Biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and food webs in fresh waters: assembling the jigsaw puzzle

1. Dramatic advances have been made recently in the study of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (B-EF) relations and food web ecology. These fields are now starting to converge, and this fusion has the potential to improve our understanding of how environmental stressors modulate ecosystem processes and the supply of 'goods and services'.
2. Food web structure and dynamics can exert particularly strong influences on B-EF relations in fresh waters, as consumer–resource interactions (e.g. trophic cascades) are often more important than horizontal interactions within trophic levels. For instance, many freshwater food webs are size structured, with large organisms tending to occupy the higher trophic levels and often exerting powerful effects on ecosystem processes. However, because they are also vulnerable to perturbations, non-random losses of these large taxa can alter both food web structure and ecosystem functioning profoundly.
3. Recently, the focus of food web research has shifted away from exploring patterns, towards developing an understanding of processes (e.g. quantifying fluxes of individuals, biomass, energy, nutrients) and how the two interact. Many of the best-characterized food webs are from fresh waters, and these ecosystems are now being used to address some of the shortcomings of earlier B-EF studies. I have identified several key gaps in our current knowledge and highlighted potentially fruitful avenues of future B-EF and food web research.
4. A major challenge for this newly emerging research is to place it within a unified theoretical framework. The application of metabolic theory and ecological stoichiometry may help to achieve this goal by considering biological systems within the constraints imposed upon them by physical and chemical laws.     

恢复生态学——退化生态系统生物多样性恢复的有效途径

人类在改造和利用自然的过程中 ,伴随着对自然环境产生负面的影响 ,这种影响以不同的时空规模出现。某些工业上的突发性事件 ,如前苏联的切尔诺贝尔核电站事故 ,巨大油轮的泄油事件等 ,均可在较大的范围且往往是在有限的区域内引起剧烈的生态变动 ,这种灾难性的环境变化随即会对生物多样性产生影响 ;另一种规模的人类活动的影响所引起的变化 ,如长期的工业污染 ,大规模的森林砍伐以及将大范围的自然生境逐渐转变成农业和工业景观 ,则是逐年的、跨区域的、甚至波及整个大陆 ,但这种变化对生物多样性的影响会持续更长的时间 ,因为某些种类会由…     

Climate change, biotic interactions and ecosystem services

Climate change is real. The wrangling debates are over, and we now need to move onto a predictive ecology that will allow managers of landscapes and policy makers to adapt to the likely changes in biodiversity over the coming decades. There is ample evidence that ecological responses are already occurring at the individual species (population) level. The challenge is how to synthesize the growing list of such observations with a coherent body of theory that will enable us to predict where and when changes will occur, what the consequences might be for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and what we might do practically in order to maintain those systems in as good condition as possible. It is thus necessary to investigate the effects of climate change at the ecosystem level and to consider novel emergent ecosystems composed of new species assemblages arising from differential rates of range shifts of species. Here, we present current knowledge on the effects of climate change on biotic interactions and ecosystem services supply, and summarize the papers included in this volume. We discuss how resilient ecosystems are in the face of the multiple components that characterize climate change, and suggest which current ecological theories may be used as a starting point to predict ecosystem-level effects of climate change.     

Forest ecosystem services of changbai mountain in china

The forest ecosystem of the Changbai Mountain is the most typical upland temperate forest ecosystem in eastern Asia. It is also of the most primitive vegetation type that came into being through the natural succession of soil and vegetation following volcanic eruption. The forest ecosystem has great importance for maintaining the structures and functions of the watershed ecosystems of the Songhua River, the Yalu River and the Tumen River. We combined physical assessment method (PAM) with the value assessment method (VAM) to evaluate the forest ecosystem services of the northern slope of the, including eco-tourism, forest by-products, timber, soil and water conservation, air purification, and the recycling of nutritive elements. We also assessed the integrated forest ecosystem service and analyzed its dynamics. The service value provided by the Changbai Mountain forest ecosystem amounts up to RMB 3.38 × 10¹² yuan, of which, water conservation is 66%, water conservation and air purification together make up 80%, while the timber value is only 7%. Therefore, developing the ecosystem services besides timber is the best way to exert the integrated value of the forest ecosystem services of Changbai Mountain.     

