TY - JOUR TI - Plant diversity maintains multiple soil functions in future environments AU - Eisenhauer, Nico AU - Hines, Jes AU - Isbell, Forest AU - van der Plas, Fons AU - Hobbie, Sarah E AU - Kazanski, Clare E AU - Lehmann, Anika AU - Liu, Mengyun AU - Lochner, Alfred AU - Rillig, Matthias C AU - Vogel, Anja AU - Worm, Kally AU - Reich, Peter B A2 - Schmid, Bernhard A2 - Baldwin, Ian T VL - 7 PY - 2018 DA - 2018/11/28 SP - e41228 C1 - eLife 2018;7:e41228 DO - 10.7554/eLife.41228 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.41228 AB - Biodiversity increases ecosystem functions underpinning a suite of services valued by society, including services provided by soils. To test whether, and how, future environments alter the relationship between biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions, we measured grassland plant diversity effects on single soil functions and ecosystem multifunctionality, and compared relationships in four environments: ambient conditions, elevated atmospheric CO2, enriched N supply, and elevated CO2 and N in combination. Our results showed that plant diversity increased three out of four soil functions and, consequently, ecosystem multifunctionality. Remarkably, biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships were similarly significant under current and future environmental conditions, yet weaker with enriched N supply. Structural equation models revealed that plant diversity enhanced ecosystem multifunctionality by increasing plant community functional diversity, and the even provision of multiple functions. Conserving local plant diversity is therefore a robust strategy to maintain multiple valuable ecosystem services in both present and future environmental conditions. KW - biodiversity-ecosystem function KW - ecosystem multifunctionality KW - ecosystem services KW - environmental change KW - soil processes KW - functional diversity JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -