Creating Your Own Environment : Ecosystems Sustained by Cushion Plants

A cardinal notion in ecology is that the environment influences biological populations. Yet, organisms have the power to create and modify their surrounding environment, in turn influencing other populations and ecosystem processes. Using mountain plant communities and flower visitor networks as a case study, we developed an empirical approach to quantify changes in ecosystem functioning due to ecosystem engineers and associated biodiversity. Our results show how facilitation and complementarity effects between plants increase ecosystem functioning across trophic level. We also reveal a novel mechanism underlying the consequences of biodiversity change and the constructive impact of biological populations on their environment.