Human domination of the biosphere has greatly altered ecosystems, often overwhelming
their capacity to provide ecosystem services critical to our survival. Yet ecological
understanding of ecosystem services is quite limited. Previous work maps the supply and
demand for services, assesses threats to them, and estimates economic values, but does
not measure the underlying role of biodiversity in providing services. In contrast,
experimental studies of biodiversity–function examine communities whose structures
often differ markedly from those providing services in real landscapes. A bridge is
needed between these two approaches. To develop this research agenda, I discuss critical
questions and key approaches in four areas: (1) identifying the important ecosystem
service providers; (2) determining the various aspects of community structure that
influence function in real landscapes, especially compensatory community responses that
stabilize function, or non-random extinction sequences that rapidly erode it; (3) assessing
key environmental factors influencing provision of services, and (4) measuring the
spatio-temporal scale over which providers and services operate. I show how this
research agenda can assist in developing environmental policy and natural resource
management plans.