Strong positive biodiversity–productivity relationships in a subtropical forest experiment

Citations Over Time

Abstract

Forest ecosystems contribute substantially to global terrestrial primary productivity and climate regulation, but, in contrast to grasslands, experimental evidence for a positive biodiversity-productivity relationship in highly diverse forests is still lacking 1 . Here, we provide such evidence from a large forest biodiversity experiment with a novel design 2 in subtropical China. Productivity (stand-level tree basal area, aboveground volume and carbon and their annual increment) increased linearly with the logarithm of tree species richness. Additive partitioning 3 showed that increasing positive complementarity effects combined with weakening negative selection effects caused a strengthening of the relationship over time. In 2-species mixed stands, complementary effects increased with functional distance and selection effects with vertical crown dissimilarity between species. Understorey shrubs reduced stand-level tree productivity, but this effect of competition was attenuated by shrub species richness, indicating that a diverse understorey may facilitate overall ecosystem functioning. Identical biodiversity-productivity relationships were found in plots of different size, suggesting that extrapolation to larger scales is possible. Our results highlight the potential of multi-species afforestation strategies to simultaneously contribute to mitigation of climate change and biodiversity restoration.

Related Papers

• → Evaluation of relationships between understory light and aspen basal area in the British Columbia central interior(2006)42 cited
• → Growth reduction in harvest-age, coniferous forests with residual trees in the western central Cascade Range of Oregon(1998)43 cited
• → Overstory and Understory Dynamics in a Ponderosa Pine Plantation Vary with Stand Density in the Sierra Nevada: 40-Year Results(2013)17 cited
• Effect of removing understory on growth of upland oak(1975)
• → Understory structure by season following uneven-aged reproduction cutting: A comparison of selected measures 2 and 6 years after treatment(1999)4 cited