Protecting ecosystems is better done regionally than locally

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.