Journal Article

Mass ratio effects underlie ecosystem responses to environmental change

Knapp, Alan K., Smith, Melinda D., Komatsu, Kimberly J., Denton, Elsie M., Hoover, David L., Koerner, Sally E., Silletti, Andrea, Avolio, Meghan L., Dietrich, John, Blair, John M., Hoffman, Ava M., Chaves, Francis A., Wilcox, Kevin R., Gibson, David J., Yu, Qiang, Gray, Jesse

2020

Overview

Random species loss has been shown experimentally to reduce ecosystem function, sometimes more than other anthropogenic environmental changes. Yet, controversy surrounds the importance of this finding for natural systems where species loss is non‐random. We compiled data from 16 multi‐year experiments located at a single native tallgrass prairie site. These experiments included responses to 11 anthropogenic environmental changes, as well as non‐random biodiversity loss either the removal of uncommon/rare plant species or the most common (dominant) species. As predicted by the mass ratio hypothesis, loss of a dominant species had large impacts on productivity that were comparable to other anthropogenic drivers. In contrast, the loss of uncommon/rare species had small effects on productivity despite having the largest effects on species richness. The anthropogenic drivers that had the largest effects on productivity nitrogen, irrigation, and fire experienced not only loss of species but also significant changes in the abundance and identity of dominant species. Synthesis. These results suggest that mass ratio effects, rather than species loss per se, are an important determinant of ecosystem function with environmental change. The mass ratio effects, rather than richness loss, determine ecosystem function with environmental change.

• Publisher: Wiley,Blackwell Publishing Ltd,Wiley-Blackwell
• Subject: anthropogenic activities / anthropogenic change / Anthropogenic factors / Biodiversity / Biodiversity loss / climate change / Dominant species / Ecological function / Ecosystem assessment / ecosystem function and services / Ecosystems / Environmental changes / global change ecology / Herbivores / Human influences / indigenous species / irrigation / Mass / mass ratio hypothesis / nitrogen / non‐random species loss / Plant species / Prairies / Productivity / Rare species / RESEARCH ARTICLE / Species richness / tallgrass prairies