Impact of Precipitation Patterns on Biomass and Species Richness of Annuals in a Dry Steppe

Annuals are an important component part of plant communities in arid and semiarid grassland ecosystems. Although it is well known that precipitation has a significant impact on productivity and species richness of community or perennials, nevertheless, due to lack of measurements, especially long-term experiment data, there is little information on how quantity and patterns of precipitation affect similar attributes of annuals. This study addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing how quantity and temporal patterns of precipitation affect aboveground biomass, interannual variation aboveground biomass, relative aboveground biomass, and species richness of annuals using a 29-year dataset from a dry steppe site at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station. Results showed that aboveground biomass and relative aboveground biomass of annuals increased with increasing precipitation. The coefficient of variation in aboveground biomass of annuals decreased significantly with increasing annual and growing-season precipitation. Species richness of annuals increased significantly with increasing annual precipitation and growing-season precipitation. Overall, this study highlights the importance of precipitation for aboveground biomass and species richness of annuals.     

Exotic tree seedlings are much more competitive than natives but show underyielding when growing together

Aims Invasive species continue to be a worldwide threat to ecosystems mainly as a cause for biodiversity loss. Forest ecosystems, for example, are subject to a change in species composition due to the invasion of exotic species. Specifying the attributes that cause the strong competitiveness of several exotic species may improve the ability to understand and effectively manage plant invasions in the future. In this study the following hypotheses were tested: (1) biomass production of below- and aboveground plant components of the exotic tree species is higher than that of the natives, resulting in a higher competitiveness of the exotics; (2) the exclusion of root competition has a positive effect on the biomass production of the inferior native species; and (3) mixtures of native and exotic species yield a higher biomass production than the respective monocultures.Methods A pot experiment, containing about 2000 tree seedlings, was established. We investigated the biomass productivity and growth reactions of two native (Quercus robur L., Carpinus betulus L.) and two exotic tree species (Prunus serotina Ehrh., Robinia pseudoacacia L.) in different intra- and interspecific, competitive situations with and without the influence of root competition.Important findings The biomass production of both exotic species was significantly higher and led to a strong competitive advantage, resulting in a biomass decrease of the less competitive native species. The high belowground biomass of both exotic species had a negative effect on the biomass production. The competitive pressure of exotic tree seedlings on the native ones was largely driven by root competition. Furthermore, mixtures of native and exotic tree species had a higher productivity than their growth in monocultures would have predicted. Competition was lower for exotic species in mixtures with the less productive native species compared to the competition in monocultures or in mixture with the other highly productive exotic species. Accordingly, both highly competitive exotic species produced less biomass in mixture with each other compared to monocultures. Despite the significantly higher biomass of P. serotina in all mixtures and in monoculture, R. pseudoacacia seemed to be the dominating species. Due to its strong root competition, R. pseudoacacia significantly reduced the biomass production of P. serotina .     

Green Tongues into the Arid Zone: River Floodplains Extend the Distribution of Terrestrial Bird Species

Floodplain and riparian ecosystems have cooler, wetter microclimatic conditions, higher water availability and greater vegetation biomass than adjacent terrestrial zones. Given these conditions, we investigated whether floodplain ecosystems allow terrestrial bird species to extend into more arid regions than they otherwise would be expected to occupy. We evaluated associations between aridity and the occurrence of 130 species using bird survey data from 2998 sites along the two major river corridors in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. We compared the effects of aridity on species occurrence in non-floodplain and floodplain ecosystems to test whether floodplains moderate the effect of aridity. Aridity had a negative effect on the occurrence of 58 species (45%) in non-floodplain ecosystems, especially species dependent on forest and woodland habitats. Of these 58 species, the negative effects of aridity were moderated in floodplain ecosystems for 22 (38%) species: 12 showed no association with aridity in floodplain ecosystems and the adverse effects of aridity on species occurrence were less pronounced in floodplain ecosystems compared to non-floodplain ecosystems for ten species. Greater vegetation greenness indicated that floodplain vegetation was more productive than vegetation in non-floodplain ecosystems. Floodplain ecosystems allow many terrestrial species to occur in more arid regions than they otherwise would be expected to occupy. This may be due to higher vegetation productivity, cooler microclimates or connectivity of floodplain vegetation. Although floodplain and riparian ecosystems will become increasingly important for terrestrial species persistence as climate change increases drying in many parts of the world, many are also likely to be highly affected by reduced water availability.     

