Exist Many types of changes in the use of soils caused by peopleAmong them deforestation (elimination of trees and other forest plants), forced afforestation (non -inative tree plantation), urbanization, pollution and reintroduction of wild species.
The The earth is an essential and finite resource. The transformation of vegetation coverage for industrial and/or agricultural use has helped progress, but parallel the ecosystems have been degraded and causes the emission of greenhouse gases (BKG). For the purpose of reducing this impact, it is necessary to implement a sustainable management of soils.
Plants and their functional characteristics
An international team where the desert distribution research center participates (To kiss), of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the University of Valencia (UV) and the Generalitat Valenciana, has studied the way the Ground use influences the stability of ecosystemsThe ability to stay in balance against conditions such as intensive use or climate change.
The results published by the magazine Science is progressingemphasize an important finding: the functional characteristics of plants, such as the strategies they use to grow and benefit from resources, have a crucial role in the form While ecosystems respond to changes in land use. De Cide is the only Spanish research center that participates in this study, where scientists from Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic work together.
To do this work They used information from organisms of different trophic levelsThe steps that represent how the living beings of an ecosystem obtain their energy and nutrients that inhabited 300 places (grasslands and forests) that are spread between the north, central and southern Germany. The analyzed data were collected for 13 years via the ‘Biodiversity Exploratories’ initiative, an open research platform financed by the German Research Foundation.
“Our study has shown for the first time how changes in the characteristics of plants, such as the way they use resources, can influence the stability of ecosystems. Changes in land use, such as agriculture or urbanization, the variability of the dominant species influencesthe most common in an ecosystem, and this influences the balance of the entire ecosystem, ”explains Marta Gaia Sperandii, the first author of the study she conducted during her stay in the Cide with financing the State Research Agency of the Ministry from the Ministry of Science, of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
“This effect not only occurs within a specific plant group, but also influences others Organisms such as insects or animalsThat depends on them. The diversity of plants and their strategies to take advantage of natural resources therefore play a key role in the stability of ecosystems over time, “says the researcher.
Plants with ‘acquisitive’ strategies
The research team showed that plants with ‘acquisitive’ strategies, which grow fast and consume many resources, are the most important mediators of these effects. So when the land use intensifies, intensive exploitation for agriculture, cattle or construction, an increase in this type of plants is observed. “They would be like rock stars that live quickly and leave a wonderful corpse,” says Francesco de Bello, a cide researcher who participates in the investigation. “This type ‘Opportunistic’ plants make the ecosystem more unstable“.
The study shows that the balance of ecosystems not only depends on the quantity and variety of species that they and their relationships put together, but also on the role that is played by the Different types in the maintenance of the balance. “Animals and plants show extraordinary variability in their functional and morphological characteristics, including differences in size, weight, shape, reproductive capacity or strategy of the use of resources,” the cide researcher argues. “These functional characteristics determine the role that species play in ecosystems, and therefore in their stability,” he summarizes.
The essential functions of ecosystems
Moreover, the work that, in order to better understand changes in ecosystems, it is essential to look at the interactions between different trophic levels, such as plants and arthropods. This could help design strategies more sustainable soil management, That both biodiversity and the essential functions of ecosystems retain. By identifying which properties of plant communities are more sensitive, researchers offer new strategies to protect ecosystems in the light of changes in human activity or the effects of climate change.
In identification Which properties of plant communities are more sensitiveResearchers offer new strategies to protect ecosystems in the light of changes in human activity or the effects of climate change