Land use intensification alters ecosystem multifunctionality via loss of biodiversity and changes to functional composition

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.

Biotic homogenization can decrease landscape-scale forest multifunctionality

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that local-scale (α-) biodiversity can boost multifunctionality in the real world, in addition to experimental ecosystems (8,(14)(15)(16). Here, we add evidence that both α-and β-diversity can also drive ecosystem multifunctionality at the landscape scale, and that the desired distribution of ecosystem functions across the landscape influences the importance of this relationship.…”

“…However, although society seeks to maximize the delivery of potentially conflicting ecosystem services, such as food production, bioenergy generation, and carbon storage at the landscape scale (11)(12)(13), research into the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality has been largely limited to local-scale studies, where diversity is manipulated in experimental plant communities. Although some studies have focused on more natural communities distributed over larger spatial extents (e.g., [14][15][16], they examined relationships between local-scale biodiversity and local-scale multifunctionality. The only previous study to investigate multifunctionality at larger scales (17) simulated artificial landscapes using data from experimental grassland communities.…”

Effect of management on natural capital stocks underlying ecosystem service provision: a ‘provider group’ approach

“…However, an advantage of our approach is that it explicitly reviews the identity of service change, rather than reducing the provision of ecosystem services into a single metric. In addition we do not apply differential weights to ecosystem services, as to do so would require community input to define values and accepted thresholds of performance (Allan et al 2015). This could be useful additional work that would allow for a more detailed quantification of trade-offs and synergies in the provision of ecosystem services.…”

“…This provides greater stability within a biophysical system through time, which in turn contributes to sustained provision of ecosystem services and associated social benefits. Diverse systems are expected to have high multifunctionality, which is achieved when local sites or landscapes simultaneously provide multiple ecosystem functions or services (Allan et al 2015;Byrnes et al 2014;Gamfeldt et al 2013;Wagg et al 2014). Landscapes can provide a range of ecosystem services either through provision of multifunctionality at a local scale or through spatial heterogeneity of service provision due to landscape mosaics of different ecosystems and communities, which are often shaped by social preferences (Allan et al 2015).…”

“…Diverse systems are expected to have high multifunctionality, which is achieved when local sites or landscapes simultaneously provide multiple ecosystem functions or services (Allan et al 2015;Byrnes et al 2014;Gamfeldt et al 2013;Wagg et al 2014). Landscapes can provide a range of ecosystem services either through provision of multifunctionality at a local scale or through spatial heterogeneity of service provision due to landscape mosaics of different ecosystems and communities, which are often shaped by social preferences (Allan et al 2015). However, the link between general diversity metrics and ecosystem service quantity, quality, and stability of provision is non-linear and often does not provide the granularity required for decision makers to make informed land management decisions.…”