Species richness enhances both algal biomass and rates of oxygen production in aquatic microcosms

Accelerating rates of species extinction have generated much recent interest in understanding how biodiversity affects the functioning of ecosystems. Experiments to date have shown communities composed of fewer species generally capture a smaller fraction of available resources, and achieve lower standing stock biomass than more diverse communities. However, it is uncertain how changes in biodiversity and the resulting alterations in biomass affect the rates of important ecological processes like primary production, which regulates fluxes of CO₂ and O₂ between the biotic and abiotic components of the environment. Here we show that species richness influences not only the standing stock biomass of primary producers, but also rates of gross primary production measured by changes in O₂ concentrations in aquatic systems. We manipulated the richness of five widespread species of algae in laboratory microcosms and then quantified how richness impacts algal biomass, rates of gross primary production (GPP), and the ratio of production to respiration. Algal biomass increased by a factor of 1.82 for each level of species richness, and GPP by a factor of 1.20, for each additional species. Production to respiration ratios increased about 10% for each additional species, indicating that systems with more species were increasingly autotrophic – that is, they produced more O₂ than they consumed, and accumulated CO₂ faster than they released it. These trends were driven by two highly productive species that became co-dominant in species rich polycultures at the expense of other taxa. Our experiment suggests that changes in biodiversity may influence not only the rates at which O₂ and CO₂ are produced and released in ecosystems, but also the total amount of carbon that is sequestered and stored as biomass.     

Investigating the community consequences of competition among clonal plants

Although clonal plants comprise most of the biomass of several widespread ecosystems, including many grasslands, wetlands, and tundra, our understanding of the effects of clonal attributes on community patterns and processes is weak. Here we present the conceptual basis for experiments focused on manipulating clonal attributes in a community context to determine how clonal characteristics affect interactions among plants at both the individual and community levels. All treatments are replicated at low and high density in a community density series to compare plant responses in environments of different competitive intensity. We examine clonal integration, the sharing of resources among ramets, by severing ramets from one another and comparing their response to ramets with intact connections. Ramet aggregation, the spacing of ramets relative to each other, is investigated by comparing species that differ in their natural aggregation (either clumped growth forms, with ramets tightly packed together, or runner growth forms, with ramets loosely spread) and by planting individual ramets of all species evenly spaced throughout a mesocosm. We illustrate how to test predictions to examine the influence of these two clonal traits on competitive interactions at the individual and community levels. To evaluate the effect of clonal integration on competition, we test two predictions: at the individual level, species with greater clonal integration will be better individual-level competitors, and at the community level, competition will cause a greater change in community composition when ramets are integrated (connected) than when they are not. For aggregation we test at the individual level: clumped growth forms are better competitors than runner growth forms because of their ability to resist invasion, and at the community level: competition will have a greater effect on community structure when ramets are evenly planted. An additional prediction connects the individual- and community-level effects of competition: resistance ability better predicts the effects of competition on relative abundance in a community than does invasion ability. We discuss additional experimental design considerations as revealed by our ongoing studies. Examining how clonal attributes affect both the individual- and community-level effects of competition requires new methods and metrics such as those presented here, and is vital to understanding the role of clonality in community structure of many ecosystems.     

Incomplete recovery of ecosystem processes after two decades of riparian forest restoration

Restoration of ecosystem processes such as carbon storage and nutrient cycling may lag behind the restoration of structural attributes of ecosystems, such as species richness and biomass. We used a replicated chronosequence of reforested sites on the Sacramento River floodplain to ask if ecosystem processes had reached functional equivalence with nearby remnant forest patches. We found that live and dead biomass pools had mostly recovered to remnant forest levels within two decades of replanting, but soil carbon and nitrogen stocks, rates of CO₂ efflux, N availability, and nutrient‐use efficiency still differed significantly between restored and remnant forests. Reforested sites are thus still functionally distinct from remnants despite similarities of vegetation structure.     

