A cross-scale assessment of productivity-diversity relationships

Craven, D.; van der Sande, M.; Meyer, C.; Gerstner, K.; Bennett, J. M.; Giling, D. P.; Hines, J.; Phillips, H. R. P.; May, F.; Bannar-Martin, K.; Chase, J.; Keil, P.

doi:10.1101/769232

bioRxiv · 10.1101/769232

A cross-scale assessment of productivity-diversity relationships

Craven, D.·van der Sande, M.·Meyer, C.·Gerstner, K.·Bennett, J. M.·Giling, D. P.·Hines, J.·Phillips, H. R. P.·May, F.·Bannar-Martin, K.·Chase, J.·Keil, P.

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Abstract

AimBiodiversity and ecosystem productivity vary across the globe and considerable effort has been made to describe their relationships. Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research has traditionally focused on how experimentally controlled species richness affects net primary productivity (S[->]NPP) at small spatial grains. In contrast, the influence of productivity on richness (NPP[->]S) has been explored at many grains in naturally assembled communities. Mismatches in spatial scale between approaches have fostered debate about the strength and direction of biodiversity-productivity relationships. Here we examine the direction and strength of productivitys influence on diversity (NPP[->]S) and of diversitys influence on productivity (S[->]NPP), and how this varies across spatial grains. Locationcontiguous USA Time period1999 - 2015 Major taxa studiedwoody species (angiosperms and gymnosperms) MethodsUsing data from North American forests at grains from local (672 m2) to coarse spatial units (median area = 35,677 km2), we assess relationships between diversity and productivity using structural equation and random forest models, while accounting for variation in climate, environmental heterogeneity, management, and forest age. ResultsWe show that relationships between S and NPP strengthen with spatial grain. Within each grain, S[->]NPP and NPP[->]S have similar magnitudes, meaning that processes underlying S[->]NPP and NPP[->]S either operate simultaneously, or that one of them is real and the other is an artifact. At all spatial grains, S was one of the weakest predictors of forest productivity, which was largely driven by biomass, temperature, and forest management and age. Main conclusionsWe conclude that spatial grain mediates relationships between biodiversity and productivity in real-world ecosystems and that results supporting predictions from each approach (NPP[->]S and S[->]NPP) serve as an impetus for future studies testing underlying mechanisms. Productivity-diversity relationships emerge at multiple spatial grains, which should widen the focus of national and global policy and research to larger spatial grains.

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Craven, D., van der Sande, M., Meyer, C., Gerstner, K., Bennett, J. M., Giling, D. P., Hines, J., Phillips, H. R. P., May, F., Bannar-Martin, K., Chase, J., Keil, P.. 2019-09-14. A cross-scale assessment of productivity-diversity relationships. https://doi.org/10.1101/769232

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