Ecosystem multifunctionality shows unique stability responses to global change drivers

Ecosystem multifunctionality shows unique stability responses to global change drivers | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Ecosystem multifunctionality shows unique stability responses to global change drivers Felipe Rezende, Daiane Montoia-Comparsi, Francisco Valente-Neto, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8626631/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ecological research increasingly investigates the dimensionality of ecosystem functioning and stability through the multivariate relationships among their constituent functions and stability components. Yet, it is unclear how this dimensionality jointly shapes multifunctionality and overall ecological stability, and how human-driven changes affect this higher order complexity. Here, we show that global change drivers generally destabilize ecosystems by unevenly affecting multiple stability components across different functioning levels. We conducted a 160-day multifactorial experiment in freshwater mesocosms to test how global change drivers (climate warming, nutrient addition and litter loss) interactively affect the dimensionality of ecosystem stability (DS) and the resulting overall ecosystem stability (OES), comparing the stability of individual ecosystem functions with that of effective multifunctionality. Although all drivers decreased or increased the stability of different ecosystem functions, OES decreased only in response to the interaction between warming and nutrients. In contrast, DS increased only under warming, reflecting weakened correlations among stability components. Whereas warming effects on DS were prevalent at single-function levels, DS for multifunctionality showed no changes across disturbances. Together, these results indicate that multifunctionality exhibits more consistent, directionally stable responses across environmental changes than its constituent functions, an insight with direct implications for predicting and managing multiple ecosystem processes. Biological sciences/Ecology/Ecosystem ecology Biological sciences/Ecology/Theoretical ecology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Table 1 is available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files RezendeetalTables.docx Table 1 RezendeetalSupplementaryInformation.docx Supplementary Information RezendeetalExtendedData.pdf Extended Data Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8626631","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":582662437,"identity":"b0c138eb-da34-474a-bbce-e6936215b99c","order_by":0,"name":"Felipe 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Yet, it is unclear how this dimensionality jointly shapes multifunctionality and overall ecological stability, and how human-driven changes affect this higher order complexity. Here, we show that global change drivers generally destabilize ecosystems by unevenly affecting multiple stability components across different functioning levels. We conducted a 160-day multifactorial experiment in freshwater mesocosms to test how global change drivers (climate warming, nutrient addition and litter loss) interactively affect the dimensionality of ecosystem stability (DS) and the resulting overall ecosystem stability (OES), comparing the stability of individual ecosystem functions with that of effective multifunctionality. Although all drivers decreased or increased the stability of different ecosystem functions, OES decreased only in response to the interaction between warming and nutrients. In contrast, DS increased only under warming, reflecting weakened correlations among stability components. Whereas warming effects on DS were prevalent at single-function levels, DS for multifunctionality showed no changes across disturbances. 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