Abstract
AbstractTemporal stability in aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) is influenced by several attributes of plant communities. Identifying the primary regulators of stability and their roles across spatial scales is of both practical and theoretical importance. We assessed effects of species diversity (local or alpha diversity and species dissimilarity between local communities) together with spatial differences in two community functional attributes (mean aboveground biomass and community leaf dry matter content, LDMC) on temporal stability in spring ANPP of restored grassland. Biomass, community LDMC, and species dissimilarity were derived from remote measurements of canopy reflectance of grassland on two soil types. Results demonstrated that productivity at the larger spatial scale of the metacommunity (communities connected by dispersal) was stabilized more by spatial differences in community functional traits than by diversity or community differences in diversity. Spatial differences in community biomass and LDMC stabilized metacommunity productivity by increasing differences in the productivity responses of spatially distinct communities to interannual variation in precipitation, but de‐stabilized ANPP on one soil type by reducing the temporal stability of local communities. Our results demonstrate the utility of remote sensing for quantifying community attributes useful to assess or predict temporal stability of grassland ANPP. We conclude that temporal stability in productivity depended largely on community differences in functional attributes that couple plant growth to changes in resource availability.
Highlights
Research into the influence of biodiversity on ecosystem temporal stability has intensified in the wake of concerns over habitat degradation and environmental changes
Results demonstrated that productivity at the larger spatial scale of the metacommunity was stabilized more by spatial differences in community functional traits than by diversity or community differences in diversity
Results demonstrated that productivity at the larger spatial scale of the metacommunity was stabilized more by spatial differences in community functional traits rather than by spatial differences in αD and greater dissimilarity between communities alone
Summary
Research into the influence of biodiversity on ecosystem temporal stability has intensified in the wake of concerns over habitat degradation and environmental changes. Heightened species diversity increases biomass temporal stability via a variety of nonexclusive mechanisms that increase mean biomass production, reduce the response of biomass to perturbations, or some combination (Loreau et al 2001, Isbell et al 2009, Hector et al 2010, Gross et al 2014, Tilman et al 2014). It has become clear, that the biodiversity effect is complex, often mediated through.
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