Towards mechanistic integration of the causes and consequences of biodiversity

Shaopeng Wang*, Pubin Hong, Peter B Adler, Eric Allan, Yann Hautier, Bernhard Schmid, Jurg W Spaak, Yanhao Feng

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The global biodiversity crisis has stimulated decades of research on three themes: species coexistence, biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships (BEF), and biodiversity-ecosystem functional stability relationships (BEFS). However, studies on these themes are largely independent, creating barriers to an integrative understanding of the causes and consequences of biodiversity. Here we review recent progress towards mechanistic integration of coexistence, BEF, and BEFS. Mechanisms underlying the three themes can be linked in various ways, potentially creating either positive or negative relationships between them. That said, we generally expect positive associations between coexistence and BEF, and between BEF and BEFS. Our synthesis represents an initial step towards integrating causes and consequences of biodiversity; future developments should include more mechanistic approaches and broader ecological contexts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)689-700
Number of pages12
JournalTrends in ecology & evolution
Volume39
Issue number7
Early online date18 Mar 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier Ltd

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 32122053 and 31988102) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFF0802103) . P.B.A. was supported by the US National Science Foundation (DEB-1933561) . E.A. received support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (310030_185260) . B.S. was supported by the University Research Priority Program Global Change and Biodiversity of ther University of Zurich. Y.F. is supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA26020202) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31971433) .

FundersFunder number
University of Zurich
Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of SciencesXDA26020202
National Natural Science Foundation of China31971433

    Keywords

    • biodiversity-ecosystem functioning
    • ecosystem stability
    • mechanisms
    • species coexistence

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