- Dec 2017
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www.scienceintheclassroom.org www.scienceintheclassroom.org
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J. E. K. Byrnes, L. Gamfeldt, F. Isbell, J. S. Lefcheck, J. N. Griffin, A. Hector, B. J. Cardinale, D. U. Hooper, L. E. Dee, J. E. Duffy, Investigating the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality: Challenges and solutions. Methods Ecol. Evol. 5, 111–124 (2014).
Byrne's review focuses on the impacts of assemblage diversity on ecosystem functions.
This study acknowledges the impact of diversity on resource utilization and thus productivity, however the focus is on the characterization of multi-functionality.
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C. Fissore, J. Espeleta, E. A. Nater, S. E. Hobbie, P. B. Reich, Limited potential for terrestrial carbon sequestration to offset fossil-fuel emissions in the upper midwestern US. Front. Ecol. Environ. 8, 409–413 (2010).
Fissore's review argues that carbon sequester by forests in the mid-west can not off set fossil fuel based carbon dioxide emissions. The study compares hypothetical scenarios necessary to offset significant proportions of the carbon dioxide emissions by converting landscapes into carbon sequestering species.
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R. F. Follett, Soil management concepts and carbon sequestration in cropland soils. Soil Tillage Res. 61, 77–92 (2001).
Follett discusses the role organic soils play in the movement of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the soil. This review characterizes terrestrial soils as carbon sinks which is important for crop management.
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P. B. Reich, D. Tilman, S. Naeem, D. S. Ellsworth, J. Knops, J. Craine, D. Wedin, J. Trost, Species and functional group diversity independently influence biomass accumulation and its response to CO2 and N. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 101, 10101–10106 (2004).
Reich compares the role of CO2 and N on species richness and functional group diversity.
This study compares the roles of functional group diversity and species richness has on biomass accumulation in an elevated carbon dioxide and nitrogen environment.
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R. Sedjo, B. Sohngen, Carbon sequestration in forests and soils, in Annual Review of Resource Economics, G. C. Rausser, Ed. (Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, 2012), vol. 4, pp. 126–143
Sejo discusses the role species richness plays in effecting economic value.
This review puts emphasis on the role of biodiversity on marginal economic value represented as carbon storage for conservation efforts.
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D. A. Fornara, D. Tilman, Plant functional composition influences rates of soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation. J. Ecol. 96, 314–322 (2008).
Fornara reviews the mechanisms that control carbon and nitrogen accumulation in soils.
The review covers the relationships between biodiversity and carbon and nitrogen accumulation in soils, with an emphasis on the c3 and c4 grasses.
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T. L. Daniels, Integrating forest carbon sequestration into a cap-and-trade program to reduce net CO2 emissions. J. Am. Plann. Assoc. 76, 463–475 (2010).
Daniels reviews the role forests play in reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. His focus however is primarily advocating for including carbon sequester by forests into management plans or a cap-and-trade program.
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A. D. Barnosky, N. Matzke, S. Tomiya, G. O. U. Wogan, B. Swartz, T. B. Quental, C. Marshall, J. L. McGuire, E. L. Lindsey, K. C. Maguire, B. Mersey, E. A. Ferrer, Has the Earth's sixth mass extinction already arrived? Nature 471, 51–57 (2011).
Barnosky discusses the events known as mass extinctions and compares the rates of extinction for these events to modern rates of extinction. PB
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B. J. Cardinale, K. L. Matulich, D. U. Hooper, J. E. Byrnes, E. Duffy, L. Gamfeldt, P. Balvanera, M. I. O'Connor, A. Gonzalez, The functional role of producer diversity in ecosystems. Am. J. Bot. 98, 572–592 (2011).
Cardinale reviews the roles of primary producer biodiversity with respect to ecological processes critical to the functionality and health of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. PB
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“the variety of living [photosynthetic] organisms, the genetic differences among them, and the communities and ecosystems in which they occur” (2), is therefore essential for carbon storage on Earth, for our oxygen-dependent existence, and for regulation of global climate.
In another study, Keystone Center found that the way different species of plants interact within communities, effects the carbon storage in that ecosystem. Different species of plants are able to store carbon to different degrees because of genetic variance. Decreasing plant biodiversity would thus decrease the amount of carbon being stored in this ecosystem. Without diversity in plant species, our oxygen-dependent existence and regulation of global climate might not be possible. PB
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