The Ecological and Societal Consequences of Biodiversity Loss

Description

The idea that changes in biodiversity can impact how ecosystems function has, over the last quarter century, gone from being a controversial notion to an accepted part of science and policy. As the field matures, it is high time to review progress, explore the links between this new research area and fundamental ecological concepts, and look ahead to the implementation of this knowledge. This book is designed to both provide an up-to-date overview of research in the area and to serve as a useful textbook for those studying the relationship between biodiversity and the functioning, stability and services of ecosystems.

The Ecological and Societal Consequences of Biodiversity Loss is aimed at a wide audience of upper undergraduate students, postgraduate students, and academic and research staff.

Contents

Part 1. Biodiversity and Ecosystems: An Overview.
1. Biodiversity Change: Past, Present, and Future, Andy Purvis and Forest Isbell.
2. Biodiversity: Concepts, Dimensions, and Measures, Anne Chao and Robert K. Colwell.
3. Ecosystems: An Overview, Amelia A. Wolf, Sarah K. Ortiz, and Chase J. Rakowski.

Part 2. How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Functioning.
4. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Theoretical Foundations, Shaopeng Wang.
5. Experimental Evidence for How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Functioning, Mary I. O’Connor, Joey R. Bernhardt, Keila Stark, Jacob Usinowicz, and Matthew A. Whalen.
6. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Observational Analyses, Laura E. Dee, Kaitlin Kimmel, and Meghan Hayden.

Part 3. How Biodiversity Affects Ecosystem Stability.
7. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability: New Theoretical Insights, Michel Loreau.
8. What Do Biodiversity Experiments Tell Us About Biodiversity and Ecological Stability Relationships?, Lin Jiang and Qianna Xu.
9. Biodiversity and Temporal Stability of Naturally Assembled Ecosystems Across Spatial Scales in a Changing World, Yann Hautier and Fons Van Der Plas.

Part 4. How Biodiversity Affects Human Societies.
10. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Managed Ecosystems, Bernhard Schmid and Christian Schöb.
11. Biodiversity and Human Health: On the Necessity of Combining Ecology and Public Health, Jean-François Guegan, Benjamin Roche, and Serge Morand.
12. Economic Valuation of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Seth Binder.

Part 5. Zooming Out: Biodiversity in a Changing Planet.
13. Feedbacks Between Biodiversity and Climate Change, Akira S. Mori, Takehiro Sasaki, Maiko Kagami, Takeshi Miki, and Moriaki Yasuhara.
14. Feedbacks Between Biodiversity and Society, Kirsten Henderson.
15. Protecting and Restoring Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Forest Isbell.

About the authors/editors

Michel Loreau is a theoretical ecologist with broad scientific interests. He is renowned internationally for his work on the relationships between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and stability and the sustainability of coupled human–nature systems.

Andy Hector is an experimental ecologist with an interest in biodiversity, its loss and the consequences for ecosystem functioning and stability. He works primarily with plants, focusing on grassland and forest ecosystems, and is part of the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment in Malaysian Borneo.

Forest Isbell is an ecologist who studies grasslands, forests and agroecosystems. He investigates how changes in biodiversity are altering ecosystem functioning, stability and services, considering both the costs of biodiversity loss and the benefits of restoring biodiversity.

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Related subjects

• SCIENCES – Ecosystems and Environment
• Environmental Sciences