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UAlberta scientists part of unprecedented worldwide (plant species) biodiversity study (it's down)
http://uofa.ualberta.ca/science/science-news/2015/july/plant-species-biodiversity[font face=Serif][font size=5]UAlberta scientists part of unprecedented worldwide biodiversity study[/font]
[font size=4]Findings indicate both high and low productivity regions have reduced plant species diversity.[/font]
By Jennifer Pascoe on July 16, 2015
[font size=3]Humans depend on high levels of ecosystem biodiversity, but due to climate change and changes in land use, biodiversity loss is now greater than at any time in human history. Five University of Alberta researchers, including students, participated in a leading global study to determine whether there are widespread and consistent patterns in plant biodiversity.
Sixty-two scientists from 19 countries spanning six continents studied the relationships between plant biomass production and species diversity, culminating in a paper appearing in Science, the world’s leading journal for cutting-edge scientific research. Findings in the paper, “Worldwide Evidence of a Unimodal Relationship between Productivity and Plant Species Richness,” reveal a consistent biological rule governing the link between plant biomass and species richness in grassland ecosystems—plant species diversity is generally greatest at intermediate levels of plant biomass. The results help unveil how natural systems operate and have global ramifications for managing and conserving grassland biodiversity.
…
Ecosystem productivity, one factor considered responsible for regulating plant biodiversity, has long been a subject of debate. This new research is groundbreaking in that it reaffirms a foundational theory and effectively refutes a prior article in Science that purported to disprove the theory.
“As the underlying causes of biodiversity loss are highly contentious, this will be an active area of research for decades,” Cahill notes. “We are hopeful that by understanding the core relationships between land productivity and biodiversity, we can then refine management recommendations for land users with the goal of enhancing both economic and environmental outcomes.”[/font][/font]
[font size=4]Findings indicate both high and low productivity regions have reduced plant species diversity.[/font]
By Jennifer Pascoe on July 16, 2015
[font size=3]Humans depend on high levels of ecosystem biodiversity, but due to climate change and changes in land use, biodiversity loss is now greater than at any time in human history. Five University of Alberta researchers, including students, participated in a leading global study to determine whether there are widespread and consistent patterns in plant biodiversity.
Sixty-two scientists from 19 countries spanning six continents studied the relationships between plant biomass production and species diversity, culminating in a paper appearing in Science, the world’s leading journal for cutting-edge scientific research. Findings in the paper, “Worldwide Evidence of a Unimodal Relationship between Productivity and Plant Species Richness,” reveal a consistent biological rule governing the link between plant biomass and species richness in grassland ecosystems—plant species diversity is generally greatest at intermediate levels of plant biomass. The results help unveil how natural systems operate and have global ramifications for managing and conserving grassland biodiversity.
…
Ecosystem productivity, one factor considered responsible for regulating plant biodiversity, has long been a subject of debate. This new research is groundbreaking in that it reaffirms a foundational theory and effectively refutes a prior article in Science that purported to disprove the theory.
“As the underlying causes of biodiversity loss are highly contentious, this will be an active area of research for decades,” Cahill notes. “We are hopeful that by understanding the core relationships between land productivity and biodiversity, we can then refine management recommendations for land users with the goal of enhancing both economic and environmental outcomes.”[/font][/font]