Determining desirable levels of ecosystem services per capita

Ecosystem services are the numerous, essential processes that natural ecosystems provide free to human societies. Examples include the maintenance of breathable air; the movement, storage, and purification of water; the breakdown of wastes; and the provision of food, building materials, and medicines. However, the exponential increases in human population and concomitant environmental destruction make it likely that the level of ecosystem services available per capita will decline. There are three possible scenarios. First, if present practices continue, ecosystem services per capita will surely decline. Second, if a no-net-loss policy is implemented for habitats and species, ecosystem services per capita will still decline due to increases in human population, but the declines will be less precipitous. Third, if habitat is restored (including concomitant ecosystem services) at a rate exceeding that of destruction, then, perhaps the current level of ecosystem services per capita can be maintained, or even expanded to provide increased levels of ecosystem services per capita to more of the world's people.     

生态系统服务价值的市场转化问题初探

为生态系统服务寻找建立特定的、真实的市场环境,将生态系统服务的间接价值转化为直接的经济价值,既有利于区域经济的发展,又可促进人们对生态系统服务功能的维持和保护。提出了生态系统服务价值的市场转化(率)概念,即生态系统服务价值市场转化是指为生态系统服务价值寻找建立特定的、真实的市场环境,使一些生态系统服务能够像普通商品一样进入市场流通,转化为直接的经济价值;而生态系统服务价值市场转化率(Cr)就是能够进入市场流通的服务价值(Va)占生态系统总服务价值(Vg)的比例。阐述了市场转化(率)的应用意义。在此基础上分析了全球及我国各类生态系统服务价值的市场转化情况,并提出了将来的发展思路。     

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in naturally assembled communities

Approximately 25 years ago, ecologists became increasingly interested in the question of whether ongoing biodiversity loss matters for the functioning of ecosystems. As such, a new ecological subfield on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (BEF) was born. This subfield was initially dominated by theoretical studies and by experiments in which biodiversity was manipulated, and responses of ecosystem functions such as biomass production, decomposition rates, carbon sequestration, trophic interactions and pollination were assessed. More recently, an increasing number of studies have investigated BEF relationships in non‐manipulated ecosystems, but reviews synthesizing our knowledge on the importance of real‐world biodiversity are still largely missing. I performed a systematic review in order to assess how biodiversity drives ecosystem functioning in both terrestrial and aquatic, naturally assembled communities, and on how important biodiversity is compared to other factors, including other aspects of community composition and abiotic conditions. The outcomes of 258 published studies, which reported 726 BEF relationships, revealed that in many cases, biodiversity promotes average biomass production and its temporal stability, and pollination success. For decomposition rates and ecosystem multifunctionality, positive effects of biodiversity outnumbered negative effects, but neutral relationships were even more common. Similarly, negative effects of prey biodiversity on pathogen and herbivore damage outnumbered positive effects, but were less common than neutral relationships. Finally, there was no evidence that biodiversity is related to soil carbon storage. Most BEF studies focused on the effects of taxonomic diversity, however, metrics of functional diversity were generally stronger predictors of ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, in most studies, abiotic factors and functional composition (e.g. the presence of a certain functional group) were stronger drivers of ecosystem functioning than biodiversity per se. While experiments suggest that positive biodiversity effects become stronger at larger spatial scales, in naturally assembled communities this idea is too poorly studied to draw general conclusions. In summary, a high biodiversity in naturally assembled communities positively drives various ecosystem functions. At the same time, the strength and direction of these effects vary highly among studies, and factors other than biodiversity can be even more important in driving ecosystem functioning. Thus, to promote those ecosystem functions that underpin human well‐being, conservation should not only promote biodiversity per se, but also the abiotic conditions favouring species with suitable trait combinations.     

