The Ecological and Societal Consequences of Biodiversity Loss
1. Edition April 2022
384 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBN:
978-1-78945-072-9
John Wiley & Sons
Further versions
The idea that changes in biodiversity can impact how ecosystems function has, over the last quarter century, gone from being a controversial notion to an accepted part of science and policy. As the field matures, it is high time to review progress, explore the links between this new research area and fundamental ecological concepts, and look ahead to the implementation of this knowledge.
This book is designed to both provide an up-to-date overview of research in the area and to serve as a useful textbook for those studying the relationship between biodiversity and the functioning, stability and services of ecosystems. The Ecological and Societal Consequences of Biodiversity Loss is aimed at a wide audience of upper undergraduate students, postgraduate students, and academic and research staff.
Introduction the Ecological and Societal Consequences of Biodiversity Loss xiii
Michel LOREAU, Andy HECTOR, and Forest ISBELL
Part 1 Biodiversity and Ecosystems: An Overview 1
Chapter 1 Biodiversity Change: Past, Present, and Future 3
Andy PURVIS and Forest ISBELL
1.1 Setting the stage: difficulties of documenting, understanding, and communicating biodiversity change 3
1.2 Biodiversity change in Earth history 6
1.3 Pre-industrial biodiversity change 8
1.4 Biodiversity change in the "Anthropocene" 9
1.5 Future of biodiversity change 12
1.6 Future of biodiversity change research 14
1.7 Acknowledgements 17
1.8 References 17
Chapter 2 Biodiversity: Concepts, Dimensions, and Measures 25
Anne CHAO and Robert K COLWELL
2.1 Introduction 25
2.2 Progress in measuring taxonomic diversity 28
2.3 Taxonomic diversity and evenness measures 30
2.3.1 Taxonomic diversity: effective number of species 30
2.3.2 Evenness measures 32
2.4 A unified framework integrating diversities (TD, PD, and FD) 34
2.4.1 Phylogenetic diversity as a special case of attribute diversity 35
2.4.2 Functional diversity as a special case of attribute diversity 37
2.5 Diversity in space and time 39
2.6 Examples 40
2.6.1 Coral data 40
2.6.2 Saproxylic beetle data 41
2.7 Conclusion 43
2.8 Acknowledgements 43
2.9 References 44
Chapter 3 Ecosystems: An Overview 47
Amelia A WOLF, Sarah K ORTIZ, and Chase J RAKOWSKI
3.1 An introduction to ecosystems 47
3.1.1 Ecosystem extent: abiotic factors in terrestrial systems 48
3.1.2 Ecosystem extent: biotic factors 51
3.1.3 Major ecosystem types 53
3.1.4 Meta-ecosystems 55
3.1.5 Ecosystem dynamics and change over time and space 56
3.2 Ecosystem functioning 57
3.3 Ecosystem stability 65
3.4 Ecosystem services 66
3.5 Human alterations to ecosystems 68
3.6 References 68
Part 2 How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Functioning 73
Chapter 4 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Theoretical Foundations 75
Shaopeng WANG
4.1 Introduction 75
4.2 Biodiversity: from causes to consequences 77
4.3 Why does biodiversity promote ecosystem functioning? 81
4.4 Trophic diversity and ecosystem functioning 87
4.5 BEF over time and space 89
4.6 Conclusion 91
4.7 Acknowledgements 92
4.8 References 92
Chapter 5 Experimental Evidence for How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Functioning 97
Mary I O'CONNOR, Joey R BERNHARDT, Keila STARK, Jacob USINOWICZ, and Matthew A WHALEN
5.1 The role of experiments 98
5.1.1 The experiment that launched a thousand experiments 98
5.1.2 How do we gain knowledge from experiments? 100
5.2 BEF experiments as tests of theory 103
5.2.1 Diversity as a driver of change in ecosystem function 103
5.2.2 Evidence for selection and complementarity 107
5.2.3 Experimental evidence for key assumptions of BEF theory 108
5.2.4 Testing for diversity effects under broader abiotic and biotic conditions 109
5.2.5 Diversity effects in space and time 111
5.3 Experiments that extend classic theory 112
5.3.1 Does extinction order matter? 112
5.3.2 Experiments that bridge BEF and modern coexistence theory (MCT) 112
5.3.3 Experimental evidence for effects of biodiversity on ecosystem services 113
5.4 Conclusion 114
5.5 References 114
Chapter 6 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Observational Analyses 119
Laura E DEE, Kaitlin KIMMEL, and Meghan HAYDEN
6.1 Introduction 119
