Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16766.x
Titel (primär) Dispersal and seed limitation affect diversity and productivity of montane grasslands
Autor Stein, C.; Auge, H. ORCID logo ; Fischer, M.; Weisser, W.W.; Prati, D.
Quelle Oikos
Erscheinungsjahr 2008
Department BZF
Band/Volume 117
Heft 10
Seite von 1469
Seite bis 1478
Sprache englisch
Abstract So far, seed limitation as a local process, and dispersal limitation as a regional process have been largely neglected in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research. However, these processes can influence both local plant species diversity and ecosystem processes, such as biomass production. We added seeds of 60 species from the regional species pool to grassland communities at 20 montane grassland sites in Germany. In these sites, plant species diversity ranged from 10 to 34 species m-2 and, before manipulation, diversity was not related to aboveground biomass, which ranged from 108 to 687 g m-2. One year after seed addition, local plant species richness had increased on average by six species m-2 (29%) compared with control plots, and this increase was highest in grasslands with intermediate productivity. The increased diversity after adding seeds was associated with an average increase of aboveground biomass of 36 g m-2 (14.8%) compared with control plots. Thus, our results demonstrate that a positive relationship between changes in species richness and productivity, as previously reported from experimental plant communities, also holds for natural grassland ecosystems. Our results show that local plant communities are dispersal limited and a hump-shaped model appears to be the limiting outline of the natural diversity-productivity relationship. Hence, the effects of dispersal on local diversity can substantially affect the functioning of natural ecosystems.
dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=1489
Stein, C., Auge, H., Fischer, M., Weisser, W.W., Prati, D. (2008):
Dispersal and seed limitation affect diversity and productivity of montane grasslands
Oikos 117 (10), 1469 - 1478 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16766.x