Using functional traits to predict grassland ecosystem change: a mathematical test of the response-and-effect trait approach

The role of plant community structure and plant functional traits for above- and belowground carbon (C) fluxes was studied for 2 years in a mesocosm experiment with grassland monoliths, using continuous gas exchange measurements and soil analyses. Here we test the response-and-effect trait hypothesis, by applying a mathematical framework used to predict changes in C fluxes after a change in disturbance through the community response ( R ) and effect ( E ) traits. Monoliths were extracted from two contrasted long-term field treatments (high vs. low grazing disturbance) and exposed to both low and high (simulated grazing) disturbance during a 2 years experiment. Carbon dioxide exchanges were measured continuously in an open flow system. Net ecosystem productivity and ecosystem C balance were positively correlated at low disturbance with plant species richness. Aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and soil C sequestration were, however, unrelated to these variables. Community aggregated leaf (specific leaf area, leaf dry-matter content) and root and rhizome (specific length, tissue density, diameter) traits responded ( R ) significantly to changes in disturbance, indicating an increased dominance of conservative plant growth strategies at low compared with high disturbance. Applying the mathematical framework, ANPP was predicted by distribution of leaf traits within the community (functional divergence), while mean root and rhizome traits had significant effects ( E ) on soil C sequestration, irrespective of the experimental disturbance and of the year. According to highly significant linear regression models, between 6% and 61% of the transient changes in soil C sequestration resulted from community root and rhizome (response-and-effect) traits after a change in disturbance.     

北京市生态系统服务时空变化与权衡分析

了解城市生态系统服务的时空变化与权衡关系对区域可持续发展具有重要意义.本研究以北京市为对象,基于InVEST模型与RUSLE模型定量评估了北京市1984、1995、2005和2018年碳贮存、产水量与土壤保持3项生态系统服务的时空变化特征,并分析了不同生态系统服务间的权衡关系.结果表明:1984-2018年,北京市土地...     

草地生态系统服务功能分析及其评价指标体系

草地生态系统服务功能是指草地生态系统及其生态过程所形成及所维持的人类赖以生存的自然环境条件与效用。根据最新的研究成果 ,结合草地生态系统提供服务的机制 ,将草地生态系统的服务功能划分为产品提供、调节功能、文化功能和支持功能四大类 ,其中 ,产品提供功能可分为畜牧业产品和植物资源产品两类 ,调节功能则包括气候调节、土壤C累积、水资源调节、侵蚀控制、空气质量调节、废弃物降解、营养物质循环 ;文化功能主要包括民族文化多样性和休闲旅游 ;支持功能则包括固沙改土及培肥地力和生境提供。在上述服务功能机制分析的基础上 ,构建了由 13个功能指标组成的草地生态系统服务功能评价指标体系。     

陕西省生态系统服务价值评估及时空差异

基于土地利用变更调查数据,运用中国陆地生态系统服务价值当量表,分析了2001-2006年陕西省生态系统服务价值变化与不同尺度上的差异,探讨了耕地占补平衡和退耕还林工程对生态系统服务价值的影响,并分析了其生态系统服务价值动态.结果表明:研究期间,陕西省生态系统服务价值整体呈增加趋势,其中,林地生态系统服务价值量占全省总价值量的比例达76.5％,林地生态系统服务价值增加量占全省增加总量的97.5％,生态系统服务价值降低的地类有耕地、草地和未利用地,耕地生态系统服务价值降低量占全省总降低量的81.7％.研究期内不同地市生态系统服务价值均有不同程度的增加,延安市的增加量最大,其次是榆林市,杨凌区最低.陕西省生态系统服务价值增加最明显的地区为黄土高原地区,其增加量占全省生态系统服务价值总增加量的61.2％,秦巴山地次之,关中平原地区最低.陕西省耕地占补平衡力度相对较大,其2001-2006年耕地生态系统服务价值呈增加趋势.退耕还林工程使黄土高原区生态系统服务价值增加最多,关中平原区增加最少.     

