Intransitive competition is widespread in plant communities and maintains their species richness |
| |
| Authors: | Santiago Soliveres Fernando T Maestre Werner Ulrich Peter Manning Steffen Boch Matthew A Bowker Daniel Prati Manuel Delgado‐Baquerizo José L Quero Ingo Schöning Antonio Gallardo Wolfgang Weisser Jörg Müller Stephanie A Socher Miguel García‐Gómez Victoria Ochoa Ernst‐Detlef Schulze Markus Fischer Eric Allan |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;2. área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología y Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain;3. Chair of Ecology and Biogeography Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Lwowska1, Toruń, Poland;4. School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA;5. Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia;6. Departamento de Ingeniería Forestal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica y de Montes, Universidad de Córdoba, Edificio Leonardo da Vinci, 1a planta. Campus de Rabanales, Córdoba, Spain;7. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany;8. Departamento de Sistemas Físicos, Químicos y Naturales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain;9. Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universit?t München, Freising, Germany;10. Institut für Biochemie und Biologie, Universit?t Potsdam, Potsdamm, Germany;11. Departamento de Ingeniería y Morfología del Terreno, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain |
| |
| Abstract: | Intransitive competition networks, those in which there is no single best competitor, may ensure species coexistence. However, their frequency and importance in maintaining diversity in real‐world ecosystems remain unclear. We used two large data sets from drylands and agricultural grasslands to assess: (1) the generality of intransitive competition, (2) intransitivity–richness relationships and (3) effects of two major drivers of biodiversity loss (aridity and land‐use intensification) on intransitivity and species richness. Intransitive competition occurred in > 65% of sites and was associated with higher species richness. Intransitivity increased with aridity, partly buffering its negative effects on diversity, but was decreased by intensive land use, enhancing its negative effects on diversity. These contrasting responses likely arise because intransitivity is promoted by temporal heterogeneity, which is enhanced by aridity but may decline with land‐use intensity. We show that intransitivity is widespread in nature and increases diversity, but it can be lost with environmental homogenisation. |
| |
| Keywords: | Aridity biodiversity coexistence drylands land use mesic grasslands rock‐paper‐scissors game |
|
|
