Data from: Quantifying interspecific and intraspecific diversity effects on ecosystem functioning

Rapid environmental changes result in massive biodiversity loss with
detrimental consequences for the functioning of ecosystems. Recent studies
suggest that intraspecific diversity can contribute to ecosystem
functioning to an extent comparable to contributions of interspecific
diversity. Knowledge of the relative importance of these two sources of
biodiversity is essential for predicting ecosystem consequences of
biodiversity loss and will aid prioritization of conservation targets and
implementation of management measures. However, our quantitative insights
into how interspecific and intraspecific biodiversity loss affects
ecosystem functioning, and how the effects of these two sources of
biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning can be compared are still very
limited. To facilitate this goal, we extend the interspecific Price
partitioning method originally introduced by J. Fox in 2006, previously
used to quantify species loss and gain effects on ecosystem functioning,
to also account for the effects of intraspecific diversity loss and gain
on ecosystem function. Using this extended version can provide the
quantitative information required for answering research questions
addressing correlations between interspecific and intraspecific diversity
effects on ecosystem function, identifying interspecific and intraspecific
groups with large effects, and assessing whether intraspecific diversity
can compensate for losses in interspecific diversity. Applying this method
to carefully designed experiments will provide additional insights into
how biodiversity loss at different ecological levels contributes to and
changes ecosystem functioning.