优势种去除对崇明东滩盐沼湿地生态系统的影响

盐沼生态系统环境梯度明显,物种组成较简单,是研究生物多样性与生态系统功能关系的理想对象。本研究以崇明东滩盐沼湿地为研究区域,研究优势种去除对植物群落结构以及底栖动物群落的影响。结果表明:(1)去除处理仅对植物群落分株密度有极显著效应(P0.01)。去除组和对照组物种组成差异随时间增加而减小,处理效应逐渐减弱。(2)去除组底栖动物密度均低于对照组,但差异不显著。(3)盐沼植物群落特征与底栖动物群落有密切关系,植物密度、冠层高度与底栖动物密度相关性极显著。去除优势种后,植物群落分株密度升高,群落内剩余物种占比有所上升,次优势种对群落的补偿效应具有较大贡献;而底栖动物群落密度下降,其生物量和多样性指数的变化趋势与密度并不一致。上述结果表明生物多样性变化影响了盐沼湿地生态系统植物群落和底栖动物群落结构,进而可能影响物质循环和能量流动过程。     

Indicators of restoration success in riparian tropical forests using multiple reference ecosystems

Forest restoration by planting trees often accelerates succession, but the trajectories toward reference ecosystems have rarely been evaluated. Using a chronosequence (4–53 years) of 26 riparian forest undergoing restoration in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we modeled how the variables representing forest structure, tree species richness and composition, and the proportion of plant functional guilds change through time. We also estimated the time required for these variables to reach different types of reference ecosystems: old‐growth forest (OGF), degraded forest, and secondary forest. Among the attributes which follow a predictable trajectory over time are: the basal area, canopy cover, density and tree species richness, as well as proportions of shade tolerant and slow growing species or individuals. Most of the variation in density of pteridophythes, lianas, shrubs and phorophythes, proportion of animal‐dispersed individuals, rarefied richness and floristic similarity with reference ecosystems remain unexplained. Estimated time to reach the reference ecosystems is, in general, shorter for structural attributes than for species composition or proportion of functional guilds. The length of this time varies among the three types of reference ecosystems for most attributes. For instance, tree species richness and proportion of shade tolerant or slow growing individuals become similar to secondary forests in about 40 years, but is estimated to take 70 years or more to reach the OGF. Of all the variables considered, canopy cover, basal area, density, and richness of the understory—by their ecological relevance and predictability—are recommended as ecological indicators for monitoring tropical forest restoration success.     

Tree species influences soil microbial community diversity but not biomass in a karst forest in southwestern China

中国西南喀斯特森林树种对土壤微生物群落多样性和生物量的影响 陆地生态系统中植物种对土壤微生物群落结构的影响不一，而喀斯特生态系统中植物种对土壤微生物群落结构影响的研究尚未见报道。本研究利用磷酸脂肪酸(PLFA)法，分析了黔中高原型喀斯特常绿落叶阔叶混交林5个优势树种—窄叶石栎(Lithocarpus confinis Huang)、圆果化香(Platycarya longipes Wu)、滇鼠刺(Itea yunnanensis Franch.)、安顺润楠(Machilus cavaleriei H. Lév.)、云贵鹅耳枥(Carpinus pubescens Burkill)—与土壤理化性质对土壤微生物群落组成和生物量的影响。在测试的212个土壤样品 中共检测出132种PLFA，每个样品土壤微生物平均PLFA数量和生物量分别为65.97和11.22 µg g^–1。土壤表层(0–10 cm)的土壤微生物PLFA数量与下层(10–20 cm)土壤接近，但前者土壤微生物生物量显著高于后者(P < 0.05)。树种影响土壤微生物PLFA数量，但对土壤微生物生物量没有影响。云贵鹅耳枥附近的土壤微生物PLFA数量显著高于其他树种(P < 0.05)，而其他树种土壤微生物PLFA数量接近。土壤微生物 生物量与表层土壤的理化性质无显著相关，但与下层土壤的有机碳、全氮和全磷含量呈显著正相关 (P < 0.05)。总之，黔中高原型喀斯特森林真菌/细菌生物量比率低，微生物总生物量低，但微生物群落多样性高。树种对土壤微生物群落多样性产生影响。     

