Nature Communications 17, Article number: 5787, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75046-0
Involved members of MultiTroph: Georg Albert, Michael Staab, Arong Luo, Jingting Chen, Alexandra Erfmeier, Felix Fornoff, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Yi Li, Thomas Scholten, Steffen Seitz, Ming-Qiang Wang, Naili Zhang, Helge Bruelheide, Xiaojuan Liu, Chao-Dong Zhu, Andreas Schuldt
Summary: The researchers investigated how biodiversity influences ecosystem multifunctionality by examining not only species diversity but also the networks of interactions among species. Using data from the BEF-China Experiment, they combined information on 11 types of species interaction networks and 34 ecosystem functions across multiple trophic levels. They found that larger and more structured interaction networks improve ecosystem multifunctionality, while specialized interactions are more beneficial than highly connected, generalized ones.
Conclusion: Overall, the study shows that ecosystem functioning depends not only on biodiversity itself but also on the way species interact, highlighting the importance of network-based conservation efforts.