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Quantifying Functional Biodiversity

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science ((BRIEFSENVIRONMENTAL))

Abstract

Functional diversity is an increasing used concept to address changes in biodiversity. It is an emerging concept which summarizes key properties of ecosystems of special interest in global climate change studies and in the evaluation of the effects of land management in the preservation of ecosystem services for human wellbeing. In this chapter we introduce the main notions associated with functional diversity approach, including definition of functional diversity, ecosystem processes, and ecosystem services and linking these concepts to species traits. We highlight the importance of functional diversity approach using some examples to show the relationship between ecosystem services with species traits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural Technology, Francisco de Miranda National Experimental University (UNEFM), Complejo Docente El Hatillo UNEFM, Apartado 7434, Coro, 4101, Falcón, República Bolivariana de Venezuela

    Laura Pla

  2. Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Turrialba, 30501, Costa Rica

    Fernando Casanoves

  3. Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, The National University of Cordoba, Avenida Valparaíso s/n CC 509, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina

    Julio Di Rienzo

Authors
  1. Laura Pla
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  2. Fernando Casanoves
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  3. Julio Di Rienzo
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Correspondence to Laura Pla .

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Pla, L., Casanoves, F., Di Rienzo, J. (2012). Introduction. In: Quantifying Functional Biodiversity. SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2648-2_1

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