TY - GEN A1 - Damptey, Frederick Gyasi A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Menor, Imma Oliveras A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - The functional Structure of Tropical Plant Communities and soil Properties Enhance Ecosystem Functioning and Multitunctionality in Different Ecosystems in Ghana T2 - Forests N2 - 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. KW - functional traits KW - functional diversity KW - multifunctionality KW - plants KW - post-mining restorations KW - resource use strategies KW - tropical forest KW - West Africa Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020297 SN - 1999-4907 VL - 13 IS - 2 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Galán Díaz, Javier A1 - Vilà, Montserrat A1 - Parker, Ingrid M. A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - Functional assembly of grassland plant species in native communities in Spain and recipient communities in California T2 - Journal of Ecology N2 - 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. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14027 SN - 0022-0477 VL - 111 IS - 1 SP - 214 EP - 226 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Sadeghinia, Majid A1 - Kargar, Mansoureh A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - Species richness captures plant functional and phylogenetic diversity variations along diferent ecosystems on the hillsides of Damavand Mountain (Iran) T2 - Arabian Journal of Geosciences N2 - 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. KW - Community weighted means KW - Functional richness KW - Grassland KW - LHS scheme KW - Mean pairwise dissimilarities KW - Plant traits KW - Shrubland KW - Soil nutrients Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-11141-y SN - 1866-7538 VL - 16 IS - 1 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ulrich, Werner A1 - Batáry, Péter A1 - Baudry, Julia A1 - Beaumelle, Léa A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Čerevková, Andrea A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Felipe-Lucia, Maria R. A1 - Gallé, Robert A1 - Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle A1 - Rembiałkowska, Ewa A1 - Rusch, Adrien A1 - Stanley, Dara A. A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - From biodiversity to health: Quantifying the impact of diverse ecosystems on human well-being T2 - People and Nature Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10421 SN - 2575-8314 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 69 EP - 83 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Ulrich, Werner A1 - Batáry, Péter A1 - Baudry, Julia A1 - Beaumelle, Léa A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Čerevková, Andrea A1 - Felipe-Lucia, Maria R. A1 - Gallé, Robert A1 - Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle A1 - Rembiałkowska, Ewa A1 - Rusch, Adrien A1 - Seufert, Verena A1 - Stanley, Dara A. A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - From functional diversity to human well-being: A conceptual framework for agroecosystem sustainability T2 - Agricultural Systems Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103659 SN - 1873-2267 SN - 0308-521X VL - 208 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Batary, Peter A1 - Baudry, Julia A1 - Beaumelle, Lea A1 - Cerevkova, Andrea A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Djoudi, El Aziz A1 - Dirilgen, Tara A1 - Galle, Robert A1 - Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle A1 - O´Reilly, Alison A1 - Rembialkowska, Ewa A1 - Rusch, Adrien A1 - Smith, Henrik G. A1 - Stanley, Dara A. A1 - Roberts, Stuart P.M. A1 - Ulrich, Werner A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Land-use impacts on crop yield : direct and indirect roles of arthropods and associated ecosystem services in European farmland T2 - Landscape ecology N2 - 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. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-025-02117-w SN - 1572-9761 VL - 40 IS - 97 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Springer Science + Business Media B.V ER - TY - GEN A1 - Menares, Esteban A1 - Saíz, Hugo A1 - Schenk, Noëlle V. A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Krauss, Jochen A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Co-occurrence patterns do not predict mutualistic interactions between plant and butterfly species T2 - Ecology and Evolution N2 - 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. KW - Biodiversity Exploratories KW - co- occurrence analysis | KW - flower visitations KW - mutualistic interactions KW - resence/absence data KW - species associations Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70498 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 14 IS - 11 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bucher, Roman A1 - Batary, Péter A1 - Baudry, Julia A1 - Beaumelle, Léa A1 - Čerevková, Andrea A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Dirilgen, Tara A1 - Gallé, Robert A1 - Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle A1 - Rembiałkowska, Ewa A1 - Rusch, Adrien A1 - Stanley, Dara A. A1 - Ulrich, Werner A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Functional diversity of ground beetles improved aphid control but did not increase crop yields on European farms T2 - Ecological Applications N2 - 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. KW - predation KW - ecological intensification KW - landscape composition KW - land-use intensity KW - pest control KW - traits Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3035 SN - 1051-0761 SN - 1939-5582 VL - 2024 ER -