Conferencia plenaria invitada: Using functional diversity to predict ecosystem services

DIAZ S

Leuteren

Congreso; Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting, Leuteren; 2011

Netherlands Ecological Society

Since the days of the ‘Rio Summit’ in 1992, the big biodiversity debate has partly shifted from species diversity to /functional /diversity. An exciting new research field addresses the consequences of (changes in) functional diversity, through species traits, for ecosystem functions and processes, and ultimately for ecosystem services to people. This research recognises that species are not merely numbers but community members with specific qualities and roles in biogeochemical and watercycling involving for instance carbon capture, trophic transfer, decomposition, fire regimes and water purification and storage. We will show through concepts and empirical examples how (climate-driven) changes in the functional trait composition of organisms in ecosystems have knock-on effects on ecosystem services and climate itself.