VUB biologists find missing link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning
Biologists from VUB and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have demonstrated for the first time that it is not the local biodiversity in a specific place that is essential for maintaining a properly functioning ecosystem, but the biodiversity of the entire region.
Bram Vanschoenwinkel: "Our research has shown that it is not the number of species that is present in a specific grassland that determines whether it is a productive grassland or not, it is the number of species available in the region.
Biologists who study biodiversity-ecosystem functioning, or BEF, have been struggling with a problem for some time. BEF is the relationship between biodiversity, or the number of species per surface area, and the proper functioning of an ecosystem, with the major benefits being, for example, biomass production or CO2 sequestration.
Vanschoenwinkel: "You would expect that high biodiversity would lead to a well-functioning ecosystem, but that is not always the case. Sometimes low biodiversity does not have a negative effect on the functioning of the ecosystem. In other words, you can have a grassland that produces a lot of biomass with many or with few species."
Scale does matter
Vanschoenwinkel and fellow researchers James Hagan and Lars Gamfeldt have now been able to find out why for the first time. In their research, recently published in the leading journal Ecology Letters , they showed that local biodiversity is no guarantee for high functionality of the ecosystem, for example in terms of productivity.
Vanschoenwinkel: "At first sight, this seems to be a worrying result, because it suggests that biodiversity is not that important at all. But the opposite appears to be the case. Biodiversity remains important, but on a larger spatial scale.
The researchers have shown that it is not the biodiversity of the local grassland itself but that of the wider environment that is crucial for productivity.
Vanschoenwinkel: "And this is exactly what our ecosystems need: the largest possible natural reserve of species in our landscapes that can respond to what we will face in the future."
The research For their evidence, they used mathematical models and long-term datasets to investigate the link between biodiversity and productivity of grasslands and other ecosystems.
Vanschoenwinkel: "At the moment, the research focuses on the link between biodiversity and productivity, but it will be interesting to look at the exact relationships between biodiversity and other ecosystem services, such as the purifying effects of ecosystems on our environmental quality and positive effects on human psychology."
James Hagan holds an MSc in biology from VUB and is a PhD candidate at the University of Gothenburg under the promotership of Lars Gamfeldt and Bram Vanschoenwinkel, senior lecturer in ecology at VUB who leads the Community Ecology Lab.
The World Needs You The Vrije Universiteit Brussel assumes its scientific and social responsibility with love and decisiveness. That’s why VUB launched the platform De Wereld Heeft Je Nodig - The World Needs You, which brings together ideas, actions and projects based on six Ps. The first P stands for People , because that’s what it’s all about: giving people equal opportunities, prosperity, welfare, respect. Peace is about fighting injustice, big and small, in the world. Prosperity combats poverty and inequality. Planet stands for actions on biodiversity, climate, air quality, animal rights... With Partnership , VUB is looking for joint actions to make the world a better place. The sixth and last P is for Poincaré , the French philosopher Henri Poincaré, from whom VUB derives its motto that thinking should submit to nothing except the facts themselves. VUB is an ’urban engaged university’, strongly anchored in Brussels and Europe and working according to the principles of free research.
www.vub.be/dewereldheeftjenodig
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