6.2 A historical perspective: returning to observational data 120
6.3 Benefits of observational data 121
6.4 The challenge of causal inference in observational studies 125
6.5 Observational studies: results and evidence to date 126
6.5.1 Across dimensions of biodiversity 127
6.5.2 Across ecosystem functions 128
6.5.3 Across ecosystem types 128
6.5.4 Summary of current evidence gaps 129
6.6 Reviewing study design to date: how are studies analysing observational data? 130
6.6.1 Moving forward: improving study designs for observational data and analyses 133
6.7 Future directions 135
6.8 Conclusion 136
6.9 References 137
Part 3 How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Stability 145
Chapter 7 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability: New Theoretical Insights 147
Michel LOREAU
7.1 Introduction 147
7.2 What is stability? 149
7.3 Why does local biodiversity promote ecosystem stability? 154
7.4 Scaling up diversity.stability relationships 158
7.5 Conclusion 162
7.6 Acknowledgements 163
7.7 References 164
Chapter 8 What Do Biodiversity Experiments Tell Us About Biodiversity and Ecological Stability Relationships? 167
Lin JIANG and Qianna XU
8.1 Introduction 167
8.2 Insight from models 169
8.3 A brief account of earlier diversity-stability experiments 170
8.4 The relationships between biodiversity and temporal stability 170
8.4.1 Grassland biodiversity experiments 170
8.4.2 Forest biodiversity experiments 172
8.4.3 Aquatic biodiversity experiments 173
8.4.4 Microbial biodiversity experiments 176
8.4.5 How general are the effects of species diversity on temporal stability? 177
8.4.6 Other dimensions of biodiversity 179
8.5 The relationships between biodiversity and resistance/resilience 180
8.6 The relevance of biodiversity experiments to real-world ecosystems 181
8.7 Conclusion 182
8.8 Acknowledgements 183
8.9 References 183
Chapter 9 Biodiversity and Temporal Stability of Naturally Assembled Ecosystems Across Spatial Scales in a Changing World 189
Yann HAUTIER and Fons VAN DER PLAS
9.1 Introduction 189
9.2 Biodiversity-stability relationships along natural gradients 193
9.3 Global change drivers and biodiversity-stability relationships 196
9.4 Contribution of dominant and rare species to stability 200
9.5 Future directions 202
9.6 References 204
Part 4 How Biodiversity Affects Human Societies 211
Chapter 10 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Managed Ecosystems 213
Bernhard SCHMID and Christian SCHÖB
10.1 A brief history of the role of biodiversity in managed ecosystems 213
10.2 Biodiversity as the basis for a new green revolution 214
10.3 Biodiversity in agriculture 217
10.3.1 Crop genetic diversity 217
10.3.2 Species diversity in grasslands and intercropping 218
10.3.3 Farm-scale diversity 220
10.4 Biodiversity in forestry 221
10.4.1 Evidence for positive biodiversity effects on forest ecosystem services 221
10.4.2 Ecosystem services provided by agroforestry 223
10.5 Outlook 224
10.5.1 Potential of biodiversity to support the next green revolution 224
10.5.2 Obstacles 224
10.5.3 Solutions 225
10.6 Acknowledgements 225
10.7 References 225
Chapter 11 Biodiversity and Human Health: On the Necessity of Combining Ecology and Public Health 233
Jean-François GUÉGAN, Benjamin ROCHE, and Serge MORAND
11.1 Introduction 233
11.2 Microbial biodiversity is a key component of ecosystems 235
11.3 The linkages between biodiversity and human infectious diseases 238
11.4 The evolution of human society is punctuated by epidemiological phases 241
11.5 The new ecology and evolution of zoonotic and sapronotic establishment in the Anthropocene 243
11.6 The process of globalization of human infectious diseases 246
11.7 A livestock-dominated planet 248
11.8 Conclusion 249
11.9 Acknowledgements 253
11.10 References 253
Chapter 12 Economic Valuation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 261
Seth BINDER
12.1 Introduction 261
12.2 What valuation is and is not 261
12.3 Non-market economic valuation methods 263
12.3.1 Production function methods 263
12.3.2 Revealed preference methods 269
12.3.3 Stated preference methods 272
12.3.4 Benefit transfer methods 273
12.4 Conclusion 274
12.5 References 276
Part 5 Zooming Out: Biodiversity in a Changing Planet 281
Chapter 13 Feedbacks Between Biodiversity and Climate Change 283
Akira S MORI, Takehiro SASAKI, Maiko KAGAMI, Takeshi MIKI, and Moriaki YASUHARA
