Knowledge Tree
ecosystem functioning
Also known as: ecosystem functioning, ecosystem function
Facts (11)
Sources
Compendium Vol. 5 No. 1: The ecological role of native plants bio4climate.org 9 facts
perspectiveTraditional conservation approaches, such as setting aside national parks or protecting specific species based on rarity, can have trade-offs for non-target species and may fail to protect ecosystem function.
claimA decrease in functional diversity may reduce overall community and ecosystem functioning, stability, and resistance to environmental change by narrowing the available range of species-specific responses.
claimReforestation initiatives that prioritize ecosystem restoration aim to reestablish the full complement of ecosystem functions and wildlife habitat inherent in native ecosystems.
referenceEric Harvey, Isabelle Gounand, Colette L. Ward, and Florian Altermatt explored the connection between ecological networks and ecosystem function in a 2017 study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
claimBiotic homogenization threatens to diminish the local adaptations of native species through the mixing of populations and may reduce overall community and ecosystem functioning, stability, and resistance to environmental change by narrowing the available range of species-specific responses.
referenceThe article 'Bridging ecology and conservation: from ecological networks to ecosystem function' by Harvey et al. (2017) emphasizes the importance of species interactions as drivers of ecosystem function.
claimThe introduction of non-native plants has not resulted in global extinction, but it has significantly impacted ecosystem function by causing bottom-up reductions of energy available in local food webs.
claimThe identity of species within a community and their respective functional traits determine ecosystem functions, such as nutrient retention or energy flow, meaning that narrowing species compositions risks diminishing ecosystem function.
claimMany native herbivore species are likely to become locally extinct rather than adapt to non-native plants when the latter displace native plants, and the resulting loss of insects blocks the flow of energy from plants up the food chain, negatively affecting ecosystem function.
Ecologists Study the Interactions of Organisms and Their Environment nature.com 2 facts
referenceR. M. Pringle, D. F. Doak, et al. published 'Spatial pattern enhances ecosystem functioning in an African savanna' in the journal PLoS Biology in 2010.
claimEcological research aims to understand general principles of ecosystem function, such as whether greater biodiversity increases or decreases an ecosystem's susceptibility to invasion by exotic species.