Open AccessA direct comparison of the effects and mechanisms between species richness and genotype richness in a dominant species on multiple ecosystem functions
Author(s) -
Jiang Man,
Yang Xue,
Wang Tao,
Xu Yujuan,
Dong Ke,
He Luoyang,
Liu Yulin,
Wang Jinlong,
Zhao Nianxi,
Gao Yubao
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ecology and evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.17
H-Index - 63
ISSN - 2045-7758
DOI - 10.1002/ece3.8125
Subject(s) - species richness , body size and species richness , biology , ecology , intraspecific competition , ecosystem , biodiversity , species diversity , biomass (ecology)
Both species (interspecific) richness and genotype (intraspecific) richness of dominant species have significant effects on ecosystem functioning directly or indirectly by regulating plant community functional structure. However, the similarities and differences of the effects between inter‐ and intraspecific levels are poorly understood. In this study, we selected the main species in the semi‐arid Eurasian typical steppe as study objects and simultaneously carried out a species richness experiment and a genotype richness experiment of Stipa grandis which is one of the dominant species in this region. We investigated how plants at each of the two richness levels affected multiple ecosystem functions (biomass, soil C, N and P cycles) directly and indirectly by regulating community functional structure, including community‐weighted mean trait values (CWM) and functional dispersion (FDis). Both species richness and genotype richness showed significant direct effects on soil P cycle, and FDis significantly mediated the responses of aboveground biomass and soil N cycle to the changes of species richness and the response of belowground biomass to the changes of genotype richness in S. grandis . CWM showed significant effects on biomass in the species richness experiment and soil nutrient cycles in the genotype richness experiment, independently of the levels of plant richness. These findings provide experimental insights of intraspecific richness effects into the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and highlight the importance of conserving the intraspecific diversity of dominant species in the semi‐arid steppe regions.