversity is still debated, it has not changed the AGB-diversity relationships in the forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico.

scholarly journals Assessing above-ground biomass-functional diversity relationships in temperate forests in northern Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedicto Vargas-Larreta ◽  
Jorge Omar López-Martínez ◽  
Edgar J. González ◽  
José Javier Corral-Rivas ◽  
Francisco Javier Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Above Ground Biomass ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Sierra Madre ◽  
Community Weighted Mean ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background Studies on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity have suggested that species richness and functional diversity are the main drivers of ecosystem processes. Several patterns on this relationship have been found, including positive, unimodal, negative, and neutral trends, keeping the issue controversial. In this study, taxonomic diversity and functional diversity as drivers of above-ground biomass (AGB) were compared, and the mechanisms that influence biomass production were investigated by testing the complementarity and the mass-ratio hypotheses. Methods Using data from 414 permanent sample plots, covering 23% of temperate forest in the Sierra Madre Oriental (México), we estimated the above-gound biomass (AGB), taxonomic and functional diversity indices, as well as community weighted mean values (CWM) for three functional traits (maximum height, leaf size and wood density) for trees ≥7.5 cm DBH, in managed and unmanaged stands. To compare taxonomic diversity differences between managed and unmanaged stands we carried out a rarefaction analysis. Furthermore, we evaluated the relationship between AGB and taxonomic and functional diversity metrics, as well as CWM traits throught spatial autoregressive models. Results We found a hump-shaped relationship between AGB and species richness in managed and unmanaged forests. CMW of maximum height was the most important predictor of AGB in both stands, which suggested that the mechanism underlaying the AGB-diversity relationship is the dominance of some highly productive species, supporting the mass-ratio hypothesis. Above-ground biomass was significantly correlated with three of the five functional diversity metrics, CWM maximum height and species richness. Our results show the importance of taking into account spatial autocorrelation in the construction of predictive models to avoid spurious patterns in the AGB-diversity relationship. Conclusion Species richness, maximum height, functional richness, functional dispersion and RaoQ indices relate with above-ground biomass production in temperate mixed-species and uneven-aged forests of northern Mexico. These forests show a hump-shaped AGB-species richness relationship. Functional diversity explains better AGB production than classical taxonomic diversity. Community weighted mean traits provide key information to explain stand biomass in these forests, where maximum tree height seems to be a more suitable trait for understanding the biomass accumulation process in these ecosystems. Although the impact of forest management on biodiversity is still debated, it has not changed the AGB-diversity relationships in the forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico.

scholarly journals The Selective Effects of Environmental Change on the Functional Diversity of Soil Decomposers

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1650
Author(s):  
Herman A. Verhoef
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Soil Organisms ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Complementary Resource ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Facilitative Interactions

Whether decomposition can be affected by the biodiversity of soil organisms is an important question. Biodiversity is commonly expressed through indices that are based on species richness and abundances. Soil processes tend to saturate at low levels of species richness. A component of biodiversity is functional diversity, and we have shown that the absence of the influence of species richness on decomposition switched into a positive relationship between fauna diversity and decomposition when we expressed biodiversity in terms of interspecific functional dissimilarity. Communities with functionally dissimilar species are characterized by complementary resource use and facilitative interactions among species. It is suggested that the effects of environmental changes on ecosystem functions such as decomposition can be better understood if we have more knowledge about the selective effect of these changes on specific facets of soil biodiversity, such as functional diversity.

scholarly journals Assessing above-ground biomass-functional diversity relationships in temperate forests in northern Mexico

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedicto Vargas-Larreta ◽  
Jorge Omar Lopez Martinez ◽  
Edgar J. González ◽  
Jose Javier Corral-Rivas ◽  
Francisco Javier Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Above Ground Biomass ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Ground Biomass ◽  
Sierra Madre ◽  
Community Weighted Mean ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background: Studies on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity have suggested that species richness and functional diversity are the main drivers of ecosystem processes. Several patterns on this relationship have been found, including positive, unimodal, negative, and neutral trends, keeping the issue controversial. In this study, taxonomic diversity and functional diversity as drivers of above-ground biomass (AGB) were comparated, and the mechanisms that influence biomass production were investigated by testing the complementarity and the mass-ratio hypotheses. Methods: Using data from 414 permanent sample plots, covering 23% of temperate forest in the Sierra Madre Oriental (México). We estimated the above-gound biomass (AGB), taxonomic and functional diversity indices, as well as community weighted mean values (CWM) for three functional trais (maximum height, leaf size and wood density) for trees ≥7.5 cm d.b.h., in managed and unmanaged stands. To compare taxonomic diversity differences between managed and unmanaged stands we carried out a rarefaction analysis. Furthermore, we evaluated the relationship between AGB and taxonomic and functional diversity metrics, as well as CWM traits throught spatial autoregressive models. Results: We found a hump-shaped relationship between AGB and species richness in managed and unmanaged forests. CMW of maximum height was the most important predictor of AGB in both stands, which suggested that the mechanism underlaying the AGB-diversity relationship is the dominance of some highly productive species, supporting the mass-ratio hypothesis. Above-ground biomass was significantly correlated with three of the five functional diversity metrics, CWM maximum height and species richness. Our results show the importance of take into account spatial autocorrelation in the construction of predictive models to avoid spurious patterns in the AGB-diversity relationship. Conclusion: Species richness, maximum height, functional richness, functional dispersion and RaoQ indices relate with above-ground biomass production in temperate mixed-species and uneven-aged forests of northern Mexico. These forests show a hump-shaped AGB-species richness relationship. Functional diversity explains better AGB production than classical taxonomic diversity. Community weighted mean traits provide key information to explain stand biomass in these forests, where maximum tree height seems to be a more suitable trait for understanding the biomass accumulation process in these ecosystems. Although the impact of forest management on biodiversity is still debated, it has not changed the AGB-diversity relationships in the forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico.

