Dryad
Published June 1, 2021 | Version v1
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Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Thompson Rivers University
  • 2. University of British Columbia
  • 3. University of Bayreuth
  • 4. Tel Aviv University
  • 5. University of Tartu
  • 6. University of Tehran
  • 7. MTA Centre for Ecological Research
  • 8. University of Alberta
  • 9. University of Kansas
  • 10. National University of Mongolia
  • 11. Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
  • 12. University of South Africa
  • 13. National University of Córdoba
  • 14. University of Camerino
  • 15. Trinity College Dublin
  • 16. Sao Paulo State University
  • 17. Syracuse University
  • 18. University of Akron
  • 19. University of Wyoming
  • 20. Western University
  • 21. Corvinus University of Budapest
  • 22. Islamic Azad University
  • 23. University of Otago
  • 24. Lanzhou University
  • 25. University of Bern
  • 26. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
  • 27. University of Florida
  • 28. Princeton University
  • 29. Hirosaki University
  • 30. Szent István University
  • 31. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.*
  • 32. University of Pretoria
  • 33. Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

Description

The search for predictions of species diversity across environmental gradients has challenged ecologists for decades. The humped-back model (HBM) suggests that plant diversity peaks at intermediate productivity; at low productivity few species can tolerate the environmental stresses, and at high productivity a few highly competitive species dominate. Over time the HBM has become increasingly controversial, and recent studies claim to have refuted it. Here, by using data from coordinated surveys conducted throughout grasslands worldwide and comprising a wide range of site productivities, we provide evidence in support of the HBM pattern at both global and regional extents. The relationships described here provide a foundation for further research into the local, landscape, and historical factors that maintain biodiversity.

Notes

raw plot data from globally distributed sites
fraser_plotdata.csv
R script for within_site_GLMs_Fig2A_TableS2
within_site_GLMs_Fig2A_TableS2.R
R script for Table_1_analyses_FigS1
Table_1_analyses_FigS1.R
R script for varied_grain_analyses_FigS2
varied_grain_analyses_FigS2.R
R script for HBmodels_FigS3
HBmodels_FigS3.R
R script for max_richness_FigS4
max_richness_FigS4.R
R script for within_site_GLMs_reduced_data_Figs_S5_2B_S6
within_site_GLMs_reduced_data_Figs_S5_2B_S6.R

Files

Brief_summary.pdf

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Additional details

Related works

Is cited by
10.1126/science.aab3916 (DOI)
Is derived from
10.5061/dryad.038q8 (DOI)