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The promise and pitfalls of β‐diversity in ecology and conservation
Author(s) -
Myers Jonathan A.,
LaManna Joseph A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.1111/jvs.12482
Subject(s) - ecology , diversity (politics) , variation (astronomy) , community , geography , environmental resource management , biology , environmental science , ecosystem , sociology , physics , astrophysics , anthropology
A key challenge in ecology and conservation is to determine how processes at different scales create variation in community composition (β‐diversity). In this issue, Oldén & Halme show that grazers increase β‐diversity through multiple processes at different scales. We discuss how β‐diversity can elucidate fundamental processes of community assembly, challenges in linking processes to patterns, and unresolved questions across scales.