Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects

作者：J. Philip Grime · 发表于：Journal of Ecology · 年份：1998 · DOI：10.1046/j.1365-2745.1998.00306.x · 被引用次数：3005 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Plant and animal studies、Rangeland and Wildlife Management

1 It is useful to distinguish between the immediate effects of species richness on ecosystems and those which become apparent on a longer time scale, described here as filter and founder effects. 2 Relationships between plant diversity and ecosystem properties can be explored by classifying component species into three categories – dominants, subordinates and transients. Dominants recur in particular vegetation types, are relatively large, exhibit coarse‐grained foraging for resources and, as individual species, make a substantial contribution to the plant biomass. Subordinates also show high fidelity of association with particular vegetation types but they are smaller in stature, forage on a more restricted scale and tend to occupy microhabitats delimited by the architecture and phenology of their associated dominants. Transients comprise a heterogeneous assortment of species of low abundance and persistence; a high proportion are juveniles of species that occur as dominants or subordinates in neighbouring ecosystems. 3 A ‘mass ratio’ theory proposes that immediate controls are in proportion to inputs to primary production, are determined to an overwhelming extent by the traits and functional diversity of the dominant plants and are relatively insensitive to the richness of subordinates and transients. Recent experiments support the mass ratio hypothesis and the conclusion of Huston (1997) that claims of immediate benefits of high species richness to ecosystem functions aris...