Functional Diversity Can Predict Ecosystem Functions Better Than Dominant Species: The Case of Desert Plants in the Ebinur Lake Basin

Zhufeng Hou,Lamei Jiang,Guanghui Lv

doi:10.3390/su13052858

Zhufeng Hou, Lamei Jiang + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052858

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Abstract

Studying the impact of biodiversity on ecosystem multifunctionality is helpful for clarifying the ecological mechanisms (such as niche complementary effects and selection) of ecosystems providing multiple services. Biodiversity has a significant impact on ecosystem versatility, but the relative importance of functional diversity and dominant species to ecosystem functions needs further evaluation. We studied the desert plant community in Ebinur Lake Basin. Based on field survey data and experimental analysis, the relationship between the richness and functional diversity of dominant species and the single function of ecosystem was analyzed. The relative importance of niche complementary effect and selective effect in explaining the function of plant diversity in arid areas is discussed. There was no significant correlation between desert ecosystem functions (soil available phosphorus, organic matter, nitrate nitrogen, and ammonium nitrogen) and the richness of the dominant species Nitraria tangutorum (p < 0.05). Soil organic matter and available phosphorus had significant effects on specific leaf area and plant height (p < 0.05). Functional dispersion (FDis) had a significant effect on soil available phosphorus, while dominant species dominant species richness (SR) had no obvious effect on single ecosystem function. A structural equation model showed that dominant species had no direct effect on plant functional diversity and ecosystem function, but functional diversity had a strong direct effect on ecosystem function, and its direct coefficients of action were 0.226 and 0.422. The results can help to explain the response mechanism of multifunctionality to biodiversity in arid areas, which may provide referential significance for vegetation protection and restoration for other similar areas.

Highlights

There was no significant correlation between the richness Nitraria tangutorum and the function of the soil ecosystem (Table 1), there was a significant linear relationship between the species richness index and soil available phosphorus (p < 0.05), and there was a significant correlation between the functional uniformity index and soil organic matter (p < 0.05)
This indicates that the response of ecosystem functions to the richness of dominant species in this arid desert ecosystem was not significant compared to the influence of functional diversity
The relationship between desert plants and ecosystem functions in arid areas was evaluated from the perspectives of dominant species richness and community functional diversity

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The increased rate of ecosystem degradation [1,2,3] aggravates the decline of ecosystem services [4,5,6], and the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions is an important research issue [7,8]. The loss of biodiversity clearly has a negative impact on ecosystem functions [9,10,11], the mechanisms underlying this ecological process are poorly known [12,13]. The role of biodiversity in ecosystems can be explained by two proposed mechanisms: selection effect (sampling effect) [14] and niche complementary effect [15]

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