scholarly journals Effect of Grazing Types on Community-Weighted Mean Functional Traits and Ecosystem Functions on Inner Mongolian Steppe, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 7169
Author(s):  
Wen Wang ◽  
Huamin Liu ◽  
Jinghui Zhang ◽  
Zhiyong Li ◽  
Lixin Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Co2 Exchange ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Weighted Mean ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Inner Mongolia Grassland ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems ◽  
Community Weighted Mean ◽  
Set Up

The relationships between community-weighted mean (CWM) functional traits and ecosystem functions have been extensively studied. However, how CWM traits and ecosystem functions respond to grazing types and whether the relationships between CWM traits and ecosystem functions mediate the response of ecosystem functions to grazing types remains controversial. In the present study, we set up a seven-year grazing experiment with four grazing types: no grazing (NG), cattle grazing (CG), sheep grazing (SG), and mixed grazing by sheep and cattle (MG) on Inner Mongolia grassland. Nine functional traits of dominant species and five ecosystem functions under different grazing types were determined, and the relationships between CWM traits and ecosystem functions were analyzed. The results showed that the CWM height decreased after grazing, while the CWM nitrogen and phosphorus contents increased after CG. SG caused a greater decrease in aboveground biomass (AGB) and a greater increase in the net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) of grassland ecosystems than did CG. This result may be partially because the CWM nutrient content and NEE were more negatively related after CG; and the increase in the CWM nitrogen and phosphorus contents suppressed NEE after CG. Therefore, to protect the sustainability of grassland ecosystem functions, SG should be reduced. Additionally, our work emphasizes that the relationships between plant functional traits and ecosystem functions may mediate the response of ecosystem functions to grazing types.

Dominance determines fish community biomass in a temperate seagrass ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Matthius Eger ◽  
Rebecca J. Best ◽  
Julia Kathleen Baum
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Ecosystem Valuation ◽  
Species Abundances

Biodiversity and ecosystem function are often correlated, but there are multiple hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Ecosystem functions such as primary or secondary production may be maximized by species richness, evenness in species abundances, or the presence or dominance of species with certain traits. Here, we combined surveys of natural fish communities (conducted in July and August, 2016) with morphological trait data to examine relationships between diversity and ecosystem function (quantified as fish community biomass) across 14 subtidal eelgrass meadows in the Northeast Pacific (54° N 130° W). We employed both taxonomic and functional trait measures of diversity to investigate if ecosystem function is driven by species diversity (complementarity hypothesis) or by the presence or dominance of species with particular trait values (selection or dominance hypotheses). After controlling for environmental variation, we found that fish community biomass is maximized when taxonomic richness and functional evenness is low, and in communities dominated by species with particular trait values – those associated with benthic habitats and prey capture. While previous work on fish communities has found that species richness is positively correlated with ecosystem function, our results instead highlight the capacity for regionally prevalent and locally dominant species to drive ecosystem function in moderately diverse communities. We discuss these alternate links between community composition and ecosystem function and consider their divergent implications for ecosystem valuation and conservation prioritization.

scholarly journals Do carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae) exhibit similar diversity and distributional patterns along a spatio-temporal gradient on a glacier foreland?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Gobbi ◽  
Valeria Lencioni
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Aquatic Insect ◽  
Taxonomic Diversity ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Species Assemblages ◽  
Glacier Foreland ◽  
Distributional Patterns ◽  
Glacier Front ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Carabid beetles and chironomid midges are two dominant cold-adapted taxa, respectively on glacier forefiel terrains and in glacial-stream rivers. Although their sensitivity to high altitude climate warming is well known, no studies compare the species assemblages exhibited in glacial systems. Our study compares diversity and distributional patterns of carabids and chironomids in the foreland of the receding Amola glacier in central-eastern Italian Alps. Carabids were sampled by pitfall traps; chironomids by kick sampling in sites located at the same distance from the glacier as the terrestrial ones. The distance from the glacier front was considered as a proxy for time since deglaciation since these variables are positively correlated. We tested if the distance from the glacier front affects: i) the species richness; ii) taxonomic diversity; and iii) species turnover. Carabid species richness and taxonomic diversity increased positively from recently deglaciated sites (those c. 160 m from the glacier front) to sites deglaciated more than 160yrs ago (those located >1300 m from glacier front). Species distributions along the glacier foreland were characterized by mutually exclusive species. Conversely, no pattern in chironomid species richness and turnover was observed. Interestingly, taxonomic diversity increased significantly: closely related species were found near the glacier front, while the most taxonomically diverse species assemblages were found distant from the glacier front. Increasing glacial retreat differently affect epigeic and aquatic insect taxa: carabids respond faster to glacier retreat than do chironomids, at least in species richness and species turnover patterns.

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