A general biodiversity–function relationship is mediated by trophic level

Species diversity affects the functioning of ecosystems, including the efficiency by which communities capture limited resources, produce biomass, recycle and retain biologically essential nutrients. These ecological functions ultimately support the ecosystem services upon which humanity depends. Despite hundreds of experimental tests of the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem function (BEF), it remains unclear whether diversity effects are sufficiently general that we can use a single relationship to quantitatively predict how changes in species richness alter an ecosystem function across trophic levels, ecosystems and ecological conditions. Our objective here is to determine whether a general relationship exists between biodiversity and standing biomass. We used hierarchical mixed effects models, based on a power function between species richness and biomass production (Y = a × S^b), and a database of 374 published experiments to estimate the BEF relationship (the change in biomass with the addition of species), and its associated uncertainty, in the context of environmental factors. We found that the mean relationship (b = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.37) characterized the vast majority of observations, was robust to differences in experimental design, and was independent of the range of species richness levels considered. However, the richness–biomass relationship varied by trophic level and among ecosystems; in aquatic systems b was nearly twice as large for consumers (herbivores and detritivores) compared to primary producers; in terrestrial ecosystems, b for detritivores was negative but depended on few studies. We estimated changes in biomass expected for a range of changes in species richness, highlighting that species loss has greater implications than species gains, skewing a distribution of biomass change relative to observed species richness change. When biomass provides a good proxy for processes that underpin ecosystem services, this relationship could be used as a step in modeling the production of ecosystem services and their dependence on biodiversity.     

Predator effects on herbivore and plant stability

Humans are rapidly altering the diversity and composition of ecological communities by accelerating rates of species extinctions and introductions. These changes in diversity are not random and disproportionately involve the addition or extinction of predators. Theoretical and microcosm studies suggest predator removal may either increase or decrease ecosystem stability. Here we test whether the addition or removal of predators affects aggregate biomass stability in 40 experiments carried out in six different ecosystems. Predators did not alter the temporal variability of autotroph biomass, but significantly destabilized herbivore biomass. The effects of predators on herbivore biomass stability varied significantly among ecosystems, with benthic and pelagic lake systems showing the greatest shifts. Consequently, the addition of predators to communities, as occurs in many conservation efforts, biological control programmes and species introductions, may lead to more variable system dynamics.     

Direct evidence that density-dependent regulation underpins the temporal stability of abundant species in a diverse animal community

To understand how ecosystems are structured and stabilized, and to identify when communities are at risk of damage or collapse, we need to know how the abundances of the taxa in the entire assemblage vary over ecologically meaningful timescales. Here, we present an analysis of species temporal variability within a single large vertebrate community. Using an exceptionally complete 33-year monthly time series following the dynamics of 81 species of fishes, we show that the most abundant species are least variable in terms of temporal biomass, because they are under density-dependent (negative feedback) regulation. At the other extreme, a relatively large number of low abundance transient species exhibit the greatest population variability. The high stability of the consistently common high abundance species—a result of density-dependence—is reflected in the observation that they consistently represent over 98% of total fish biomass. This leads to steady ecosystem nutrient and energy flux irrespective of the changes in species number and abundance among the large number of low abundance transient species. While the density-dependence of the core species ensures stability under the existing environmental regime, the pool of transient species may support long-term stability by replacing core species should environmental conditions change.     

Biodiversity acts as insurance of productivity of bacterial communities under abiotic perturbations

Anthropogenic disturbances are detrimental to the functioning and stability of natural ecosystems. Critical ecosystem processes driven by microbial communities are subjected to these disturbances. Here, we examine the stabilizing role of bacterial diversity on community biomass in the presence of abiotic perturbations such as addition of heavy metals, NaCl and warming. Bacterial communities with a diversity gradient of 1–12 species were subjected to the different treatments, and community biomass (OD₆₀₀) was measured after 24 h. We found that initial species richness and phylogenetic structure impact the biomass of communities. Under abiotic perturbations, the presence of tolerant species in community largely contributed in community biomass production. Bacterial diversity stabilized the biomass across the treatments, and differential response of bacterial species to different perturbations was the key reason behind these effects. The results suggest that biodiversity is crucial for maintaining the stability of ecosystem functioning and acts as ecological insurance under abiotic perturbations. Biodiversity in natural ecosystems may also uphold the ecosystem functioning under anthropogenic disturbance.     

Cross-ecosystem differences in stability and the principle of energy flux

Here, we review consumer-resource (C-R) theory to show that the paradox of enrichment is a special case of a more general theoretical result. That is, we show that increased energy flux, relative to the consumer loss rate, makes C-R interactions top heavy (i.e., greater C:R biomass ratio) and less stable. We then review the literature on the attributes of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to argue that empirical estimates of parameters governing energy flux find that aquatic ecosystems have higher rates of relative energy flux than terrestrial ecosystems. Consistent with theory, we then review empirical work that shows aquatic ecosystems have greater herbivore:plant biomass ratios while we produce novel data to show that aquatic ecosystems have greater variability in population dynamics than their terrestrial counterparts. We end by arguing that theory, allometric relationships and a significant, negative correlation between body size and population variability suggest that these results may be driven by the smaller average body sizes of aquatic organisms relative to terrestrial organisms.     

