Aboveground-Belowground Interactions As Drivers of Biodiversity Effects on Ecosystem Functions and Services.

Biodiversity is a significant driver of ecosystem functions and services. Although there is convincing evidence for the generality of this finding, the underlying mechanisms are not well explored. My lab explores aboveground-belowground interactions as determinants of biodiversity effects in terrestrial ecosystems. We combine meta-analyses with targeted field and lab experiments to explore the links between aboveground-belowground interactions, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning and service provisioning. Our meta-analyses and field studies show that biodiversity increases ecosystem multifunctionality, ecosystem stability, service provisioning, and indicate strengthening biodiversity effects over time. Complementary lab experiments identify rhizodeposits as crucial links between above- and belowground biodiversity and the relevance of multitrophic interactions in the soil for plant community composition and productivity.