Global Journal of Life Sciences and Biological Research
Open Access

Effects on Community Productivity and Stability in Biodiversity

Agatha Christie^{* *}Correspondence: Agatha Christie, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA, Email:

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About the Study

In ecological communities, the diversity of species and genes has an impact on how these groups function. These ecological consequences of biodiversity are then impacted by climate change via increased greenhouse gases, aerosols, loss of land cover, and loss of biological diversity, leading to a rapid loss of biodiversity and extinctions of species and local populations. With current species extinction rates between 100 and 1000 times higher than in the past, the current rate of extinction is occasionally referred to as a mass extinction. The connections between diversity and production and the connections between diversity and community stability are the two key areas where the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem function have been explored. In comparison to less biologically varied communities, more diversified societies appear to be more productive and more stable in the face of disturbances. Additionally, animals that live there can change their environment through climate-related causes.

Effects on community productivity

Complementarity: Coexistence of plant species is believed to be the outcome of niche partitioning or variations in resource needs among species. A more diverse plant community should be more productive because of complementarity, which allows for a more thorough utilisation of resources. This technique, also known as niche differentiation, forms the basis of the functional group method, which deconstructs species diversity into its functional constituents.

Facilitation: By altering the environment in a way that is advantageous to a co-occurring species, certain species facilitate the growth of other species. Plants can communicate with one another through a variety of intermediaries, including nitrogen, water, temperature, and interactions with weeds and herbivores. Large desert perennials serving as nurse plants, easing the water and temperature stress on young neighbours of other species, and nutrient enrichment by nitrogen-fixers like legumes are a few instances of facilitation.

The sampling effect: According to the sampling effect of diversity, there is a higher likelihood of finding a species in a plot with more diversity that has the highest inherent productivity. Instead of diversity being a direct driver of production, this enables a composition influence on productivity. The sampling effect, however, can actually be a combination of other factors. The sampling impact can be broken down into two different categories: a higher likelihood of choosing a species that is well adapted to specific site conditions, or a higher inherent productivity. One can also increase the likelihood of including a pair of species that are very complementary to one another or a specific species that has a significant facilitative influence on other community members.

Effects on community stability

Averaging effect: If various species react differently to ecosystem changes over time, the average of their reactions will result in a more temporally stable ecosystem as more species are present. The statistical impact of adding random variables is this effect.

Negative covariance effect: The total variance of the species in the ecosystem will be smaller if there are more species present than if there are fewer species, if certain species do well when other species do not. Higher stability is shown by this smaller variance. Competition has this effect because highly competitive species will adversely covariate.

Insurance effect: More species in an environment increases the possibility that redundant stabilising species will exist, as well as the diversity of species that may react to shocks. This will improve an ecosystem’s capacity to absorb shocks.

Resistance to invasion: Diverse communities may use resources more completely than simple communities because of a diversity effect for complementarity. Thus invaders may have reduced success in diverse ecosystems, or there may be a reduced likelihood that an invading species will introduce a new property or process to a diverse ecosystem.

Resistance to disease: A decreased number of competing plant species may allow the abundances of other species to increase, facilitating the spread of diseases of those species.