13.1 Introduction 283
13.2 Vulnerability and responses of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning to the changing climate in different biomes 288
13.3 Societal and political challenges to these twin crises and their interlinkages 294
13.4 The potential of biodiversity to cope with the changing climate 297
13.5 Conclusion 299
13.6 Acknowledgements 299
13.7 References 299
Chapter 14 Feedbacks Between Biodiversity and Society 305
Kirsten HENDERSON
14.1 Introduction 305
14.2 Society's impact on biodiversity 307
14.2.1 Agriculture 307
14.2.2 Income 308
14.3 How societies view biodiversity 311
14.3.1 Biodiversity and culture 311
14.3.2 Biodiversity and well-being 313
14.3.3 Value of biodiversity 313
14.4 Biodiversity policy and society 314
14.4.1 Awareness and perception 314
14.4.2 Management strategies 316
14.4.3 Conflicts in biodiversity management 317
14.4.4 Successful initiatives 318
14.5 Conclusion 319
14.6 Acknowledgements 321
14.7 References 321
Chapter 15 Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 325
Forest ISBELL
15.1 Introduction 325
15.2 Protecting biodiversity and ecosystems 326
15.2.1 What are protected areas and what are they intended to protect? 326
15.2.2 What global targets have been established for protected areas? 328
15.2.3 Where are protected areas and how effective are they? 329
15.2.4 Does protecting biodiversity also protect ecosystem services? 331
15.2.5 What are the limitations of protected areas? 332
15.3 Restoring biodiversity and ecosystems by reversing degradation 333
15.3.1 What is restoration and why is it needed? 333
15.3.2 What global targets have been established for restoration? 336
15.3.3 How extensive and effective is restoration? 337
15.3.4 Increasing the diversity of restorations can increase their efficacy 338
15.3.5 What are the limitations of restoration? 339
15.4 Looking ahead 340
15.5 Conclusion 343
15.6 Acknowledgements 343
15.7 References 343
List of Authors 347
Index 351
Michel LOREAU, Andy HECTOR, and Forest ISBELL
Part 1 Biodiversity and Ecosystems: An Overview 1
Chapter 1 Biodiversity Change: Past, Present, and Future 3
Andy PURVIS and Forest ISBELL
1.1 Setting the stage: difficulties of documenting, understanding, and communicating biodiversity change 3
1.2 Biodiversity change in Earth history 6
1.3 Pre-industrial biodiversity change 8
1.4 Biodiversity change in the "Anthropocene" 9
1.5 Future of biodiversity change 12
1.6 Future of biodiversity change research 14
1.7 Acknowledgements 17
1.8 References 17
Chapter 2 Biodiversity: Concepts, Dimensions, and Measures 25
Anne CHAO and Robert K COLWELL
2.1 Introduction 25
2.2 Progress in measuring taxonomic diversity 28
2.3 Taxonomic diversity and evenness measures 30
2.3.1 Taxonomic diversity: effective number of species 30
2.3.2 Evenness measures 32
2.4 A unified framework integrating diversities (TD, PD, and FD) 34
2.4.1 Phylogenetic diversity as a special case of attribute diversity 35
2.4.2 Functional diversity as a special case of attribute diversity 37
2.5 Diversity in space and time 39
2.6 Examples 40
2.6.1 Coral data 40
2.6.2 Saproxylic beetle data 41
2.7 Conclusion 43
2.8 Acknowledgements 43
2.9 References 44
Chapter 3 Ecosystems: An Overview 47
Amelia A WOLF, Sarah K ORTIZ, and Chase J RAKOWSKI
3.1 An introduction to ecosystems 47
3.1.1 Ecosystem extent: abiotic factors in terrestrial systems 48
3.1.2 Ecosystem extent: biotic factors 51
3.1.3 Major ecosystem types 53
3.1.4 Meta-ecosystems 55
3.1.5 Ecosystem dynamics and change over time and space 56
3.2 Ecosystem functioning 57
3.3 Ecosystem stability 65
3.4 Ecosystem services 66
3.5 Human alterations to ecosystems 68
3.6 References 68
Part 2 How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Functioning 73
Chapter 4 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Theoretical Foundations 75
Shaopeng WANG
4.1 Introduction 75
4.2 Biodiversity: from causes to consequences 77
4.3 Why does biodiversity promote ecosystem functioning? 81
4.4 Trophic diversity and ecosystem functioning 87
4.5 BEF over time and space 89
4.6 Conclusion 91
4.7 Acknowledgements 92
4.8 References 92
Chapter 5 Experimental Evidence for How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Functioning 97
Mary I O'CONNOR, Joey R BERNHARDT, Keila STARK, Jacob USINOWICZ, and Matthew A WHALEN
5.1 The role of experiments 98
