Biodiversity stabilizes productivity via trait–mediated drought resistance

Biodiversity stabilizes productivity via trait–mediated drought resistance | 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 Biological Sciences - Article Biodiversity stabilizes productivity via trait–mediated drought resistance Xiaobin Pan, Shengnan Wang, Kathryn Barry, George A. Kowalchuk, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9303225/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme events, understanding the mechanisms that stabilize ecosystem functioning has become increasingly important1–5 . Biodiversity is widely thought to enhance ecosystem stability6–10 , yet whether this arises primarily from increased resistance to climatic extremes or faster recovery afterward remains unclear11–17 , partly because most biodiversity experiments rely on precipitation manipulations conducted under ambient climatic variability. Here we present causal evidence from the Utrecht University Biodiversity and Climate Variability Experiment18 , the first outdoor mesocosm experiment combining replicated plant diversity gradients with controlled drought manipulations independent of ambient precipitation. Across grassland communities spanning 1-12 species, higher diversity increased the temporal stability of productivity primarily by enhancing resistance to drought, with no detectable effect on recovery. Structural equation models showed that diversity effect on resistance was mediated by community trait composition and functional diversity. Communities composed of species with more conservative strategies and communities with both conservative species and acquisitive species were more resistant to drought. These results demonstrate that biodiversity stabilizes ecosystem functioning by buffering productivity against climatic extremes through trait-mediated resistance rather than recovery, highlighting the importance of conserving functional composition and trait diversity for reliable ecosystem service provision. Biological sciences/Ecology/Biodiversity Biological sciences/Ecology/Community ecology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Pansupp.pdf Extended Data figures and tables Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted 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. 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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-9303225","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Biological Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":616602682,"identity":"5ea6c041-ec2f-4a5a-9d06-f4de36684206","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaobin Pan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAlElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNACAxsQyXiABC0FaWCKFC0fDpOgxeAA78HPBQbnEzcc4D1AnBbJBr5k6RkGt4Fa+BKI08LPwGMgzQPWwmNAnBY2Bh7j3zwG50jQArTFDGjLARK0SDbzpVnzGCQbzzxMrBaD472Hb/P8sZPtO95j+IAoLQzMPDAGcepBgIewklEwCkbBKBjhAAAykSwcAIaSPgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0578-7753","institution":"Utrecht University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaobin","middleName":"","lastName":"Pan","suffix":""},{"id":616602683,"identity":"df96168d-48d0-4d9d-9568-d641a0589820","order_by":1,"name":"Shengnan Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Utrecht University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shengnan","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":616602686,"identity":"3e0355a8-9bba-4f00-b74c-b7ec1f22dc08","order_by":2,"name":"Kathryn Barry","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6893-6479","institution":"Utrecht University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kathryn","middleName":"","lastName":"Barry","suffix":""},{"id":616602690,"identity":"53095c85-efa7-4332-9665-969f93091934","order_by":3,"name":"George A. 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