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Temporal stability in forest productivity increases with tree diversity due to asynchrony in species dynamics
Author(s) -
Morin Xavier,
Fahse Lorenz,
Mazancourt Claire,
SchererLorenzen Michael,
Bugmann Harald
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.12357
Subject(s) - biodiversity , species richness , ecology , asynchrony (computer programming) , ecosystem , productivity , occupancy , species diversity , biology , ecological stability , forest dynamics , stability (learning theory) , asynchronous communication , computer network , macroeconomics , machine learning , computer science , economics
Theory predicts a positive relationship between biodiversity and stability in ecosystem properties, while diversity is expected to have a negative impact on stability at the species level. We used virtual experiments based on a dynamic simulation model to test for the diversity–stability relationship and its underlying mechanisms in Central European forests. First our results show that variability in productivity between stands differing in species composition decreases as species richness and functional diversity increase. Second we show temporal stability increases with increasing diversity due to compensatory dynamics across species, supporting the biodiversity insurance hypothesis. We demonstrate that this pattern is mainly driven by the asynchrony of species responses to small disturbances rather than to environmental fluctuations, and is only weakly affected by the net biodiversity effect on productivity. Furthermore, our results suggest that compensatory dynamics between species may enhance ecosystem stability through an optimisation of canopy occupancy by coexisting species.