5.1.1 The experiment that launched a thousand experiments 98
5.1.2 How do we gain knowledge from experiments? 100
5.2 BEF experiments as tests of theory 103
5.2.1 Diversity as a driver of change in ecosystem function 103
5.2.2 Evidence for selection and complementarity 107
5.2.3 Experimental evidence for key assumptions of BEF theory 108
5.2.4 Testing for diversity effects under broader abiotic and biotic conditions 109
5.2.5 Diversity effects in space and time 111
5.3 Experiments that extend classic theory 112
5.3.1 Does extinction order matter? 112
5.3.2 Experiments that bridge BEF and modern coexistence theory (MCT) 112
5.3.3 Experimental evidence for effects of biodiversity on ecosystem services 113
5.4 Conclusion 114
5.5 References 114
Chapter 6 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Observational Analyses 119
Laura E DEE, Kaitlin KIMMEL, and Meghan HAYDEN
6.1 Introduction 119
6.2 A historical perspective: returning to observational data 120
6.3 Benefits of observational data 121
6.4 The challenge of causal inference in observational studies 125
6.5 Observational studies: results and evidence to date 126
6.5.1 Across dimensions of biodiversity 127
6.5.2 Across ecosystem functions 128
6.5.3 Across ecosystem types 128
6.5.4 Summary of current evidence gaps 129
6.6 Reviewing study design to date: how are studies analysing observational data? 130
6.6.1 Moving forward: improving study designs for observational data and analyses 133
6.7 Future directions 135
6.8 Conclusion 136
6.9 References 137
Part 3 How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Stability 145
Chapter 7 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability: New Theoretical Insights 147
Michel LOREAU
7.1 Introduction 147
7.2 What is stability? 149
7.3 Why does local biodiversity promote ecosystem stability? 154
7.4 Scaling up diversity.stability relationships 158
7.5 Conclusion 162
7.6 Acknowledgements 163
7.7 References 164
Chapter 8 What Do Biodiversity Experiments Tell Us About Biodiversity and Ecological Stability Relationships? 167
Lin JIANG and Qianna XU
8.1 Introduction 167
8.2 Insight from models 169
8.3 A brief account of earlier diversity-stability experiments 170
8.4 The relationships between biodiversity and temporal stability 170
8.4.1 Grassland biodiversity experiments 170
8.4.2 Forest biodiversity experiments 172
8.4.3 Aquatic biodiversity experiments 173
8.4.4 Microbial biodiversity experiments 176
8.4.5 How general are the effects of species diversity on temporal stability? 177
8.4.6 Other dimensions of biodiversity 179
8.5 The relationships between biodiversity and resistance/resilience 180
8.6 The relevance of biodiversity experiments to real-world ecosystems 181
8.7 Conclusion 182
8.8 Acknowledgements 183
8.9 References 183
Chapter 9 Biodiversity and Temporal Stability of Naturally Assembled Ecosystems Across Spatial Scales in a Changing World 189
Yann HAUTIER and Fons VAN DER PLAS
9.1 Introduction 189
9.2 Biodiversity-stability relationships along natural gradients 193
9.3 Global change drivers and biodiversity-stability relationships 196
9.4 Contribution of dominant and rare species to stability 200
9.5 Future directions 202
9.6 References 204
Part 4 How Biodiversity Affects Human Societies 211
Chapter 10 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Managed Ecosystems 213
Bernhard SCHMID and Christian SCHÖB
10.1 A brief history of the role of biodiversity in managed ecosystems 213
10.2 Biodiversity as the basis for a new green revolution 214
10.3 Biodiversity in agriculture 217
10.3.1 Crop genetic diversity 217
10.3.2 Species diversity in grasslands and intercropping 218
10.3.3 Farm-scale diversity 220
10.4 Biodiversity in forestry 221
10.4.1 Evidence for positive biodiversity effects on forest ecosystem services 221
10.4.2 Ecosystem services provided by agroforestry 223
10.5 Outlook 224
10.5.1 Potential of biodiversity to support the next green revolution 224
10.5.2 Obstacles 224
10.5.3 Solutions 225
10.6 Acknowledgements 225
10.7 References 225
Chapter 11 Biodiversity and Human Health: On the Necessity of Combining Ecology and Public Health 233
Jean-François GUÉGAN, Benjamin ROCHE, and Serge MORAND
11.1 Introduction 233
11.2 Microbial biodiversity is a key component of ecosystems 235
11.3 The linkages between biodiversity and human infectious diseases 238
