Mechanistic links between coexistence, productivity, and stability in experimental grasslands.

DOI
Publisher DOI
PubMed ID
42213757
Abstract
The escalating biodiversity crisis underscores the urgent need for a unified framework that links the mechanisms maintaining biodiversity to its functional consequences. However, studies of species coexistence and biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning have largely progressed independently. Here, using long-term data from five grassland biodiversity experiments, we quantified "coexistence potential" (i.e., the degree to which niche differences exceed fitness differences) and tested its relationships with biodiversity effects on both ecosystem productivity (via complementarity and selection effects) and stability (via species asynchrony and species stability). We found that the relationships within the coexistence-productivity-stability triad were overall positive. These patterns were mechanistically explained by phylogenetic and trait composition: Phylogenetically and functionally more diverse communities supported higher coexistence potential and greater productivity, while those dominated by species with stronger root-mycorrhizal collaboration and larger seeds exhibited enhanced productivity and stability. Our work provides integrative empirical evidence linking biodiversity maintenance to ecosystem functioning, demonstrating that conserving phylogenetically and functionally diverse communities, particularly those including collaborative species, is key to sustaining biodiverse, productive, and stable ecosystems.
Date Issued
2026-06-02
Publication Type
Article
Subject(s)
Subjects
biodiversity–ecosystem functioning
•
biodiversity–ecosystem stability
•
coexistence
•
functional traits
•
phylogenetic distance
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Hong, Pubin
Schmid, Bernhard
Craven, Dylan
Liang, Maowei
Luo, Mingyu
Wang, Zeyu
Yang, Chen
Zhou, Libin
Catford, Jane A
Eisenhauer, Nico
Feng, Yanhao
Hautier, Yann
Huang, Mengjiao
Huang, Yuanyuan
Isbell, Forest
Jiang, Lin
Loreau, Michel
Reich, Peter B
Roscher, Christiane
van Ruijven, Jasper
Tilman, David
Weigelt, Alexandra
Wang, Shaopeng
Additional Credits
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
ISSN
1091-6490
0027-8424
Access(Rights)
open.access
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