Biodiversity: towards a unifying theme for river ecology

1. A broadened concept of biodiversity, encompassing spatio‐temporal heterogeneity, functional processes and species diversity, could provide a unifying theme for river ecology. 2. The theoretical foundations of stream ecology often do not reflect fully the crucial roles of spatial complexity and fluvial dynamics in natural river ecosystems, which has hindered conceptual advances and the effectiveness of efforts at conservation and restoration. 3. Inclusion of surface waters (lotic and lentic), subsurface waters (hyporheic and phreatic), riparian systems (in both constrained and floodplain reaches), and the ecotones between them (e.g. springs) as interacting components contributing to total biodiversity, is crucial for developing a holistic framework of rivers as ecosystems. 4. Measures of species diversity, including alpha, beta and gamma diversity, are a result of disturbance history, resource partitioning, habitat fragmentation and successional phenomena across the riverine landscape. A hierarchical approach to diversity in natural and altered river‐floodplain ecosystems will enhance understanding of ecological phenomena operating at different scales along multidimensional environmental gradients. 5. Re‐establishing functional diversity (e.g. hydrologic and successional processes) across the active corridor could serve as the focus of river conservation initiatives. Once functional processes have been reconstituted, habitat heterogeneity will increase, followed by corresponding increases in species diversity of aquatic and riparian biota.     

城市生物多样性分布格局研究进展

城市生物多样性分布格局由自然生态环境和城市化过程所决定;其动态和机理与自然生态系统迥然不同.城市生物多样性为城市生态系统提供了诸多生态系统功能和服务,对改善城市环境、维持城市可持续发展有着重要的意义和作用.城市化过程深刻改变了城市的生物多样性分布格局,导致了诸如本地物种多样性降低、外来物种多样性增加、物种同质化等一系列问题.近年来,城市生物多样性受到学界高度关注,大量研究结果既回答了一些关键性问题,又提出了诸多新的论题和挑战.分析了当前城市生物多样性分布格局研究的若干热点问题,总结了影响城市生物多样性格局的主要因素,探讨了城市生物多样性格局研究方法的关键问题,指出了未来城市生物多样性研究的发展方向,特别强调了城市生物多样性的生态系统功能研究在未来城市生物多样性研究中的重要地位.     

Metagenomics approaches in systems microbiology

The world of microorganisms comprises a vast diversity of live organisms, each with its individual set of genes, cellular components and metabolic reactions that interact within the cell and communicate with the environment in many different ways. There is a strong imperative to gain a broader view of the wired and interconnected cellular and environmental processes as a whole via the systems microbiology approach in order to understand and predict ecosystem functioning. On the other hand, currently we experience a rise of metagenomics as an emerging tool to study communities of uncultured microorganisms. In this review, we conducted a survey of important methodologies in metagenomics and describe systems microbiology-like approaches for gaining a mechanistic understanding of complex microbial systems to interrogate compositional, evolutionary and metabolic properties. The review also discusses how metagenomics can be used as a holistic indicator for ecosystem response in terms of matter, nutrient and energy sources and functional networking.     

Exclusion of agricultural lands in spatial conservation prioritization strategies: consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem service representation

Agroecosystems have traditionally been considered incompatible with biological conservation goals, and often been excluded from spatial conservation prioritization strategies. The consequences for the representativeness of identified priority areas have been little explored. Here, we evaluate these for biodiversity and carbon storage representation when agricultural land areas are excluded from a spatial prioritization strategy for South America. Comparing different prioritization approaches, we also assess how the spatial overlap of priority areas changes. The exclusion of agricultural lands was detrimental to biodiversity representation, indicating that priority areas for agricultural production overlap with areas of relatively high occurrence of species. By contrast, exclusion of agricultural lands benefits representation of carbon storage within priority areas, as lands of high value for agriculture and carbon storage overlap little. When agricultural lands were included and equally weighted with biodiversity and carbon storage, a balanced representation resulted. Our findings suggest that with appropriate management, South American agroecosystems can significantly contribute to biodiversity conservation.     