Multi‐taxon and forest structure sampling for identification of indicators and monitoring of old‐growth forest

Abstract

The most commonly used old‐growth forest indicators are structural attributes; nevertheless, they do not necessarily represent the biodiversity value of old‐growth forests. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationships between species richness data of different taxa and structural indicators of old‐growth and to identify taxonomic/functional groups, species and structural attributes that may be used as indicators of old‐growth. To achieve this goal we sampled forest structure, vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes, fungi, saproxylic beetles and birds in mature and old‐growth stands in southern Italy. We calculated Spearman’s correlation coefficients between species richness data and structural attributes. Analyses of indicator species, co‐occurrences and two‐way clusters were performed on the multi‐taxonomic list. The group of vascular plants most significantly correlated with other groups in terms of species richness; furthermore, it displays the highest proportion of between‐group co‐occurrences. The resulting multi‐taxonomic list of potential indicators may serve as an effective means of detecting and monitoring forest ecosystems; however, for this goal, structure‐based indicators, such as forest structural attributes and vascular plant species composition, are of primary importance.     

Big‐sized trees overrule remaining trees' attributes and species richness as determinants of aboveground biomass in tropical forests

Large‐diameter, tall‐stature, and big‐crown trees are the main stand structures of forests, generally contributing a large fraction of aboveground biomass, and hence play an important role in climate change mitigation strategies. Here, we hypothesized that the effects of large‐diameter, tall‐stature, and big‐crown trees overrule the effects of species richness and remaining trees attributes on aboveground biomass in tropical forests (i.e., we term the “big‐sized trees hypothesis”). Specifically, we assessed the importance of: (a) the “top 1% big‐sized trees effect” relative to species richness; (b) the “99% remaining trees effect” relative to species richness; and (c) the “top 1% big‐sized trees effect” relative to the “99% remaining trees effect” and species richness on aboveground biomass. Using environmental factor and forest inventory datasets from 712 tropical forest plots in Hainan Island of southern China, we tested several structural equation models for disentangling the relative effects of big‐sized trees, remaining trees attributes, and species richness on aboveground biomass, while considering for the full (indirect effects only) and partial (direct and indirect effects) mediation effects of climatic and soil conditions, as well as interactions between species richness and trees attributes. We found that top 1% big‐sized trees attributes strongly increased aboveground biomass (i.e., explained 55%–70% of the accounted variation) compared to species richness (2%–18%) and 99% remaining trees attributes (6%–10%). In addition, species richness increased aboveground biomass indirectly via increasing big‐sized trees but via decreasing remaining trees. Hence, we show that the “big‐sized trees effect” overrides the effects of remaining trees attributes and species richness on aboveground biomass in tropical forests. This study also indicates that big‐sized trees may be more susceptible to atmospheric drought. We argue that the effects of big‐sized trees on species richness and aboveground biomass should be tested for better understanding of the ecological mechanisms underlying forest functioning.     

Intra- and interspecific facilitation in mangroves may increase resilience to climate change threats

Mangroves are intertidal ecosystems that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. At the low tidal limits of their range, they face swamping by rising sea levels; at the high tidal limits, they face increasing stress from desiccation and high salinity. Facilitation theory may help guide mangrove management and restoration in the face of these threats by suggesting how and when positive intra- and interspecific effects may occur: such effects are predicted in stressed environments such as the intertidal, but have yet to be shown among mangroves. Here, we report the results of a series of experiments at low and high tidal sites examining the effects of mangrove density and species mix on seedling survival and recruitment, and on the ability of mangroves to trap sediment and cause surface elevation change. Increasing density significantly increased the survival of seedlings of two different species at both high and low tidal sites, and enhanced sediment accretion and elevation at the low tidal site. Including Avicennia marina in species mixes enhanced total biomass at a degraded high tidal site. Increasing biomass led to changed microenvironments that allowed the recruitment and survival of different mangrove species, particularly Ceriops tagal.     

