Biodiversity effects on ecosystem stability following climate extremes

Global change drivers, such as droughts, floods, and N deposition, have widespread impact on ecosystem functions and services of terrestrial ecosystems. While biodiversity stabilizes ecosystem functioning over time, its importance in modulating in response to global change drivers is uncertain.
Using a comprehensive dataset of grassland plant diversity experiments, we examined the degree to which multiple aspects of biodiversity (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) enhance i) temporal stability and ii) resistance and resilience to climate extremes. Our results suggest that biodiversity increases resistance to a wide range of climate events, yet minimally influences resilience. Thus, global change drivers that drive biodiversity loss, therefore, may reduce ecosystem stability and limit recovery of ecosystem functioning following extreme climate events.

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Invited by Anke Jentsch, Disturbance Ecology

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