Editorial Board Members' Collection Series: “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function under Global Change”
A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 12682
Special Issue Editors
Interests: biodiversity and ecosystem function; plant-animal relationships; global change biology
Interests: biodiversity and ecosystem processes; functional plant ecology; community ecology; biodiversity conservation; conservation policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Human activities have induced conspicuous global changes including, inter alia, climate change, land use change, nitrogen deposition, and biological invasions, which negatively impact biodiversity and ecosystem function in the Anthropocene. The decline in biodiversity and the deterioration of ecosystem functions and services may hamper the sustainable development of both the economy and society.
For decades, ecologists have investigated the effect of global changes on biodiversity and ecosystem functions in various ecosystems, from tundra to tropical forests. Global warming has been found to be responsible for the vegetation shift along altitudes and latitudes, phenological shift of plants and animals, and organism body size. Simulated warming experiments using open-top chambers and infrared heaters have been conducted to understand how global warming affects biodiversity and ecosystem functions, including primary productivity and nutrient cycling. Similarly, the effects of rainfall intensity and frequency have been experimentally studied in relation to biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Except for climate change, land use change, nitrogen deposition, and biological invasions are also extensively addressed to understand their effects on species diversity, plant biomass accumulation, soil carbon decomposition, nitrogen cycling and leaching, and microbial communities.
However, the biological and ecological mechanisms underlying how global changes impact biodiversity and ecosystem functions have not been fully understood. In particular, the question of how global changes influence species interactions (e.g., mutualism, parasitism, competition, facilitation, and trophic interactions) and microbial processes to indirectly affect species diversity and ecosystem properties deserves further research.
In this Special Issue on “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function under Global Change”, we welcome all aspects (either theoretical or experimental studies from various ecosystems) of original research articles and reviews on this topic to highlight the biological and ecological mechanisms underlying how global changes impact biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Shucun Sun
Prof. Dr. Panayiotis Dimitrakopoulos
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- climate change
- global warming
- precipitation
- N deposition
- biological invasion
- species interaction
- microbial process
- ecosystem function
- ecosystem service
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