scholarly journals Foundation species loss affects vegetation structure more than ecosystem function in a northeastern USA forest

PeerJ ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. e41 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Orwig ◽  
Audrey A. Barker Plotkin ◽  
Eric A. Davidson ◽  
Heidi Lux ◽  
Kathleen E. Savage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Vegetation Structure ◽  
Foundation Species ◽  
Species Loss ◽  
Northeastern Usa

Dominant species maintain ecosystem function with non-random species loss

2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 509-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda D. Smith ◽  
Alan K. Knapp
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Species Loss

scholarly journals Vegetation structure is as important as climate for explaining ecosystem function across Patagonian rangelands

2014 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1419-1428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan J. Gaitán ◽  
Gabriel E. Oliva ◽  
Donaldo E. Bran ◽  
Fernando T. Maestre ◽  
Martín R. Aguiar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Vegetation Structure

Ecosystem function and species loss - a microcosm study

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 641-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona R. Scarff ◽  
J. Stuart Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Species Loss ◽  
Microcosm Study

scholarly journals The dark side of facilitation: native shrubs facilitate exotic annuals more strongly than native annuals

NeoBiota ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 75-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob E. Lucero ◽  
Taylor Noble ◽  
Stephanie Haas ◽  
Michael Westphal ◽  
H. Scott Butterfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Exotic Species ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Foundation Species ◽  
Desert Ecosystem ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Annual Plant ◽  
Exotic Invaders

Positive interactions enhance biodiversity and ecosystem function, but can also exacerbate biological invasions. Facilitation of exotic invaders by exotic foundation species (invasional meltdown) has been studied extensively, but facilitation of exotic invaders by native foundation species has attracted less attention. Specifically, very few studies have examined the extent that native foundation species facilitate native and exotic competitors. Understanding the processes that mediate interactions between native and exotic species can help explain, predict, and improve management of biological invasions. Here, we examined the effects of native foundation shrubs on the relative abundance of the annual plant community – including native and exotic taxa – from 2015–2018 in a desert ecosystem at Carrizo Plain National Monument, California, USA (elevation: 723 m). Shrub effects varied by year and by the identity of annual species, but shrubs consistently enhanced the abundance of the annual plant community and facilitated both native (n=17 species) and exotic (n=4 species) taxa. However, at the provenance level, exotic annuals were facilitated 2.75 times stronger in abundance than native annuals, and exotic annuals were always more abundant than natives both near and away from shrubs. Our study reaffirms facilitation as an important process in the organisation of plant communities and confirms that both native and exotic species can form positive associations with native foundation species. However, facilitation by native foundation species can exacerbate biological invasions by increasing the local abundance of exotic invaders. Thus, the force of facilitation can have a dark side relevant to ecosystem function and management.

Foundation Species Loss Affects Leaf Breakdown and Aquatic Invertebrate Resource Use in Black Ash Wetlands

Wetlands ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 839-852
Author(s):  
Melissa B. Youngquist ◽  
Chandra Wiley ◽  
Sue L. Eggert ◽  
Anthony W. D’Amato ◽  
Brian J. Palik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Use ◽  
Aquatic Invertebrate ◽  
Foundation Species ◽  
Species Loss ◽  
Leaf Breakdown ◽  
Black Ash

scholarly journals Grateful for the dead: the widespread importance of dead foundation species for biodiversity, ecosystem function, and resilience.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Saldana ◽  
Scott Alford ◽  
Alexa Mainella ◽  
Sinead Crotty ◽  
Kimberly Prince ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Energy Flow ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Foundation Species ◽  
Ecological Functions ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Alternate States ◽  
Ecological Importance

Foundation species such as corals, trees, and bivalves enhance ecosystem function and biodiversity by creating habitat for associated organisms, ameliorating stress, and modifying energy flow. However, theory generally ignores their ecological functions after death. Here we review the traits and functions of dead foundation species relative to their living counterparts, and the processes that control their persistence. We also conduct a meta-analysis to quantify where the effect of dead foundation species on community functions is unique or redundant to their living counterparts. We focus on marine ecosystems due to the greater diversity of foundation species they support and the increasing prevalence of mass-mortality events in these systems. Our study reveals how foundation species continue to provide important functions after death and exhibit new functions that are distinct from when they are alive. We develop a framework using broad, trait-based functional differences among types of dead foundation species to predict whether they will promote stability by enhancing ecosystem resilience or promote shifts to alternate states. Our synthesis establishes how an understanding of the ecological importance of dead foundation species can assist in predicting system trajectories, enhance restoration and conservation efforts, and contribute to ecological theory on habitat heterogeneity and ecosystem function.

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