@misc{DampteyBirkhoferMenoretal., author = {Damptey, Frederick Gyasi and Birkhofer, Klaus and Menor, Imma Oliveras and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique}, title = {The functional Structure of Tropical Plant Communities and soil Properties Enhance Ecosystem Functioning and Multitunctionality in Different Ecosystems in Ghana}, series = {Forests}, volume = {13}, journal = {Forests}, number = {2}, issn = {1999-4907}, doi = {10.3390/f13020297}, pages = {20}, abstract = {Plant functional traits are useful in tracking changes in the environment, and play an important role in determining ecosystem functioning. The relationship between plant functional traits and ecosystem functioning remains unclear, although there is growing evidence on this relationship. In this study, we tested whether the functional structure of vegetation has significant effects on the provision of ecosystem services. We analysed plant trait composition (specific leaf area, leaf carbon and nitrogen ratio, isotopic carbon fraction, stem dry matter content, seed mass and plant height), soil parameters (nutrients, pH, bulk density) and proxies of ecosystem services (carbon stock, decomposition rate, invertebrate activity) in twenty-four plots in three tropical ecosystems (active restored and natural forests and an agroforestry system) in Ghana. For each plot, we measured above-ground biomass, decomposition rates of leaves and invertebrate activity as proxies for the provision of ecosystem services to evaluate (i) whether there were differences in functional composition and soil properties and their magnitude between ecosystem types. We further aimed to (ii) determine whether the functional structure and/or soil parameters drove ecosystem functions and multifunctionality in the three ecosystem types. For functional composition, both the leaf economic spectrum and seed mass dimension clearly separated the ecosystem types. The natural forest was more dominated by acquisitive plants than the other two ecosystem types, while the non-natural forests (agroforest and restored forest) showed higher variation in the functional space. The natural forest had higher values of soil properties than the restored forest and the agroforestry system, with the differences between the restored and agroforestry systems driven by bulk density. Levels of ecosystem service proxies and multifunctionality were positively related to the functional richness of forest plots and were mainly explained by the differences in site conditions. Our study demonstrated the effects of functional forest structure on ecosystem services in different forest ecosystems located in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana.}, language = {en} } @misc{GalanDiazVilaParkeretal., author = {Gal{\´a}n D{\´i}az, Javier and Vil{\`a}, Montserrat and Parker, Ingrid M. and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique}, title = {Functional assembly of grassland plant species in native communities in Spain and recipient communities in California}, series = {Journal of Ecology}, volume = {111}, journal = {Journal of Ecology}, number = {1}, issn = {0022-0477}, doi = {10.1111/1365-2745.14027}, pages = {214 -- 226}, abstract = {A major aim in invasion ecology is to understand the role of exotic species in plant communities. Whereas most studies have explored the traits of exotic species in the context of the introduced community, functional comparisons of entire assemblages of species in their native and introduced communities have rarely been analysed. Taking advantage of the unidirectional invasion of plant species of European origin (i.e. colonizers) into California, this study aims to investigate the relative importance of plant traits, environmental factors and invasion status in biological invasions.We compared the functional structure (i.e. trait composition and diversity) along resource availability gradients in recipient and native Mediterranean grassland communities in California and Spain, respectively. Traits were related to resource use in above-ground and below-ground organs and reproductive strategy. We also investigated how niche differences vary along environmental gradients between coexisting colonizer and native species assemblages within communities.There were clear differences in the functional structure of Mediterranean grassland communities between regions, which were associated with the resource availability gradient. Paradoxically, the most acquisitive communities occurred in resource-poor sites, highlighting that rapid acquisition and use of resources permit species to cope with environmental stress through stress avoidance. In Spain, colonizer species had greater specific leaf area than non-colonizers. Yet, differences between colonizer and non-colonizer species in Spain for other traits were mostly absent and did not change along the gradient. This might be a result of the greater native species richness as a consequence of the agricultural practices that have taken place in Europe for millennia and reflect that the entire species pool of grasslands is adapted to agricultural landscapes. In comparison, in California, colonizer species were more acquisitive in their use of resources than natives under favourable conditions, but functionally converged in resource-limited sites.Synthesis. These results underscore that the importance of niche differences between native and colonizer species as a community assembly mechanism is strongly subjected to the influence of habitat filtering. Trait comparisons are context dependent, and a correct interpretation of filtering processes in community assembly requires a regional perspective.