Ant biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem functioning: a review

Ants are important components of ecosystems not only because they constitute a great part of the animal biomass but also because they act as ecosystem engineers. Ant biodiversity is incredibly high and these organisms are highly responsive to human impact, which obviously reduces its richness. However, it is not clear how such disturbance damages the maintenance of ant services to the ecosystem. Ants are important in below ground processes through the alteration of the physical and chemical environment and through their effects on plants, microorganisms, and other soil organisms. This review summarizes the information available on ant biodiversity patterns, how it can be quantified, and how biodiversity is affected by human impacts such as land use change, pollution, invasions, and climate change. The role of ants in ecosystems is discussed, mainly from the perspective of the effects of ground-dwelling ants on soil processes and function, emphasizing their role as ecosystem engineers. Some lines of research are suggested after demonstrating the gaps in our current information on ant-soil interactions.     

生态系统服务供需评估方法研究进展

生态系统服务供需评估可为识别地区均衡状况、生态权衡、生态管理、生态补偿提供依据,是生态系统服务研究的热点之一。本文收集与梳理国内外生态系统服务评估方法,将其归纳为生态模型法、价值法、参与法和经验统计模型法四大类,从供需评估角度、适用尺度范围和数据要求等方面,比较了各类方法在生态服务评估中的应用情况及优缺点。四类方法应用以评估服务供给为主,而在需求评估中的应用较少。生态模型法与价值法适用尺度范围广,涵盖从局地尺度到全球尺度,参与法与经验统计模型法则多用于中小尺度。生态模型法所需数据种类多,对数据要求高,评估精度也相对较高,在方法适用尺度、数据获取、推广应用等方面更具优势。未来生态系统服务供需评估方法研究需重点考虑以下三个方面:构建多样、标准供需指标体系,加强生态系统服务评估精确性研究,加强模型集成与开发。     

Synergistic interactions of ecosystem services: florivorous pest control boosts crop yield increase through insect pollination

Insect pollination and pest control are pivotal functions sustaining global food production. However, they have mostly been studied in isolation and how they interactively shape crop yield remains largely unexplored. Using controlled field experiments, we found strong synergistic effects of insect pollination and simulated pest control on yield quantity and quality. Their joint effect increased yield by 23%, with synergistic effects contributing 10%, while their single contributions were 7% and 6%, respectively. The potential economic benefit for a farmer from the synergistic effects (12%) was 1.8 times greater than their individual contributions (7% each). We show that the principal underlying mechanism was a pronounced pest-induced reduction in flower lifetime, resulting in a strong reduction in the number of pollinator visits a flower receives during its lifetime. Our findings highlight the importance of non-additive interactions among ecosystem services (ES) when valuating, mapping or predicting them and reveal fundamental implications for ecosystem management and policy aimed at maximizing ES for sustainable agriculture.     

陕北黄土高原土地利用变化对第一性生产生态服务功能价值的影响

土地是一切陆地生态系统的载体,人类的一切活动同样离不开土地,在人类改造和利用自然的过程中不可避免地要影响各类生态系统的状况进而影响到它们为人类所提供的服务与功能。而第一性生产服务功能是生态系统服务功能主要特征之一。本文在地理信息系统的支持下,利用陕北黄土高原3期土地利用数据,估算了土地利用变化引起的生态系统服务价值的变化,结果表明,1996年区域NPP生态系统服务功能价值比1986年增加了1·17×108元;2001年生态服务功能价值比1986年增加了3·37×108元。因此,实施退耕还林、还草、遏制景观破碎化过程,合理控制城镇建设用地的扩展,是提高区域生态系统服务功能的有效途径。