Despite extensive research, stabilizing mechanisms in ecosystems remain uncertain.
Taylor's power law (TPL) is a pervasive ecological pattern that describes how variance
scales with mean abundance (σ 2 = aμᵇ). While TPL has been widely studied within
populations, its role across species within communities and its implications for stability
remain largely unexplored. A TPL scaling factor (b) < 2 implies an unexplored stabilizing
effect of dominant species (hereafter the ‘dominance effect'), where community stability
arises from dominant species being relatively more stable than subordinates. This
study aims to explore the influence of TPL exponent b on the dominance effect on stability
and identify the biotic and abiotic community factors shaping it. Using data from
over 9000 permanent vegetation plots globally, we investigated within‐community TPL,
linked it to the dominance effect, and examined drivers of b values. Results reveal
a strong contribution of b, together with species evenness, to dominance effects on
stability. A ubiquitous TPL (mode R 2 = 0.92) with a consistent b < 2 highlights
widespread dominance effects. Lower b values were linked to resource‐conservative
strategies and climatic seasonality, reinforcing the role of environmental filtering
in stability. These findings highlight the widespread dominance effect on community
temporal stability, particularly driven by woody, large‐seeded species in cold, seasonal
climates. Moreover, results identify the TPL exponent b as a powerful indicator of
dominant species' stabilizing effects, complementing the well‐known role of species
diversity.
