Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1111/oik.10096
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Relationships between ecosystem functions vary among years and plots and are driven by plant species richness
Author Argens, L.; Weisser, W.W.; Ebeling, A.; Eisenhauer, N.; Lange, M.; Oelmann, Y.; Roscher, C.; Schielzeth, H.; Schmid, B.; Wilcke, W.; Meyer, S.T.
Source Titel Oikos
Year 2024
Department iDiv; PHYDIV
Volume 2024
Issue 1
Page From e10096
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Foik.10096&file=oik13636-sup-0001-AppendixS1.xlsx
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Foik.10096&file=oik13636-sup-0002-AppendixS2.pdf
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2Foik.10096&file=oik13636-sup-0003-AppendixS3.docx
Keywords biodiversity; correlation analysis; ecosystem function relationships; synergies; temporal variation; tradeoff
Abstract Ecosystem management aims at providing many ecosystem services simultaneously. Such ecosystem service multifunctionality can be limited by tradeoffs and increased by synergies among the underlying ecosystem functions (EF), which need to be understood to develop targeted management. Previous studies found differences in the correlation between EFs. We hypothesised that correlations between EFs are variable even under the controlled conditions of a field experiment and that seasonal and annual variation, plant species richness, and plot identity (identity effects of plots, such as the presence and proportion of functional groups) are drivers of these correlations. We used data on 31 EFs related to plants, consumers, and physical soil properties that were measured over 5 to 19 years, up to three times per year, in a temperate grassland experiment with 80 different plots, constituting six sown plant species richness levels (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 60 species). We found that correlations between pairs of EFs were variable, and correlations between two particular EFs could range from weak to strong or negative to positive correlations among the repeated measurements. To determine the drivers of pairwise EF correlations, the covariance between EFs was partitioned into contributions from species richness, plot identity, and time (including years and seasons). We found that most of the covariance for synergies was explained by species richness (26.5%), whereas for tradeoffs, most covariance was explained by plot identity (29.5%). Additionally, some EF pairs were more affected by differences among years and seasons, showing a higher temporal variation. Therefore, correlations between two EFs from single measurements are insufficient to draw conclusions on tradeoffs and synergies. Consequently, pairs of EFs need to be measured repeatedly under different conditions to describe their relationships with more certainty and be able to derive recommendations for the management of grasslands.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=28191
Argens, L., Weisser, W.W., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Lange, M., Oelmann, Y., Roscher, C., Schielzeth, H., Schmid, B., Wilcke, W., Meyer, S.T. (2024):
Relationships between ecosystem functions vary among years and plots and are driven by plant species richness
Oikos 2024 (1), e10096 10.1111/oik.10096