Plant functional diversity drives carbon storage following vegetation restoration in Loess Plateau, China

Ongoing climatic changes induced by human activities increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), which have considerable effects on the structure and function of ecosystems, including carbon (C) storage, plant functional traits and therefore on a wide set of ecosystem services. Plant functional diversity is benefit to improve plant photosynthesis and enhance C efficiency and therefore decrease CO₂. Here, the focus of this article is on integrating of plant functional diversity and C storage, which aims to contribute to C sequestration for climate change mitigation following vegetation restoration in Loess Plateau, China. Firstly, the CWM (plant community-weighted mean) traits of the most abundant plant species can account for C storage in AGBC (above-ground biomass C), ALC (above-ground litter C), STC (soil total carbon) and TEC (total ecosystem carbon). Secondly, the CWM of plant height and LCC (leaf carbon concentration) had a positive effect C storage in different part (AGBC, ALC, STC and TEC), while the CWM of LNC (leaf nitrogen concentration) and SLA (specific leaf area) had a negative effect on C storage in different part. Further, the CWM of plant height, LCC, SLA and plant functional dispersion (FDis) can be used to predict C storage by multiple linear regression analysis. Finally, the positive association between FDis and C storage was found in SEM, shedding light on the key role of plant functional diversity driving C storage following vegetation restoration. The findings presented here highlight the importance of both plant traits of dominant species and plant functional diversity in regulating C storage, and show that favorable climate conditions, particularly vegetation restoration, tend to increase C storage and plant functional diversity, which have important implications for improving global C cycling and ecosystem services.