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Assembly history dictates ecosystem functioning: evidence from wood decomposer communities.
Ecol Lett. 2010 Jun; 13(6):675-84
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25 Jan 2011
DOI: 10.3410/f.7772959.8109058
The most powerful science can often be done using the simplest design. In this paper, Fukami et al. utilize a simple experimental design to test whether the order of colonization by multiple species impacts ecosystem function.
Using a suite of 10 fungal species known as common wood decomposers in forest systems, this paper showed that not only did the order of colonization by the 10 species impact the total species richness throughout the system but it also had a tremendous effect on the rate of decomposition observed in a wooden disk. Differences in decomposition were shown in several ways (total biomass lost, N:C ratio, N content, and respiration rate) to complete a convincing argument that a natural 'order of operations' matters in ecological systems. The use of this system was particularly elegant as it may have immediate relevance to actual processes in the field. Wood resources available for decomposition in forest systems are constantly being replenished by way of breaking branches or fallen/dead trees. Apparently, which species colonize first may have longer term impacts for the turnover of nutrients and carbon stored in the wood.
The results discussed in this paper are certainly not translatable to all systems. In fact, they may only be relevant to a select few. However, this simple experiment adds plenty of interesting information to the discussions of community structure, importance of dispersal and colonization, and competition in ecology.
The results discussed in this paper are certainly not translatable to all systems. In fact, they may only be relevant to a select few. However, this simple experiment adds plenty of interesting information to the discussions of community structure, importance of dispersal and colonization, and competition in ecology.
Disclosures
None declared
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Smithwick E and McCormack L: F1000Prime Recommendation of [Fukami T et al., Ecol Lett 2010, 13(6):675-84]. In F1000Prime, 25 Jan 2011; DOI: 10.3410/f.7772959.8109058. F1000Prime.com/7772959#eval8109058
F1000Prime Recommendations, Dissents and Comments for [Fukami T et al., Ecol Lett 2010, 13(6):675-84]. In F1000Prime, 19 Jun 2013; F1000Prime.com/7772959
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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.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01465.x
PMID: 20412280
