Ecosystem functions are important processes that regulate energy fluxes, nutrients, or organic matter within the ecosystem. Many of these processes are provided by invertebrates, such as facilitating decomposition, dung removal, seed removal, and nutrient recycling, and are crucial for the functioning of forest ecosystems.
Graphical abstract. Source: Chiew et al., 2024.
In our latest study published in Ecosystems, we present findings from an extensive project in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We investigated the impact of forest disturbance and habitat change on key ecosystem processes mediated by invertebrates across a land-use gradient.
Map of study area and location of habitat types. Source: Chiew et al., 2024.
Our results revealed that five ecosystem processes: dung removal, predation of insect herbivores, soil invertebrate activity, bioturbation, and decomposition, were resilient to habitat change. These findings underscores the adaptability of invertebrate communities to modified habitats, which ensures the continuity of essential ecosystem functions.
While our results have demonstrated resilience in ecosystem functioning with land-use change, we emphasize that conversion of forests to agricultural areas over larger spatial scales may result in tipping points where ecosystem functioning is reduced. There is therefore an urgent need to investigate how differences in habitat configurations at the landscape scale will affect species interactions, community patterns, and ecosystem processes and functioning.
Read the full article here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-024-00917-w