}, language = {en} } @misc{SadeghiniaKargarGarciadelaRiva, author = {Sadeghinia, Majid and Kargar, Mansoureh and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique}, title = {Species richness captures plant functional and phylogenetic diversity variations along diferent ecosystems on the hillsides of Damavand Mountain (Iran)}, series = {Arabian Journal of Geosciences}, volume = {16}, journal = {Arabian Journal of Geosciences}, number = {1}, issn = {1866-7538}, doi = {10.1007/s12517-022-11141-y}, abstract = {The phylogenetic diversity (PD) can be used as a proxy for measures of functional diversity (FD); this relationship between PD and FD is premised on the reasonable assumption that evolutionary diversification has generated trait diversification, which in turn may result in greater niche complementarity. Functional traits have been used in various applications, from assemblage ecology looking at the relationship between functional diversity, environmental filtering, and assemblage structure. We used a trait-based approach, quantifying variations in the leaf-height-seed (LHS) scheme and functional and phylogenetic indices in semi-arid communities from three different habitats (grasslands, shrubland, and mixed habitats). To do so, three functional traits including specific leaf area (SLA), vegetation height (VH), and seed mass (SM) were measured in three habitats. We calculated at the plot scale, community weighted means (CWM) for each trait, species richness, Faith's phylogenetic diversity index (PD), functional richness (Frich), functional and phylogenetic mean pairwise dissimilarities (MPD), and nutrient concentration. The results showed that the first Soil_PCA axis (explaining 37.1\% of the total variance) showed a high loading of soil nutrients (N, P, K, OM) and pH, while the second axis (which explained 22.1\% 224 of the variance) exhibited a high loading of pH at the top and K at the bottom. Also, the higher soil nutrient concentration and pH were significant and positively related with species and functional richness and Faith's phylogenetic diversity.}, language = {en} } @misc{UlrichBataryBaudryetal., author = {Ulrich, Werner and Bat{\´a}ry, P{\´e}ter and Baudry, Julia and Beaumelle, L{\´e}a and Bucher, Roman and Čerevkov{\´a}, Andrea and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique and Felipe-Lucia, Maria R. and Gall{\´e}, Robert and Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle and Rembiałkowska, Ewa and Rusch, Adrien and Stanley, Dara A. and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {From biodiversity to health: Quantifying the impact of diverse ecosystems on human well-being}, series = {People and Nature}, volume = {5}, journal = {People and Nature}, number = {1}, issn = {2575-8314}, doi = {10.1002/pan3.10421}, pages = {69 -- 83}, language = {en} } @misc{GarciadelaRivaUlrichBataryetal., author = {Garcia de la Riva, Enrique and Ulrich, Werner and Bat{\´a}ry, P{\´e}ter and Baudry, Julia and Beaumelle, L{\´e}a and Bucher, Roman and Čerevkov{\´a}, Andrea and Felipe-Lucia, Maria R. and Gall{\´e}, Robert and Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle and Rembiałkowska, Ewa and Rusch, Adrien and Seufert, Verena and Stanley, Dara A. and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {From functional diversity to human well-being: A conceptual framework for agroecosystem sustainability}, series = {Agricultural Systems}, volume = {208}, journal = {Agricultural Systems}, issn = {1873-2267}, doi = {10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103659}, pages = {16}, language = {en} } @misc{BucherBataryBaudryetal., author = {Bucher, Roman and Batary, Peter and Baudry, Julia and Beaumelle, Lea and Cerevkova, Andrea and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique and Djoudi, El Aziz and Dirilgen, Tara and Galle, Robert and Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle and O´Reilly, Alison and Rembialkowska, Ewa and Rusch, Adrien and Smith, Henrik G. and Stanley, Dara A. and Roberts, Stuart P.M. and Ulrich, Werner and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Land-use impacts on crop yield : direct and indirect roles of arthropods and associated ecosystem services in European farmland}, series = {Landscape ecology}, volume = {40}, journal = {Landscape ecology}, number = {97}, publisher = {Springer Science + Business Media B.V}, issn = {1572-9761}, doi = {10.1007/s10980-025-02117-w}, pages = {1 -- 19}, abstract = {Context Land-use intensification to increase yields is often detrimental to biodiversity undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, it is questionable if ecosystem service providers contribute to ecological intensification by achieving the same or higher yields than conventional high-intensity agriculture. Objectives In this study, we aimed to disentangle the effects of local and landscape-scale land-use intensification on arthropod communities and their contribution to ecosystem services and crop yield. A set of meta-analytic structural equation models allowed us to assess direct and indirect relationships in the cascade from land use to yield. Methods We selected 37 datasets containing information on land use, community composition, levels of pollination and natural pest control services, and crop yield. We quantified functional diversity of communities by collecting trait information for three exemplary groups of service-providers: bees, ground beetles, and spiders. Results Local land-use intensification reduced the abundance of all arthropod groups. Spiders were the only group whose species richness was negatively related to a higher percentage of arable land in the landscape. High abundance of bees related positively to oilseed rape pollination and crop yields. In the models for the two predator groups, crop yield was strongly determined by land use, independent of the pest control services provided by natural enemies. Conclusions Our results suggest a potential for ecological intensification mediated by land-use change in crops where pollination benefits yield, but suggest more nuanced effects for pest control. Our study also calls for experiments on multiple taxonomic groups and ecosystem services that apply comparable methods at similar scales.