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Rewilding is gaining popularity as a restoration approach that promotes passive ecological succession or the active reintroduction of keystone species. A new study identifies the best areas for rewilding in Europe to meet the ambitious 2030 biodiversity protection targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity is changing at alarming rates as a result of human activities; yet biodiversity is the basis for ecosystem services upon which humans depend. Most of what we know about past, current, and projected biodiversity trends, as well as the ecosystem consequences of biodiversity change, is based on charismatic species, mostly plants and vertebrates. But 31 out of 32 animal phyla are invertebrates, representing roughly 75% of all described species on Earth. Evolution has not only produced an astonishing taxonomic diversity of invertebrates, but also an unparalleled morphological and functional diversity that has allowed invertebrates to populate marine, terrestrial, and freshwater realms. Invertebrates are responsible for many ecosystem services and disservices, which makes their appreciation and conservation a top priority of future research and policy. In this Primer, Eisenhauer and Hines highlight the tremendous diversity of invertebrates and their contributions to ecosystem services and disservices, which make their appreciation and conservation a top priority of future research and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic, long-term monitoring provides crucial evidence regarding the vulnerability of biodiversity to environmental change. New research shows that trends in taxonomic diversity do not necessarily match trends in functional diversity. Interpreting the implications of different kinds of diversity change for ecosystem functioning remains a key priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities cause substantial changes in biodiversity. 1,2 Despite ongoing concern about the implications of invertebrate decline, 3,4,5,6,7 few empirical studies have examined the ecosystem consequences of invertebrate biomass loss. Here, we test the responses of six ecosystem services informed by 30 above- and belowground ecosystem variables to three levels of aboveground (i.e., vegetation associated) invertebrate community biomass (100%, 36%, and 0% of ambient biomass) in experimental grassland mesocosms in a controlled Ecotron facility. In line with recent reports on invertebrate biomass loss over the last decade, our 36% biomass treatment also represented a decrease in invertebrate abundance (−70%) and richness (−44%). Moreover, we simulated the pronounced change in invertebrate biomass and turnover in community composition across the season. We found that the loss of invertebrate biomass decreases ecosystem multifunctionality, including two critical ecosystem services, aboveground pest control and belowground decomposition, while harvested plant biomass increases, likely because less energy was channeled up the food chain. Moreover, communities and ecosystem functions become decoupled with a lower biomass of invertebrates. Our study shows that invertebrate loss threatens the integrity of grasslands by decoupling ecosystem processes and decreasing ecosystem-service supply. [Display omitted] • We test the ecosystem consequences of simulated invertebrate decline in an Ecotron • Loss of invertebrate biomass decreases ecosystem multifunctionality • Invertebrate loss reduces aboveground pest control and belowground decomposition • Ecosystem functions become decoupled with a lower biomass of invertebrates Eisenhauer et al. test the ecosystem consequences of invertebrate loss in experimental grassland mesocosms. They find that invertebrate biomass loss decreases ecosystem multifunctionality and coupling, indicating that invertebrate loss threatens the integrity of grasslands by decoupling ecosystem processes and decreasing ecosystem-service supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological communities are assembling, re-assembling, and changing worldwide. How will shifts in community composition alter ecosystem functioning? New research shows that earthworms alter community composition and 52% of measured functions, an important step toward understanding changes in whole ecosystem performance., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)