Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition.
Ecol Lett
; 18(8): 834-843, 2015 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26096863
ABSTRACT
Global change, especially land-use intensification, affects human well-being by impacting the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (multifunctionality). However, whether biodiversity loss is a major component of global change effects on multifunctionality in real-world ecosystems, as in experimental ones, remains unclear. Therefore, we assessed biodiversity, functional composition and 14 ecosystem services on 150 agricultural grasslands differing in land-use intensity. We also introduce five multifunctionality measures in which ecosystem services were weighted according to realistic land-use objectives. We found that indirect land-use effects, i.e. those mediated by biodiversity loss and by changes to functional composition, were as strong as direct effects on average. Their strength varied with land-use objectives and regional context. Biodiversity loss explained indirect effects in a region of intermediate productivity and was most damaging when land-use objectives favoured supporting and cultural services. In contrast, functional composition shifts, towards fast-growing plant species, strongly increased provisioning services in more inherently unproductive grasslands.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Pradaria
/
Biodiversidade
/
Agricultura
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Ecol Lett
Ano de publicação:
2015
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Suíça