In: Oecologia, 2019, vol. 189, no. 1, p. 185–197
Studies on biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) in highly controlled experiments often yield results incompatible with observations from natural systems: experimental results often reveal positive relationships between diversity and productivity, while for natural systems, zero or even negative relationships have been reported. The discrepancy may arise due to a limited or closed local...
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In: Oikos, 2017, vol. 126, no. 6, p. 782–791
How species diversity influences ecosystem functioning has been the subject of many experiments and remains a key question for ecology and conservation biology. However, the fact that diversity cannot be manipulated without affecting species composition makes this quest methodologically challenging. Here, we evaluate the relative importance of diversity and of composition on biomass...
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In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2014, vol. 5, no. 8, p. 815–823
Studies on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) have elicited debate over the interpretation of the positive relationship between species richness and plant productivity. Manipulating richness cannot be achieved without affecting composition; it is thus essential to consider the latter in statistical models.We firstly review existing approaches that use species richness as an explanatory...
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In: Ecosphere, 2014, vol. 5, no. 2, p. art18
Declining plant species richness in agro-ecosystems and thus reduced habitat quality can have cascading effects on ecosystem functioning, leading to reduced pollination and biological control. Here we test if plant diversity can affect arthropod diversity and abundance on a very small scale, manipulating plant species richness (2, 6, 12 and 20 sown species) in small adjacent subplots (6 × 9 m)...
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In: Journal of Animal Ecology, 2013, vol. 82, no. 6, p. 1203–1214
Understanding the environmental factors that structure biodiversity and food webs among communities is central to assess and mitigate the impact of landscape changes. Wildflower strips are ecological compensation areas established in farmland to increase pollination services and biological control of crop pests and to conserve insect diversity. They are arranged in networks in order to favour...
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Thèse de doctorat : Université de Fribourg, 2013 ; no. 1780.
Agricultural land covers approximately 38% of the world's land area, so its contribution to biodiversity is critical for successful conservation in the future. Managed in the right way, agriculture can contribute to the conservation of high-diversity systems, which may provide important ecosystem services such as pollination and biological control. The identification of environmental factors that...
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In: Ecology and Evolution, 2012, vol. 2, no. 10, p. 2460-2473
Wildflower strips are used to increase natural enemies of crop pests and to conserve insect diversity on farmland. Mollusks, especially slugs, can affect the vegetation development in these strips considerably. Although recent theoretical work suggests that more diverse plant communities will exhibit greater resistance against herbivore pressure, empirical studies are scarce. We conducted a...
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