}, language = {en} } @misc{MenaresSaizSchenketal., author = {Menares, Esteban and Sa{\´i}z, Hugo and Schenk, No{\"e}lle V. and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique and Krauss, Jochen and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Co-occurrence patterns do not predict mutualistic interactions between plant and butterfly species}, series = {Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {14}, journal = {Ecology and Evolution}, number = {11}, issn = {2045-7758}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.70498}, pages = {13}, abstract = {Biotic interactions are crucial for determining the structure and dynamics of communities; however, direct measurement of these interactions can be challenging in terms of time and resources, especially when numerous species are involved. Inferring species interactions from species co-occurrence patterns is increasingly being used; however, recent studies have highlighted some limitations. To our knowledge, no attempt has been made to test the accuracy of the existing methods for detecting mutualistic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we compiled two literature-based, long-term datasets of interactions between butterflies and herbaceous plant species in two regions of Germany and compared them with observational abundance and presence/absence data collected within a year in the same regions. We tested how well the species associations generated by three different co-occurrence analysis methods matched those of empirically measured mutualistic associations using sensitivity and specificity analyses and compared the strength of associations. We also checked whether flower abundance data (instead of plant abundance data) increased the accuracy of the co-occurrence models and validated our results using empirical flower visitation data. The results revealed that, although all methods exhibited low sensitivity, our implementation of the Relative Interaction Intensity index with pairwise null models performed the best, followed by the probabilistic method and Spearman's rank correlation method. However, empirical data showed a significant number of interactions that were not detected using co-occurrence methods. Incorporating flower abundance data did not improve sensitivity but enhanced specificity in one region. Further analysis demonstrated incongruence between the predicted co-occurrence associations and actual interaction strengths, with many pairs exhibiting high interaction strength but low co-occurrence or vice versa. These findings underscore the complexity of ecological dynamics and highlight the limitations of current co-occurrence methods for accurately capturing species interactions.}, language = {en} } @misc{BucherBataryBaudryetal., author = {Bucher, Roman and Batary, P{\´e}ter and Baudry, Julia and Beaumelle, L{\´e}a and Čerevkov{\´a}, Andrea and Garcia de la Riva, Enrique and Dirilgen, Tara and Gall{\´e}, Robert and Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle and Rembiałkowska, Ewa and Rusch, Adrien and Stanley, Dara A. and Ulrich, Werner and Birkhofer, Klaus}, title = {Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms}, series = {Ecological Applications}, volume = {2024}, journal = {Ecological Applications}, issn = {1051-0761}, doi = {10.1002/eap.3035}, pages = {16}, abstract = {Land-use intensification is often associated with a decline in functional diversity, potentially undermining the provision of ecosystem services. However, how changes in traits affect ecosystem processes remains poorly understood. Variation in trait values among species in a community may drive ecosystem processes. Alternatively, the mass ratio hypothesis proposes that trait values of the dominant species in a local community are related to ecosystem processes. Using data from 159 farms in six European countries, we quantified the impact of local and landscape-level land-use intensity on ground beetles as pest control agents. We then assessed the extent to which functional diversity and community-weighted mean trait values relate to pest control and cereal yield. In addition, we assessed how the responses to land use and the effects of different species on pest control and yield varied with their traits to compare the relative impact of the traits studied. Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid removal, but did not translate into higher crop yields. Pest control of aphids was enhanced by a higher proportion of smaller, mobile ground beetles with a preference for the vegetation layer. Smaller, predatory ground beetles in communities improved crop yield. The magnitude of responses to land-use intensification and the effects on pest control and yield were more strongly influenced by body size than other traits. Our study provides evidence that reduced management intensity can improve pest control by supporting small-sized, macropterous ground beetles. In contrast to the claims of ecological intensification, our joint analysis of the direct effects of land use on yield and indirect effects via functional diversity of ground beetles and pest control suggests that ecosystem services by ground beetles cannot compensate for the yield gap due to a reduction in land-use intensity.}, language = {en} }