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

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• 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
• 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

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.

Free Research Field

生物多様性保全学