Artículos de revistas
Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness
Fecha
2015Registro en:
Science (New York, N.Y.), v. 349, n. 6245, p. 302-305, 2015.
1095-9203
10.1126/science.aab3916
26185249
Autor
Thompson Rivers University
University of British Columbia
University of Bayreuth
Tel Aviv University
University of Tartu
University of Tehran
MTA Centre for Ecological Research
University of Western Australia
University of Alberta
University of Kansas
National University of Mongolia
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
University of South Africa
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
University of Camerino
Trinity College Dublin
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Syracuse University
University of Akron
University of Wyoming
University of Western Ontario
Corvinus University of Budapest
Islamic Azad University
University of Otago
Lanzhou University
University of Bern
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
University of Florida
Princeton University
Hirosaki University
Szent István University
Lethbridge Research Centre
University of Pretoria
Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
Landcare Research
Institución
Resumen
The search for predictions of species diversity across environmental gradients has challenged ecologists for decades. The humped-back model (HBM) suggests that plant diversity peaks at intermediate productivity; at low productivity few species can tolerate the environmental stresses, and at high productivity a few highly competitive species dominate. Over time the HBM has become increasingly controversial, and recent studies claim to have refuted it. Here, by using data from coordinated surveys conducted throughout grasslands worldwide and comprising a wide range of site productivities, we provide evidence in support of the HBM pattern at both global and regional extents. The relationships described here provide a foundation for further research into the local, landscape, and historical factors that maintain biodiversity.