What abiotic and biotic factors predict the shapes of plant diversity-productivity relationships?
Abstract
Anthropogenic influence over biodiversity has altered ecosystem functions. One important ecosystem function related to diversity is productivity. Plant richness has long been considered for determining productivity. Despite the importance of the relationships between diversity and productivity, their shapes are debated and what determines variation in shapes is not well understood. We examined diversity-productivity relationships from local to landscape scales in a mountain ecosystem. We first asked: what is the shape of the richness and productivity relationship at the landscape? We compared fits of linear and Michaelis-Menten models to richness predictions of productivity. Also, we evaluated whether the humped-back model of productivity and diversity applies in the system. Second, we asked: what abiotic and biotic factors predict the shapes of richness- productivity relationships within sites? We collected plant community composition data including richness and plant cover of each species as a proxy for productivity in 67 sites across 6 peak-valley combinations spanning elevation gradients. Also, abiotic and biotic factors were recorded in all sites. The Michaelis-Menten model was a better predictive fit than the linear model for predicting cover with richness. We found a positive relationship between richness and productivity at landscape scale. But, the saturation curve of the Michaelis-Menten model predicts better the increase of productivity with richness. We found evidence for the humped-back model of productivity and richness across the landscape. Finally, abiotic factors were identified predicting derived parameters beta, Vmax, and K. Importantly, our results suggest that fewer species can make high biomass production with high nitrogen and potassium.
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