Biological Diversity and Terrestrial Ecosystem Biogeochemistry

The effect of biological diversity on ecosystem biogeochemistry has not been widely studied in recent years, but the linked nature of human alterations to both biological diversity and ecosystem functioning is increasingly appreciated.

Abstract

The effect of biological diversity on ecosystem biogeochemistry has not been widely studied in recent years, due in part to widespread recognition that our understanding of population/ecosystem interactions was insufficient to sustain the pioneering discussions of the late 1960s (cf. Woodwell and Smith 1969). Indeed, the fields of population biology and ecosystem studies largely pursued different approaches throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s. The gap between population and ecosystem ecology is now narrowing substantially, and the linked nature of human alterations to both biological diversity and ecosystem functioning is increasingly appreciated. These developments have led to renewed interest in the connections between diversity and many aspects of ecosystem function.