Plant Diversity is Key to Productive Vegetation

Vegetation, such as a patch of prairie or a forest stand, is more productive in the long run when more plant species are present, a new University of Minnesota study shows. The unprecedented long-term study of plant biodiversity found that each species plays a role in maintaining a productive ecosystem, especially when a long time horizon is considered. The study, published recently in the journal Science, found that every additional species in a plot contributed to a gradual increase in both soil fertility and biomass production over a 14-year period.