Response to comments on "productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness"
Grace JB., Adler PB., Seabloom EW., Borer ET., Hillebrand H., Hautier Y., Hector A., Harpole WS., O'Halloran LR., Anderson TM., Bakker JD., Brown CS., Buckley YM., Collins SL., Cottingham KL., Crawley MJ., Damschen EI., Davies KF., DeCrappeo NM., Fay PA., Firn J., Gruner DS., Hagenah N., Jin VL., Kirkman KP., Knops JMH., La Pierre KJ., Lambrinos JG., Melbourne BA., Mitchell CE., Moore JL., Morgan JW., Orrock JL., Prober SM., Stevens CJ., Wragg PD., Yang LH.
Pan et al. claim that our results actually support a strong linear positive relationship between productivity and richness, whereas Fridley et al. contend that the data support a strong humped relationship. These responses illustrate how preoccupation with bivariate patterns distracts from a deeper understanding of the multivariate mechanisms that control these important ecosystem properties.