Synchrony matters more than species richness in plant community stability at a global scale

Enrique Valencia; Francesco de Bello; Thomas Galland; Peter B Adler; Jan Lepš; Anna E-Vojtkó; Roel van Klink; Carlos P Carmona; Jiří Danihelka; Jürgen Dengler; David J Eldridge; Marc Estiarte; Ricardo García-González; Eric Garnier; Daniel Gómez-García; Susan P Harrison; Tomáš Herben; Ricardo Ibáñez; Anke Jentsch; Norbert Juergens; Miklós Kertész; Katja Klumpp; Frédérique Louault; Rob H Marrs; Romà Ogaya; Gábor Ónodi; Robin J Pakeman; Iker Pardo; Meelis Pärtel; Begoña Peco; Josep Peñuelas; Richard F Pywell; Marta Rueda; Wolfgang Schmidt; Ute Schmiedel; Martin Schuetz; Hana Skálová; Petr Šmilauer; Marie Šmilauerová; Christian Smit; MingHua Song; Martin Stock; James Val; Vigdis Vandvik; David Ward; Karsten Wesche; Susan K Wiser; Ben A Woodcock; Truman P Young; Fei-Hai Yu; Martin Zobel; Lars Götzenberger

doi:10.1073/pnas.1920405117

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Synchrony matters more than species richness in plant community stability at a global scale

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Synchrony matters more than species richness in plant community stability at a global scale

Enrique Valencia, Francesco de Bello, Thomas Galland, Peter B Adler, Jan Lepš, Anna E-Vojtkó, Roel van Klink, Carlos P Carmona, Jiří Danihelka, Jürgen Dengler, …

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.117(39), pp.24345-24351

29/09/2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920405117

PMCID: 7533703

PMID: 32900958

Abstract

Carbon Sequestration

Climate Change

Ecosystem

Plant Development

Plants - classification

Plants - metabolism

Soil - chemistry

The stability of ecological communities is critical for the stable provisioning of ecosystem services, such as food and forage production, carbon sequestration, and soil fertility. Greater biodiversity is expected to enhance stability across years by decreasing synchrony among species, but the drivers of stability in nature remain poorly resolved. Our analysis of time series from 79 datasets across the world showed that stability was associated more strongly with the degree of synchrony among dominant species than with species richness. The relatively weak influence of species richness is consistent with theory predicting that the effect of richness on stability weakens when synchrony is higher than expected under random fluctuations, which was the case in most communities. Land management, nutrient addition, and climate change treatments had relatively weak and varying effects on stability, modifying how species richness, synchrony, and stability interact. Our results demonstrate the prevalence of biotic drivers on ecosystem stability, with the potential for environmental drivers to alter the intricate relationship among richness, synchrony, and stability.

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Title: Synchrony matters more than species richness in plant community stability at a global scale
Creators - without role: Enrique Valencia - Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Francesco de Bello - University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Thomas Galland - University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Peter B Adler - Utah State University
Jan Lepš - University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Anna E-Vojtkó - Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany
Roel van Klink - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Carlos P Carmona - University of Tartu
Jiří Danihelka - Masaryk University
Jürgen Dengler - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
David J Eldridge - Environmental Earth Sciences
Marc Estiarte - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Ricardo García-González - Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología
Eric Garnier - École Pratique des Hautes Études
Daniel Gómez-García - Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología
Susan P Harrison - University of California, Davis
Tomáš Herben - Charles University
Ricardo Ibáñez - Universidad de Navarra
Anke Jentsch - University of Bayreuth
Norbert Juergens - Universität Hamburg
Miklós Kertész - Institute of Ecology and Botany
Katja Klumpp - University of Clermont Auvergne
Frédérique Louault - VetAgro Sup
Rob H Marrs - University of Liverpool
Romà Ogaya - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Gábor Ónodi - Institute of Ecology and Botany
Robin J Pakeman - James Hutton Institute
Iker Pardo - University of the Basque Country
Meelis Pärtel - University of Tartu
Begoña Peco - Autonomous University of Madrid
Josep Peñuelas - Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications
Richard F Pywell - UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Marta Rueda - Estación Biológica de Doñana
Wolfgang Schmidt - University of Göttingen
Ute Schmiedel - Universität Hamburg
Martin Schuetz - Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Hana Skálová - Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany
Petr Šmilauer - University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Marie Šmilauerová - University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Christian Smit - University of Groningen
MingHua Song - Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research
Martin Stock - Wadden Sea National Park of Schleswig-Holstein, 25832, Tönning, Germany
James Val - Environmental Earth Sciences
Vigdis Vandvik - Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
David Ward - Kent State University
Karsten Wesche - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Susan K Wiser - Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research
Ben A Woodcock - UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Truman P Young - University of California, Davis
Fei-Hai Yu - Taizhou University
Martin Zobel - University of Tartu
Lars Götzenberger - University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Publication Details: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.117(39), pp.24345-24351
Grant note: BBS/E/C/000J0300 / Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Identifiers: 9949188908331
Academic Unit: King Saud University
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article