Biodiversity Effects on Soil Processes Explained by Interspecific Functional Dissimilarity

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 306; no. 5698; pp. 1019 - 1020
• Main Authors: Heemsbergen, D. A., Berg, M. P., Loreau, M., van Hal, J. R., Faber, J. H., Verhoef, H. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 05.11.2004; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Alterra - Centre for Water and Climate; Alterra - Centrum Water en Klimaat; ALTERRA Wageningen UR; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Biological diversity; Biological taxonomies; Centre for Ecosystem Studies; Centrum Ecosystemen; Community Relations; Ecological processes; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Linear regression; Plant Leaves; Plant litter; Pollution; Research Design; Soil; Soil biology; Soil ecology; Soil Microbiology; Soil respiration; Soils; Species; Species diversity; Synecology; Terrestrial ecosystems; Wageningen Environmental Research; Litter; Fauna; Microcosm; Loss; Biodiversity; Experimental study; Species diversity; Soils; Soil fauna; Macrofauna; Ecosystem; Environment impact; Ecosystem functioning; Detritivorous
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1101865

The loss of biodiversity can have significant impacts on ecosystem functioning, but the mechanisms involved lack empirical confirmation. Using soil microcosms, we show experimentally that functional dissimilarity among detritivorous species, not species number, drives community compositional effects on leaf litter mass loss and soil respiration, two key soil ecosystem processes. These experiments confirm theoretical predictions that biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning can be predicted by the degree of functional differences among species.