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A new graphical model for untangling complex relationships among environment, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Recent advances in the research field of ‘biodiversity-ecosystem functioning’ have successfully begun to reconcile the apparent controversy on relationships between productivity and species richness. By unifying new advances into a single framework, I propose a 3D graphical model connecting the relationships among resource availability, species richness, and ‘community productivity.’ An emergent pattern from this model predicts that the effect of species richness on community productivity is maximized at intermediate levels of resource availability. This model will contribute to better understanding the relationships among environment, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning.

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Acknowledgments

I thank M. Murakami, G. Takimoto, M. Nakaoka, M. Kondoh, M. Shimada, N. Miyashita, and M. Kagami for their valuable comments and encouragement on my idea and manuscript. I also thank two anonymous reviewers and associated editor for their suggestions. This study was partly supported by Global COE and by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Research Fellowships for Young Scientists.

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  1. Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 10617, Taiwan

    Takeshi Miki

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Correspondence to Takeshi Miki.

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Miki, T. A new graphical model for untangling complex relationships among environment, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning. Ecol Res 24, 937–941 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0552-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0552-7

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