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Project title

The contribution of common and rare species to spatial patterns of functional diversity

Primary Funding Agency

Irish Research Council

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

University of Dublin, Trinity College (TCD)

Lead Applicant

n/a

Project Abstract

We are facing a biodiversity emergency, with over a million species predicted to be at risk of extinction. Whether or not a species is present can affect how an ecosystem, such as a grassland, works (its function) and threaten the services that grassland ecosystem provides to people, such as carbon storage or food crop pollination. As species loss leads to the reduction of nature�s functioning and contributions to people, it becomes increasingly important to understand what kinds of species are found in different places. Different species have different collections of traits which determine their ecological function. For example, plants with small, thick leaves have lower decomposition rates, returning nutrients to the soil more slowly than plants with large, thin leaves. Rare species are more likely than common species to be lost from an area yet may have key ecological traits which contribute to ecosystem functioning and the services provided to people. I will find out whether rare and common species contribute different kinds of important ecological traits (i.e. functional diversity) and whether the loss of rare species has a larger than expected impact on grassland functioning. I will use existing plant survey data from grassland systems, including a detailed dataset from the rare Machair ecosystem, a habitat of high conservation concern in Ireland and Scotland, as well as grassland surveys from European and global networks. I will identify key sets of species that have a larger than expected effect on functional diversity, which would be particularly important for conservation and management. Understanding the important role of functional diversity in ecosystems links directly to the United National Sustainable Development Goal �Life on Land�, which aims to halt biodiversity loss. This research is vital for grassland conservation and understanding how they function by testing the vulnerability of ecosystem functioning to species loss.

Grant Approved

�91,970.00

Research Hub

n/a

Research Theme

Not relevant

Start Date

01/10/2020

Initial Projected Completion Date

01/10/2022