Document Detail


Assembly history dictates ecosystem functioning: evidence from wood decomposer communities.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20412280     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Community assembly history is increasingly recognized as a fundamental determinant of community structure. However, little is known as to how assembly history may affect ecosystem functioning via its effect on community structure. Using wood-decaying fungi as a model system, we provide experimental evidence that large differences in ecosystem functioning can be caused by small differences in species immigration history during community assembly. Direct manipulation of early immigration history resulted in three-fold differences in fungal species richness and composition and, as a consequence, differences of the same magnitude in the rate of decomposition and carbon release from wood. These effects - which were attributable to the history-dependent outcome of competitive and facilitative interactions - were significant across a range of nitrogen availabilities observed in natural forests. Our results highlight the importance of considering assembly history in explaining ecosystem functioning.
Authors:
Tadashi Fukami; Ian A Dickie; J Paula Wilkie; Barbara C Paulus; Duckchul Park; Andrea Roberts; Peter K Buchanan; Robert B Allen
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2010-04-16
Journal Detail:
Title:  Ecology letters     Volume:  13     ISSN:  1461-0248     ISO Abbreviation:  Ecol. Lett.     Publication Date:  2010 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-06-29     Completed Date:  2010-10-14     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101121949     Medline TA:  Ecol Lett     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  675-84     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA. fukamit@stanford.edu <fukamit@stanford.edu>
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Biodiversity
Carbon / metabolism*
Ecosystem*
Fungi / metabolism*
Models, Biological*
New Zealand
Trees / metabolism,  microbiology*
Wood / metabolism,  microbiology*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
7440-44-0/Carbon

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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