Effects of plant species richness on invasion dynamics, disease outbreaks, insect abundances and diversity

J M H Knops; D Tilman; N M Haddad; S Naeem; C E Mitchell; J Haarstad; M E Ritchie; K M Howe; P B Reich; E Siemann; J Groth

doi:10.1046/j.1461-0248.1999.00083.x

Effects of plant species richness on invasion dynamics, disease outbreaks, insect abundances and diversity

Ecol Lett. 1999 Sep;2(5):286-293. doi: 10.1046/j.1461-0248.1999.00083.x.

Authors

J M H Knops¹, D Tilman², N M Haddad³, S Naeem⁴, C E Mitchell², J Haarstad², M E Ritchie⁵, K M Howe⁴, P B Reich⁶, E Siemann⁷, J Groth⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A. Present Address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, U.S.A.
² Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A.
³ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A. Present Address: Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, U.S.A.
⁴ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A. Present Address: Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, U.S.A.
⁵ Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Utah State University, Logan, UT, U.S.A.
⁶ Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A.
⁷ Department of Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, U.S.A.
⁸ Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A.

PMID: 33810630
DOI: 10.1046/j.1461-0248.1999.00083.x

Abstract

Declining biodiversity represents one of the most dramatic and irreversible aspects of anthropogenic global change, yet the ecological implications of this change are poorly understood. Recent studies have shown that biodiversity loss of basal species, such as autotrophs or plants, affects fundamental ecosystem processes such as nutrient dynamics and autotrophic production. Ecological theory predicts that changes induced by the loss of biodiversity at the base of an ecosystem should impact the entire system. Here we show that experimental reductions in grassland plant richness increase ecosystem vulnerability to invasions by plant species, enhance the spread of plant fungal diseases, and alter the richness and structure of insect communities. These results suggest that the loss of basal species may have profound effects on the integrity and functioning of ecosystems.

Keywords: Biodiversity; biological invasions; ecosystem functioning; insect abundance; insect diversity; plant diseases; plant pathogens.

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