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Loss of functional diversity under land use intensification across multiple taxa |
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| Authors: | Dan F B Flynn Melanie Gogol-Prokurat Theresa Nogeire Nicole Molinari Bárbara Trautman Richers Brenda B Lin Nicholas Simpson Margaret M Mayfield Fabrice DeClerck |
| Institution: | Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; Bren School of Environmental Science &Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA; Department of Ecology, Evolution &Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA; Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica; The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA; School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia |
| Abstract: | Land use intensification can greatly reduce species richness and ecosystem functioning. However, species richness determines ecosystem functioning through the diversity and values of traits of species present. Here, we analyze changes in species richness and functional diversity (FD) at varying agricultural land use intensity levels. We test hypotheses of FD responses to land use intensification in plant, bird, and mammal communities using trait data compiled for 1600+ species. To isolate changes in FD from changes in species richness we compare the FD of communities to the null expectations of FD values. In over one-quarter of the bird and mammal communities impacted by agriculture, declines in FD were steeper than predicted by species number. In plant communities, changes in FD were indistinguishable from changes in species richness. Land use intensification can reduce the functional diversity of animal communities beyond changes in species richness alone, potentially imperiling provisioning of ecosystem services. |
| Keywords: | Biodiversity measurement functional redundancy functional traits land use change meta-analysis |