Mechanistic understanding of consequences of species loss on ecosystem functioning and stability based on plant functional traits

• Project/Area Number: 25712036
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental agriculture(including landscape science)
• Research Institution: Yokohama National University (2016); The University of Tokyo (2013-2015)
• Principal Investigator: Sasaki Takehiro 横浜国立大学, 環境情報研究院, 准教授 (60550077)
• Research Collaborator: Bai Yongfei 中国科学院, 植物研究所, 教授
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
• Budget Amount: ¥18,070,000 (Direct Cost: ¥13,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,170,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥4,290,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥990,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000)
• Keywords: 生態系の安定性 / 生態系の多機能性 / 応答の多様性 / 草原の持続的利用 / 降水量変動 / 生物多様性の消失シナリオ / 相補性効果 / 選択効果 / 生物多様性 / 生態系機能 / 機能的冗長性 / 安定性 / 生態系サービス / 炭素フラックス / 機能的多様性 / 純一次生産 / 物質循環

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Human societies depend on the stable provisions of multiple ecosystem functions. Understanding how we can sustain and manage ecosystem functioning against environmental changes has become a global issue.
In our study, we identified the determinants of stability of ecosystem multifunctionality under rainfall variability in the well-established experimental system in the Inner Mongolia grassland. We further examined the underlying mechanisms of stabilization of ecosystem multifunctionality.
We found that asynchrony of species' responses to environmental fluctuations is the key factor for enhancing the stability of ecosystem multifunctionality. This mechanism did not depend on the scenarios of plant species loss, suggesting that the mechanism is general in the studied area rather than specific to this experimental system.

