In a collaborative study led by researchers at the University of Helsinki, analysis of 900 species over a 20-year period showed that biodiversity enhances ecosystem stability and helps safeguard natural communities in a changing environment.
In a collaborative study led by researchers at the University of Helsinki, analysis of 900 species over a 20-year period showed that biodiversity enhances ecosystem stability and helps safeguard natural communities in a changing environment.
Alongside climate change, biodiversity loss caused by human activity is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time. A study conducted at the Research Centre for Ecological Change, University of Helsinki investigated how the diversity of natural communities affects their stability amid rapid environmental change.
The results of the study show that diverse natural communities are more stable over time than those with fewer species. This is due to the fact that different species respond differently to environmental change – while some species suffer, others can continue functioning and help maintain the stability of the community as a whole. The researchers also observed that the mechanisms associated with stability vary between taxonomic groups: for some, stability is mainly based on the number of species, while the key factor for others is the functional composition of the community and the way in which species traits supplement each other.
The study was based on an exceptionally comprehensive dataset covering the distributions of 900 species—including birds, butterflies and moths, small and large mammals, and freshwater phytoplankton—in Finland over a 20-year period.
Read more at University of Helsinki
Photo Credit: Pinja Kettunen
