Ecological time lags in biodiversity response to habitat changes

Xuejuan Chen; Qing Wang; Baoshan Cui; Guogui Chen; Tian Xie; Wenxin Yang

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118965

Ecological time lags in biodiversity response to habitat changes

J Environ Manage. 2023 Nov 15:346:118965. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118965. Epub 2023 Sep 22.

Authors

Xuejuan Chen¹, Qing Wang², Baoshan Cui³, Guogui Chen⁴, Tian Xie⁵, Wenxin Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
² State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Research and Development Center for Watershed Environmental Eco-Engineering, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China; Yellow River Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education, Shandong, China.
³ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Research and Development Center for Watershed Environmental Eco-Engineering, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China; Yellow River Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education, Shandong, China. Electronic address: cuibs@bnu.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Research and Development Center for Watershed Environmental Eco-Engineering, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China.
⁵ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Yellow River Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education, Shandong, China.

PMID: 37741191
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118965

Abstract

The decline of biodiversity can occur with a substantial delay following habitat loss, degradation, and other environmental changes, such as global warming. Considerable time lags may be involved in these responses. However, such time lags typically pose a significant but often unrecognized challenge for biodiversity conservation across a wide range of taxa and ecosystems. Here, we synthesize the current knowledge, categories, manifestations under different scenarios and impacts of ecological time lags. Our work reveals that studies on ecosystem structure lags are far more than ecosystem process and function lags. Due to the presence of these time-lag effects, the 'window phase' typically exists, which is widely recognized as 'relaxation time', providing a particular opportunity for biodiversity conservation. The manifestations of time lags vary under different scenarios. In addition, the different mechanisms that can result in ecological time lags are hierarchically nested, in which mechanisms at the population and metapopulation level have routinely been suggested as explanations for ecological time lags. It generally takes longer time to reach equilibrium at the metapopulation level than it takes for effects to be fully expressed at the level of individuals. Finally, we propose corresponding implications for biodiversity conservation and management. Our research will provide priorities for science and management on how to address the impact of ecological time lags to mitigate future attrition of biodiversity.

Keywords: Biodiversity conservation; Function; Habitat changes; Process; Structure; Time lags.

Publication types

Review