The study found that the effects of species evenness on ecosystem functioning can be understood by looking at species richness. By analyzing data from various experiments, researchers discovered that the impact of evenness on ecosystem functions can be inferred from the relationship between species richness and ecosystem functions. They found that evenness has a similar effect as richness on ecosystem functioning, but the effect is stronger with higher levels of richness. This method could be a quicker and more cost-effective way to study the effects of evenness on ecosystems compared to traditional experimental approaches.