Research Products

• [Int'l Joint Research] 中国科学院植物研究所(中国)
• [Int'l Joint Research] モンゴル国立大学(モンゴル)
• [Int'l Joint Research] 中国科学院植物研究所(中国)
• [Journal Article] Differential responses and mechanisms of productivity following experimental species loss scenarios. (2017)
  • Author(s): Sasaki, T., Yoshihara, Y., Takahashi, M., Byambatsetseg, L., Futahashi, R., Nyambayar, D. & Suyama, Y.
  • Journal Title: Oecologia Volume: 183 Issue: 3 Pages: 785-795
  • DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3806-z
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Isolation predicts compositional change after discrete disturbances in a global meta-study. (2017)
  • Author(s): Shackelford, N., Starzomski, B.M., Banning, N.C., Battaglia, L., Becker, A., Bellingham, P.J., Bestelmeyer, B., Catford, J.A., Dwyer, J.M., Dynesius, M., Gilmour, J., Hallett, L.M., Hobbs, R.J., Price, J., Sasaki, T., Tanner, E.V.J. & Standish, R.J.
  • Journal Title: Ecography Volume: in press Issue: 11 Pages: 1256-1266
  • DOI: 10.1111/ecog.02383
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Invasion of exotic piscivores causes losses of functional diversity and functionally unique species in Japanese lakes (2016)
  • Author(s): Matsuzaki, S.S., Sasaki, T. & Akasaka, M.
  • Journal Title: Freshwater Biology Volume: 61 Issue: 7 Pages: 1128-1142
  • DOI: 10.1111/fwb.12774
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Factors limiting vegetation recovery processes after cessation of cropping in a semiarid grassland in Mongolia (2016)
  • Author(s): A. Yanagawa, T. Sasaki, U. Jamsran, T. Okuro, K. Takeuchi
  • Journal Title: Journal of Arid Environment Volume: 131 Pages: 1-5
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.03.008
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Perspectives for ecosystem management based on ecosystem resilience and ecological thresholds against multiple and stochastic disturbances (2015)
  • Author(s): Sasaki, T., Furukawa, T., Iwasaki, Y., Seto, M. & Mori, A.S.
  • Journal Title: Ecological Indicators Volume: 57 Pages: 395-408
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.05.019
  • Peer Reviewed / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Shrub cover regulates population dynamics of herbaceous plants at individual-shrub scale on the Mongolian steppe (2015)
  • Author(s): Koyama, A., T. Sasaki, U. Jamsran and T. Okuro
  • Journal Title: Journal of Vegetation Science Volume: 26 Issue: 3 Pages: 441-451
  • DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12253
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Relationship between pastoralists' evaluation of rangeland state and vegetation threshold changes in Mongolia rangelands. (2014)
  • Author(s): Kakinuma, K., Sasaki, T., Jamsran, U., Okuro, T. & Takeuchi, K.
  • Journal Title: Environmental Management Volume: 54 Issue: 4 Pages: 888-896
  • DOI: 10.1007/s00267-014-0341-8
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Leaf-trait responses to environmental gradients in moorland communities: plasticity, species replacement and functional group replacement (2014)
  • Author(s): Kamiyama C, Katabuchi M, Sasaki T, Shimazaki M, Nakashizuka T, Hikosaka K
  • Journal Title: Ecological Research Volume: 29 Issue: 4 Pages: 607-617
  • DOI: 10.1007/s11284-014-1148-z
  • Peer Reviewed / Acknowledgement Compliant
• [Journal Article] Vulnerability of moorland plant communities to environmental change: consequences of realistic species loss on functional diversity (2014)
  • Author(s): Sasaki T*, Katabuchi M, Kamiyama C, Shimazaki M, Nakashizuka T, Hikosaka K
  • Journal Title: Journal of Applied Ecology Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Pages: 299-308
  • DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12192
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Consequences of the introduction of exotic and translocated species and future extirpations on the functional diversity of freshwater fish assemblages. (2013)
  • Author(s): Matsuzaki, S.S., Sasaki, T., & Akasaka, M.
  • Journal Title: Global Ecology and Biogeography Volume: 22 Issue: 9 Pages: 1071-1082
  • DOI: 10.1111/geb.12067
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Response diversity determines the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change. (2013)
  • Author(s): Mori, A.S., Furukawa, T. & Sasaki, T.
  • Journal Title: Biological Reviews Volume: 88 Issue: 2 Pages: 349-364
  • DOI: 10.1111/brv.12004
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] 気候変動に対する生態系機能の安定性を規定する要因を探る：自然草原における実験から (2017)
  • Author(s): 佐々木雄大, Xiaoming Lu, 廣田充,Yongfei Bai
  • Organizer: 日本生態学会
  • Place of Presentation: 早稲田大学
• [Presentation] 生物多様性消失シナリオによる生態系機能の応答とそのメカニズムの違いについて (2016)
  • Author(s): 佐々木雄大
  • Organizer: 日本草地学会
  • Place of Presentation: 石川県立大学（石川県野々市市）
  • Year and Date: 2016-03-30
• [Presentation] 自然草原における生物多様性消失シナリオによる生態系機能の変化について (2015)
  • Author(s): 佐々木雄大・吉原佑・高橋昌也・陶山佳久・Nyambayar Dashzeveg・Xiaoming Lu・Yongfei Bai
  • Organizer: 日本生態学会第62回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 鹿児島
  • Year and Date: 2015-03-21
• [Book] 植物群集の構造と多様性の解析 (2015)
  • Author(s): 佐々木雄大・小山明日香・小柳知代・古川拓哉・内田圭
  • Total Pages: 208
  • Publisher: 共立出版
• [Book] 草原生態学―生物多様性と生態系機能． (2015)
  • Author(s): 大黒俊哉・吉原佑・佐々木雄大
  • Total Pages: 157
  • Publisher: 東京大学出版会
• [Remarks] Takehiro Sasaki's personal homepage
  • URL: http://sasaki-ecology.life.coocan.jp/
• [Remarks] Takehiro Sasaki's personal homepage
  • URL: http://homepage3.nifty.com/landscape_ecology/
• [Remarks] Takehiro Sasaki's homepage
  • URL: http://homepage3.nifty.com/landscape_ecology/