Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning change along environmental stress gradients
Correction(s) for this article
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Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning change along environmental stress gradients
- Bastian Steudel,
- Andy Hector,
- Thomas Friedl,
- Christian Löfke,
- Maike Lorenz,
- Moritz Wesche,
- Michael Kessler,
- Volume 16Issue 4Ecology Letters
- pages: 568-569
- First Published online: March 21, 2013
Corresponding Author
Bastian Steudel
Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Biodiversity, Macroecology & Conservation Biogeography Group, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAndy Hector
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Search for more papers by this authorThomas Friedl
Department of Experimental Phycology and Culture Collection of Algae (SAG), Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 18, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorChristian Löfke
Institute of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology (IAGZ), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Muthgasse 18, A-1190 Vienna, Austria
Search for more papers by this authorMaike Lorenz
Department of Experimental Phycology and Culture Collection of Algae (SAG), Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 18, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorMoritz Wesche
Department of Experimental Phycology and Culture Collection of Algae (SAG), Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 18, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorMichael Kessler
Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Bastian Steudel
Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Biodiversity, Macroecology & Conservation Biogeography Group, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Büsgenweg 2, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAndy Hector
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland
Search for more papers by this authorThomas Friedl
Department of Experimental Phycology and Culture Collection of Algae (SAG), Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 18, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorChristian Löfke
Institute of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology (IAGZ), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Muthgasse 18, A-1190 Vienna, Austria
Search for more papers by this authorMaike Lorenz
Department of Experimental Phycology and Culture Collection of Algae (SAG), Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 18, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorMoritz Wesche
Department of Experimental Phycology and Culture Collection of Algae (SAG), Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Nikolausberger Weg 18, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany
Search for more papers by this authorMichael Kessler
Systematic Botany, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has been observed in many studies, but how this relationship is affected by environmental stress is largely unknown. To explore this influence, we measured the biomass of microalgae grown in microcosms along two stress gradients, heat and salinity, and compared our results with 13 published case studies that measured biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships under varying environmental conditions. We found that positive effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning decreased with increasing stress intensity in absolute terms. However, in relative terms, increasing stress had a stronger negative effect on low-diversity communities. This shows that more diverse biotic communities are functionally less susceptible to environmental stress, emphasises the need to maintain high levels of biodiversity as an insurance against impacts of changing environmental conditions and sets the stage for exploring the mechanisms underlying biodiversity effects in stressed ecosystems.
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