Showing papers by "James B. Grace published in 2011"
Utah State University1, University of Minnesota2, University of Oldenburg3, University of Zurich4, Iowa State University5, Oregon State University6, United States Geological Survey7, Wake Forest University8, University of Washington9, Colorado State University10, University of Queensland11, University of New Mexico12, Lanzhou University13, University of California, San Diego14, Dartmouth College15, Imperial College London16, University of Wisconsin-Madison17, University of Colorado Boulder18, United States Department of Agriculture19, Queensland University of Technology20, University of Maryland, College Park21, University of KwaZulu-Natal22, Yale University23, Agricultural Research Service24, University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)25, University of Nebraska–Lincoln26, University of Guelph27, University of Kentucky28, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill29, University of Melbourne30, La Trobe University31, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation32, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research33, Lancaster University34, Open University35, Duke University36, University of California, Davis37
TL;DR: This article conducted a standardized sampling in 48 herbaceous-dominated plant communities on five continents and found no clear relationship between productivity and fine-scale (meters−2) richness within sites, within regions, or across the globe.
Abstract: For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing productivity. Although recent meta-analyses questioned the generality of hump-shaped patterns, these syntheses have been criticized for failing to account for methodological differences among studies. We addressed such concerns by conducting standardized sampling in 48 herbaceous-dominated plant communities on five continents. We found no clear relationship between productivity and fine-scale (meters−2) richness within sites, within regions, or across the globe. Ecologists should focus on fresh, mechanistic approaches to understanding the multivariate links between productivity and richness.
509 citations
TL;DR: A structural equation model is used to analyze R. H. Whittaker's data and finds that regional pool size, combined with a modest number of other interacting abiotic and biotic factors, explains most of the variation in local herb richness in the Siskiyou biodiversity hotspot.
Abstract: In his classic study in the Siskiyou Mountains (Oregon, USA), one of the most botanically rich forested regions in North America, R. H. Whittaker (1960) foreshadowed many modern ideas on the multivariate control of local species richness along environmental gradients related to productivity. Using a structural equation model to analyze his data, which were never previously statistically analyzed, we demonstrate that Whittaker was remarkably accurate in concluding that local herb richness in these late-seral forests is explained to a large extent by three major abiotic gradients (soils, topography, and elevation), and in turn, by the effects of these gradients on tree densities and the numbers of individual herbs. However, while Whittaker also clearly appreciated the significance of large-scale evolutionary and biogeographic influences on community composition, he did not fully articulate the more recent concept that variation in the species richness of local communities could be explained in part by variation in the sizes of regional species pools. Our model of his data is among the first to use estimates of regional species pool size to explain variation in local community richness along productivity-related gradients. We find that regional pool size, combined with a modest number of other interacting abiotic and biotic factors, explains most of the variation in local herb richness in the Siskiyou biodiversity hotspot.
34 citations
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: The authors conducted standardized sampling in 48 herbaceous-dominated plant communities on five continents and found no clear relationship between productivity and fine-scale (meters−2) richness within sites, within regions, or across the globe.
Abstract: Standardized sampling from many sites worldwide was used to address an important ecological problem. For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing productivity. Although recent meta-analyses questioned the generality of hump-shaped patterns, these syntheses have been criticized for failing to account for methodological differences among studies. We addressed such concerns by conducting standardized sampling in 48 herbaceous-dominated plant communities on five continents. We found no clear relationship between productivity and fine-scale (meters−2) richness within sites, within regions, or across the globe. Ecologists should focus on fresh, mechanistic approaches to understanding the multivariate links between productivity and richness.
28 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: No clear relationship between productivity and fine-scale (meters−2) richness within sites, within regions, or across the globe is found, and ecologists should focus on fresh, mechanistic approaches to understanding the multivariate links between productivity
Abstract: For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing productivity. Although recent meta-analyses questioned the generality of hump-shaped patterns, these syntheses have been criticized for failing to account for methodological differences among studies. We addressed such concerns by conducting standardized sampling in 48 herbaceous-dominated plant communities on five continents. We found no clear relationship between productivity and fine-scale (meters−2) richness within sites, within regions, or across the globe. Ecologists should focus on fresh, mechanistic approaches to understanding the multivariate links between productivity and richness.
2 citations