Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition
2015 | journal article; research paper. A publication with affiliation to the University of Göttingen.
Jump to: Cite & Linked | Documents & Media | Details | Version history
Cite this publication
Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition
Allan, E.; Manning, P.; Alt, F.; Binkenstein, J.; Blaser, S.; Bluethgen, N. & Boehm, S. et al. (2015)
Ecology Letters, 18(8) pp. 834-843. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12469
Documents & Media
Details
- Authors
- Allan, Eric; Manning, Pete; Alt, Fabian; Binkenstein, Julia; Blaser, Stefan; Bluethgen, Nico; Boehm, Stefan; Grassein, Fabrice; Hoelzel, Norbert; Klaus, Valentin H.; Kleinebecker, Till; Morris, E. Kathryn; Oelmann, Yvonne; Prati, Daniel; Renner, Swen C.; Rillig, Matthias C.; Schaefer, Martin; Schloter, Michael; Schmitt, Barbara; Schoening, Ingo; Schrumpf, Marion; Solly, Emily; Sorkau, Elisabeth; Steckel, Juliane; Steffen-Dewenter, Ingolf; Stempfhuber, Barbara; Tschapka, Marco; Weiner, Christiane N.; Weisser, Wolfgang W.; Werner, Michael; Westphal, Catrin ; Wilcke, Wolfgang; Fischer, Markus
- Abstract
- Global change, especially land-use intensification, affects human well-being by impacting the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (multifunctionality). However, whether biodiversity loss is a major component of global change effects on multifunctionality in real-world ecosystems, as in experimental ones, remains unclear. Therefore, we assessed biodiversity, functional composition and 14 ecosystem services on 150 agricultural grasslands differing in land-use intensity. We also introduce five multifunctionality measures in which ecosystem services were weighted according to realistic land-use objectives. We found that indirect land-use effects, i.e. those mediated by biodiversity loss and by changes to functional composition, were as strong as direct effects on average. Their strength varied with land-use objectives and regional context. Biodiversity loss explained indirect effects in a region of intermediate productivity and was most damaging when land-use objectives favoured supporting and cultural services. In contrast, functional composition shifts, towards fast-growing plant species, strongly increased provisioning services in more inherently unproductive grasslands.
- Issue Date
- 2015
- Journal
- Ecology Letters
- Organization
- Fakultät für Agrarwissenschaften ; Department für Nutzpflanzenwissenschaften ; Abteilung Funktionelle Agrobiodiversität
- ISSN
- 1461-0248; 1461-023X