Declining biodiversity can alter the performance of ecosystems (original) (raw)

Nature volume 368, pages 734–737 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

COMMUNITIES of species and their associated biological, chemical and physical processes, collectively known as ecosystems, drive the Earth's biogeochemical processes1,2. Currently most ecosystems are experiencing loss of biodiversity associated with the activities of human expansion3–5, raising the issue of whether the biogeochemical functioning of ecosystems will be impaired by this loss of species6–8. Current ecological knowledge supports a wide range of views on the subject9–13, but empirical tests are few9,14–16. Here we provide evidence from direct experimental manipulation of diversity by over an order of magnitude, using multi-trophic level communities and simultaneous measures of several ecosystem processes, that reduced biodiversity may indeed alter the performance of ecosystems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NERC Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College at Silwood Park, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, UK
    Shahid Naeem, Lindsey J. Thompson, Sharon P. Lawler, John H. Lawton & Richard M. Woodfin

Authors

  1. Shahid Naeem
  2. Lindsey J. Thompson
  3. Sharon P. Lawler
  4. John H. Lawton
  5. Richard M. Woodfin

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Naeem, S., Thompson, L., Lawler, S. et al. Declining biodiversity can alter the performance of ecosystems.Nature 368, 734–737 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/368734a0

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