Improved Functioning of Diverse Landscape Mosaics
It is well-established that biodiverse ecosystems generally function better than monocultures. Pascal Niklaus and Jacqueline Oehri, with colleagues Gabriela Schaepman-Strub and Bernhard Schmid of the URPP GCB, show that the same is true on a larger scale published in Nature Communications today.
A mix of different land-covers including grassland, forest, urban areas and water bodies improves the functioning and stability of a landscape – irrespective of the plant species diversity, region and climate.
They investigated how different land-cover areas affect vegetation growth in large landscapes. Using aerial imagery, they assessed land-cover in 4,974 landscape plots from all regions in Switzerland and satellite data to determine plant productivity in these landscapes over a period of 17 years.
The team found that landscapes consisting of a mosaic of different land uses were more productive than the average landscape with uniform use. This positive effect of land-use diversity and productivity held over many regions, climatic conditions and altitude ranges. Similar to the way in which plant species interact in a small patch of vegetation and thereby improve the functioning of the plant community, areas with different land uses interact and improve the functioning of the entire landscape. This means that in such large landscapes, novel mechanisms must be at play that do not operate in the small study plots traditionally examined in biodiversity experiments.
The way in which different land uses are spatially interwoven thus promotes the functioning of landscapes, in addition to the established beneficial effects of high species diversity. The study’s novel approach enables landscapes to be analyzed on a scale that is relevant for regional planning and conservation policies.
Visit the UZH Media site to read more.
Contact Prof Dr. Pascal Niklaus or Dr. Jacqueline Oehri for more information.
Oehri, J., Schmid, B., Schaepman-Strub, G. et al. Terrestrial land-cover type richness is positively linked to landscape-level functioning. Nature Communications 11, 154 (2020) doi:10.1038/s41467-019-14002-7
Debra Zuppinger-Dingley and
More news
- Michael Schaepman talks about how remote sensing can help protect biodiversity at American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting 2021
- Florian Altermatt elected to Foundation Board of InfoFauna/CSCF
- Florian Altermatt in 'Talk of the day' on Swiss Radio talks about the river flea shrimp, Pro Natura's 'Animal of the Year' drawing attention to water pollution.
- Almost 2 million square meters of near-natural space has been acquired over the last year and a half as part of Mission B for more biodiversity
- Florian Altermatt features on Swiss television about how animals become city dwellers
- Environmental DNA can determine river biodiversity!
- URPP GCB’s Florian Altermatt, president of the Swiss Biodiversity Forum, on Swiss TV news talking about the decline in insect numbers
- ABCD: All continents, balanced gender, low carbon transport and diverse backgrounds
- Species loss is detrimental for forest stand volume and these effects strengthen with age in forests
- The first World Biodiversity Forum takes place in Davos, Switzerland in February 2020
- Maria J. Santos talks on RTP televison
- Annabelle Constance awarded a grant from WIOMSA for her research project on the Aldabra Atoll
- NHK World (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) reports on URPP GCB research, including Borneo and Swiss field studies.
- An Honory Doctorate awarded to environmental physicist Dr. Ghassem R. Asrar by the Faculty of Science, University of Zurich
- Alizée Le Moigne awarded best talk prize at the 6th Fresh Blood for Freshwater conference
- Gabriela Schaepman-Strub appointed as Associate Professor for Earth System Science at the University of Zurich
- Annabelle Constance wins best poster award at Biology'19 in Zurich, Switzerland.
- Fanny Petibon awarded prize at the EARSeL Workshop in Brno, Czech Republic.
- Cross-ecosystem carbon flows have been ignored until now, but they have important global effects.
- Small Genetic Differences Turn Plants into Better Teams
- Emily Solly, a Postdoc in the URPP GCB recently received a SNSF Ambizione Grant
- URPP GCB's Florian Altermatt was on air on Swiss Radio "Morgenstund" talking about biodiversity and global change
- Alpine and Arctic tundra are warming 2-3 times faster than average
- The complex interplay between ecosystems, species and genes to measure biodivesity and global change
- URPP GCB Florian Altermatt appointed as Associate Professor for Aquatic Ecology at the University of Zurich
- Alizée Le Moigne's project funded by Polar Access Fund 2018 offered by the Swiss Polar Institute
- Species-Rich Forests Better Compensate Environmental Impacts
- Rethinking our relationship with Nature
- Evolution of facilitation requires diverse communities
- Charcoal: Major Missing Piece in the Global Carbon Cycle
- The Nagoya Protocol could backfire on the Global South
- Gabriela Schaepman-Strub to represent Switzerland in the Arctic’s Council biodiversity working group, CAFF
- Artenvielfalt macht Landschaften robuster
- URPP on Global Change and Biodiversity New Assistant Professorship in Earth System Science
- URPP Global Change and Biodiversity member selected as International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) fellow
- Mapping Functional Diversity of Forests with Remote Sensing
- Biodiversity protects against drought
- bioDISCOVERY News: Natural Assets Definition Workshop
- Diverse Landscapes are more productive and adapt better to Climate Change
- Swiss researchers from the URPP GCB are digitizing the forest!!
- Prof. Dr. Florian Altermatt elected vice-president of the Forum Biodiversität Schweiz of SCNAT
- SNSF Scientific Image Competition results have now been released
- University of Zurich to become global centre for biodiversity research
- Gabriela Schaepman-Strub about her expeditions to Siberia
- Biology'16
- Lunch Seminar with Dr. Lars Larsson
- Scientifica 2015 – Light and Biodiversity
- Interdisciplinary cooperation to measure biodiversity from space
- Gabriela Schaepman-Strub joined the Committee on Polar and High altitude research
- Lunch Seminar with Mikey O'Brien
- Journal Club
- Nagoya Protocol – access and benefit sharing of biodiversity
- Lunch meeting: Lake Zurich and Seasonality
- A dedicated forest phenology monitoring network
- Phenology Symposium
- Plant communities produce greater yield than monocultures
- Solar Energy to the Siberian Site
- Keynote Talk at the Austrian Statistical Society
- Livelihoods and Global Change Perceptions in 4 Siberian Villages
- Second URPP GCB field season at the Siberian test site
- Giant Tortoise Exclosures on Aldabra
- Lunch Meeting Jennifer Bartmess & Leonard Alaza
- MoU between the URPP GCB and EU BON
- Lunch Meeting: Malaysia
- Geo-X Biodiversity Day 2014
- Lunch Meeting: Siberia Test Site
- Lunch Meeting: Borneo Test Site
- Memorandum of Understanding
- URPP GCB at the Geo-X and Ministerial Summit
- Siberia Expedition
- Contribution to Scientifica 2013
- SRF4 interviews Gabriela Schaepman-Strub
- Siberia Expedition
- Breakfast with Terry Chapin