生物多样性 ›› 2002, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (1): 126-134.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2002015

• 论文 • 上一篇    

再论生物多样性与生态系统的稳定性

王国宏   

  1. (中国科学院植物研究所植被数量生态学开放研究实验室,  北京 100093)
  • 收稿日期:2001-07-09 修回日期:2001-12-07 出版日期:2002-02-20 发布日期:2002-02-20
  • 通讯作者: 王国宏

Further thoughts on diversity and stability in ecosystems

WANG Guo-Hong   

  1. Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology , Institute of Botany , Chinese Academy of Sciences ,Beijing 100093
  • Received:2001-07-09 Revised:2001-12-07 Online:2002-02-20 Published:2002-02-20
  • Contact: WANG GuoHong

摘要: 本文在简述生物多样性与生态系统稳定性研究动态的基础上,从生物多样性和稳定性的概念出发,指出忽视多样性和稳定性的生物组织层次可能是造成观点纷争的根源之一。特定生物组织层次的稳定性可能更多地与该层次的多样性特征相关。探讨多样性和稳定性的关系应从不同的生物组织层次上进行。扰动是生态系统多样性与稳定性关系悖论中的重要因子,如果根据扰动的性质,把生态系统(或其他组织层次)区分为受非正常外力干扰和受环境因子时间异质性波动干扰2类系统,稳定性的4个内涵可以理解为:对于受非正常外力干扰的系统而言,抵抗力和恢复力是稳定性适宜的测度指标;对于受环境因子时间异质性波动干扰的系统而言,利用持久性和变异性衡量系统的稳定性则更具实际意义。结合对群落和种群层次多样性与稳定性相关机制的初步讨论,本文认为: 在特定的前提下,多样性可以导致稳定性。

AbstractThe idea that greater diversity leads to increased community stability has long been contentious as a result of lack of consensus over the meanings of both diversity and stability in empirical studies and unrealistic models of communities in theoretical studies. Diversity and stability can occur in each biological structure level in ecosystems. However, only species diversity and community stability were involved in most of previous studies, which might be another major reason that there is no consensus on the issue. This paper presents an exploration of the relationship between diversity and stability of community and population, attaching great importance to the biological structure level of ecosystems in which diversity and stability are examined. We conclude, firstly, that prior to investigation on the relationship between diversity and stability, the biological structural level of both diversity and stability should be clearly identified, and some terms with respect to both diversity and stability should be recognized, such as phenotypic diversity, population diversity, species diversity, community diversity as well as population stability, community stability, ecosystem stability, etc. Secondly, four major properties included under the concept of stability, i.e., resistance, resilience, persistence and temporal variability, all contribute to stability and yet may have very different relationships with diversity under different disturbance regimes. We redefine these properties of stability in terms of the characteristics of disturbances, dividing them into two types. Resistance and resilience are measurements of stability when ecosystems are disturbed by abnormal disturbances, such as fire, drought, grazing, attack by insects or diseases, invasion of exotic species, etc. Persistence and temporal variability are measurements of stability under normal environmental fluctuations. Thirdly, the dynamics of stability at a given level of ecosystem may be strongly influenced by the patterns of diversity within this level. For example, community stability may be favored by population diversity as well as phenotypic diversity, while population stability ultimately depends on phenotypic diversity. Finally, with the discussions of related issues on diversity and stability in both community and population, this paper holds that, under specific premises, diversity may give rise to stability. Additionally, an assembly interpretation model with respect to the long term debate over the issue on diversity and stability is proposed. We analogise diversity and stability as two assemblies, and three basic corresponding relations may exist among the elements between this two assemblies. The first two are efficient correspondence and inefficient correspondence. The former implies that diversity would lead to stability, the latter implies that it would not. The third relation is unknown correspondence. In this case, the properties underlying these corresponding relations are still unknown due to our limited knowledge. This simple model is promising to reconcile the long term dispute over the issue on diversity and stability.