IAI-FinalReport_IAI-Final Report_ISP3_018: Effects of species and functional diversity on ecosystem function

This project has the following objectives: 1. To test the idea that a set of average parameters or processes for a functional type of plant species can substitute for detailed knowledge of the parameters or processes of all species in their effect on ecosystem functioning 2.

To determine some of the ways in which species or functional-type composition affect ecosystem above-ground and below-ground processes at present. 3. To predict some of the ways in which species and functional-type composition may be affected by climate change, and how these alterations in the vegetation will feed back at the ecosystem level to modify its response to a shifting climate. 4. To test whether our results can be extrapolated to vegetation types which differ in taxonomic composition and species diversity but have similar functional types.