Get reliable rangeland science

Far-reaching realities of global environmental change threaten the integrity of our planet’s ecosystems and their ability to provide the suite of services critical to human health and well-being (Chapin et al. 2000; Costanza et al. 2014). To understand the consequences of these changes, and how to address them in the context of environmental management, remains a challenge for all working in the biodiversity sector. Answers to questions such as ‘what is the connection between ecosystem function and biodiversity?’, ‘what processes underlie this connection?’ and ‘what is the relationship between ecosystem function and the provision of ecosystem services?’ are fundamental to our understanding and are being addressed by a burgeoning literature, yet yawning gaps in our knowledge remain (Díaz et al. 2007; de Bello et al. 2010; Lavorel et al. 2011). To address these questions, accurate methods to measure functional diversity are required and a new generation of graduate students need to be trained to use them.