la differénce: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem functioning (review article).

DÍAZ S. M.; CABIDO ,M.

TRENDS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION - TREE

ELSEVIER SCIENCE LONDON

Año: 2001 vol. 16 p. 646 - 655

0169-5347

The links between plant diversity and ecosystem functining remain highly controversial. There is a growing consensus, however, that functinal diversity, or the value and range of species traits, rather tnan species numbers per se, strongly detrermines ecosystem functining. Despite its importance, and the fact that species diversity is ofte an inadequate surrogate, functional diversity has been studied in relatively few cases. Approaches based on species richness on the one hand, and on functional trais and types on the other, have been extremely productive in recent years, but attempts to conect their fundings have been rare. Crossfertilization between these two approaches is a promising way of gaining mechanistic insight into the links between plant diversity and ecosystem processes and contributing to practical management for the conservation of diversity and ecosystem services.