More effect of ephemeral plant species diversity on aboveground biomass than functional diversity and functional composition

Abstract The quantification of plant diversity–productivity relationships is essential for accurate productivity assessments. Global change drivers are altering resource availability and biodiversity. However, the extent to which multiple attributes of diversity (species, functions) buffer community productivity in response to the resource availability changes and the potential driver mechanisms of the diversity‐productivity relationship still needs to be the consensus. We investigated the ephemeral plant diversity–productivity relationships of different attributes along a precipitation gradient in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China. To evaluate the potential mechanisms by which diversity and functional composition affect aboveground productivity (niche complementarity and selection effect). Our results showed that (1) the variance of species richness (SR), Rao's quadratic entropy (RaoQ), community‐weighted mean of height (CWM H ), and community‐weighted mean of leaf phosphorus concentration (CWM P ) was larger among sites (variation between different sites) than subplots (variation between different subplots). Among subplots, the variance of community‐weighted mean of specific leaf area (CWM SLA ), community‐weighted mean of leaf carbon concentration (CWM C ), and community‐weighted mean of leaf nitrogen concentration (CWM N ) was larger than the sites. (2) SR, RaoQ, CWM C , CWM N , CWM H , pH, and mean annual precipitation (MAP) collectively influenced the accumulation of aboveground biomass (AGB). (3) Species diversity and MAP have strongly affected AGB and accounted for 50% and 42%. The study confirms that SR is the optimal predictor of biomass in ephemeral plants. Complementation effects may be the primary mechanism explaining the relationship between biodiversity and productivity in the Gurbantunggut Desert, and thus the effect of plant diversity cannot be downplayed.