Biodiversity is rapidly declining 1 , and this may negatively affect ecosystem processes 2 ,
including economically important ecosystem services 3 . Previous studies have shown that …

The global decline in biodiversity has generated concern over the consequences for ecosystem
functioning and services. Although ecosystem functions driven by soil microorganisms …

In the past two decades, a large number of studies have investigated the relationship
between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, most of which focussed on a limited set of …

Evidence suggests that biodiversity supports ecosystem functioning. Yet, the mechanisms
driving this relationship remain unclear. Complementarity is one common explanation for …

Earth is home to over 350,000 vascular plant species that differ in their traits in innumerable
ways. A key challenge is to predict how natural or anthropogenically driven changes in the …

Background One of the most significant consequences of contemporary global change is
the rapid decline of biodiversity in many ecosystems. Knowledge of the consequences of …

Soil microbial biomass is a key determinant of carbon dynamics in the soil. Several studies
have shown that soil microbial biomass significantly increases with plant species diversity, …

The role of species and functional group diversity of primary producers for decomposers
and decomposition processes is little understood. We made use of the “Jena Biodiversity …

Concern about the functional consequences of unprecedented loss in biodiversity has
prompted biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) research to become one of the most active …

Different tree species influence litter decomposition directly through species‐specific litter
traits, and indirectly through distinct modifications of the local decomposition environment. …