苔藓植物的多样性研究

苔藓是具有较多种类的一类绿色植物群,是生物多样性的重要组成成分。缘于苔藓的可变水性、体表直接吸收水分和营养以及独特的繁殖与传播方式,苔藓几乎存在于所有的生态系统之中。除极地冻原、温带苔藓沼泽等以苔藓为优势的植被类型外,苔藓还通常在维管束植物群落中形成自己的群落。苔藓是重要的初级生产者之一,在物质循环中起着重要的作用,影响森林植被的水分平衡,也是某些演替过程中的重要先锋植物。苔藓与其它生物类群的生活和生存有密切联系,尤其是苔藓群落所营造的生境,促进和保护了生物多样性。苔藓与人类生活的关系日益密切。由于苔藓与生境的强烈相关性,其多样性所受到的威胁主要源于生境的破坏,加之人们对苔藓的了解远远少于其它高等植物,这种威胁更应引起关注。     

A role for the sampling effect in invaded ecosystems

Species loss and invasion of exotic species are two components of global biodiversity change that are expected to influence ecosystem functioning. Yet how they interact in natural settings remains unclear. Experiments have revealed two major mechanisms for the observed increase in primary productivity with plant species richness. Plant productivity may rise with species richness due to the increased amount of resources used by more diverse communities (niche complementarity) or through the increased probability of including a highly productive, dominant species in the community (sampling effect). Current evidence suggests that niche complementarity is the most relevant mechanism, whereas the sampling effect would only play a minor and transient role in natural systems. In turn, exotic species can invade by using untapped resources or because they possess a fitness advantage over resident species allowing them to dominate the community. We argue that the sampling effect can be a significant biodiversity mechanism in ecosystems invaded by dominant exotic species, and that the effect can be persistent even after decades of succession. We illustrate this idea by analyzing tree species richness–productivity relationships in a subtropical montane forest (NW Argentina) heavily invaded by Ligustrum lucidum, an evergreen tree from Asia. We found that the forest biomass increased along a natural gradient of tree species richness whether invaded by L. lucidum or not. Consistent with the sampling effect, L. lucidum invasion tripled total tree biomass irrespective of species richness, and monocultures of L. lucidum were more productive than any of the most species‐rich, uninvaded communities. Hence, the sampling effect may not be restricted to randomly assembled, synthetic communities. We emphasize that studying invaded ecosystems may provide novel insights on the mechanisms underlying the effect of biodiversity on ecosystem function.     

A cross‐system meta‐analysis reveals coupled predation effects on prey biomass and diversity

Predator diversity and abundance are under strong human pressure in all types of ecosystems. Whereas predator potentially control standing biomass and species interactions in food webs, their effects on prey biomass and especially prey biodiversity have not yet been systematically quantified. Here, we test the effects of predation in a cross‐system meta‐analysis of prey diversity and biomass responses to local manipulation of predator presence. We found 291 predator removal experiments from 87 studies assessing both diversity and biomass responses. Across ecosystem types, predator presence significantly decreased both biomass and diversity of prey across ecosystems. Predation effects were highly similar between ecosystem types, whereas previous studies had shown that herbivory or decomposition effects differed fundamentally between terrestrial and aquatic systems based on different stoichiometry of plant material. Such stoichiometric differences between systems are unlikely for carnivorous predators, where effect sizes on species richness strongly correlated to effect sizes on biomass. However, the negative predation effect on prey biomass was ameliorated significantly with increasing prey richness and increasing species richness of the manipulated predator assemblage. Moreover, with increasing richness of the predator assemblage present, the overall negative effects of predation on prey richness switched to positive effects. Our meta‐analysis revealed strong general relationships between predator diversity, prey diversity and the interaction strength between trophic levels in terms of biomass. This study indicates that anthropogenic changes in predator abundance and diversity will potentially have strong effects on trophic interactions across ecosystems. Synthesis The past centuries we have experienced a dramatic loss of top–predator abundance and diversity in most types of ecosystems. To understand the direct consequences of predator loss on a global scale, we quantitatively summarized experiments testing predation effects on prey communities in a cross‐system meta‐analysis. Across ecosystem types, predator presence significantly decreased both biomass and diversity of prey, and predation effects were highly similar. However, with increasing predator richness, the overall negative effects of predation on prey richness switched to positive ones. Anthropogenic changes in predator communities will potentially have strong effects on prey diversity, biomass, and trophic interactions across ecosystems.