11.4 The evolution of human society is punctuated by epidemiological phases 241
11.5 The new ecology and evolution of zoonotic and sapronotic establishment in the Anthropocene 243
11.6 The process of globalization of human infectious diseases 246
11.7 A livestock-dominated planet 248
11.8 Conclusion 249
11.9 Acknowledgements 253
11.10 References 253
Chapter 12 Economic Valuation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 261
Seth BINDER
12.1 Introduction 261
12.2 What valuation is and is not 261
12.3 Non-market economic valuation methods 263
12.3.1 Production function methods 263
12.3.2 Revealed preference methods 269
12.3.3 Stated preference methods 272
12.3.4 Benefit transfer methods 273
12.4 Conclusion 274
12.5 References 276
Part 5 Zooming Out: Biodiversity in a Changing Planet 281
Chapter 13 Feedbacks Between Biodiversity and Climate Change 283
Akira S MORI, Takehiro SASAKI, Maiko KAGAMI, Takeshi MIKI, and Moriaki YASUHARA
13.1 Introduction 283
13.2 Vulnerability and responses of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning to the changing climate in different biomes 288
13.3 Societal and political challenges to these twin crises and their interlinkages 294
13.4 The potential of biodiversity to cope with the changing climate 297
13.5 Conclusion 299
13.6 Acknowledgements 299
13.7 References 299
Chapter 14 Feedbacks Between Biodiversity and Society 305
Kirsten HENDERSON
14.1 Introduction 305
14.2 Society's impact on biodiversity 307
14.2.1 Agriculture 307
14.2.2 Income 308
14.3 How societies view biodiversity 311
14.3.1 Biodiversity and culture 311
14.3.2 Biodiversity and well-being 313
14.3.3 Value of biodiversity 313
14.4 Biodiversity policy and society 314
14.4.1 Awareness and perception 314
14.4.2 Management strategies 316
14.4.3 Conflicts in biodiversity management 317
14.4.4 Successful initiatives 318
14.5 Conclusion 319
14.6 Acknowledgements 321
14.7 References 321
Chapter 15 Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 325
Forest ISBELL
15.1 Introduction 325
15.2 Protecting biodiversity and ecosystems 326
15.2.1 What are protected areas and what are they intended to protect? 326
15.2.2 What global targets have been established for protected areas? 328
15.2.3 Where are protected areas and how effective are they? 329
15.2.4 Does protecting biodiversity also protect ecosystem services? 331
15.2.5 What are the limitations of protected areas? 332
15.3 Restoring biodiversity and ecosystems by reversing degradation 333
15.3.1 What is restoration and why is it needed? 333
15.3.2 What global targets have been established for restoration? 336
15.3.3 How extensive and effective is restoration? 337
15.3.4 Increasing the diversity of restorations can increase their efficacy 338
15.3.5 What are the limitations of restoration? 339
15.4 Looking ahead 340
15.5 Conclusion 343
15.6 Acknowledgements 343
15.7 References 343
List of Authors 347
Index 351
Michel Loreau is a theoretical ecologist with broad scientific interests. He is renowned internationally for his work on the relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and stability and the sustainability of coupled human-nature systems.
Andy Hector is an experimental ecologist with an interest in biodiversity, its loss and the consequences for ecosystem functioning and stability. He works primarily with plants, focusing on grassland and forest ecosystems, and is part of the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment in Malaysian Borneo.
Forest Isbell is an ecologist who studies grasslands, forests and agroecosystems. He investigates how changes in biodiversity are altering ecosystem functioning, stability and services, considering both the costs of biodiversity loss and the benefits of restoring biodiversity.
Andy Hector is an experimental ecologist with an interest in biodiversity, its loss and the consequences for ecosystem functioning and stability. He works primarily with plants, focusing on grassland and forest ecosystems, and is part of the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment in Malaysian Borneo.
Forest Isbell is an ecologist who studies grasslands, forests and agroecosystems. He investigates how changes in biodiversity are altering ecosystem functioning, stability and services, considering both the costs of biodiversity loss and the benefits of restoring biodiversity.
