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Forest biodiversity increases productivity via complementarity from greater canopy structural complexity
Xianglu Deng1,2, Bernhard Schmid3, Helge Bruelheide4,5
1State Key Laboratory of Forage Breeding-by-Design and Utilization, Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China.
Summary
Increased canopy structural complexity explains how tree diversity boosts forest productivity and carbon storage. Species complementarity is key, strengthening over time, highlighting the need for diverse forests with complex structures.
Area of Science:
- Forestry science
- Ecology
- Remote sensing
Background:
- Tree crown structure influences light interception, forest productivity, and carbon storage.
- The role of canopy structure in mediating the effects of tree diversity on forest productivity is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how canopy structure is affected by tree diversity.
- To determine if canopy structure mediates the relationship between tree diversity and forest productivity.
- To identify the mechanisms driving diversity-enhanced productivity in forests.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 4-year consecutive unmanned aerial vehicle-borne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data.
- Collected ground-based tree growth measurements from 482 plots and 38,088 trees.
- Analyzed data from a large-scale forest biodiversity experiment in southeast China (11-15 years post-planting).
Main Results:
- Increased canopy structural complexity was found to consistently explain the positive effects of tree diversity on forest productivity.
- Species complementarity was identified as the primary mediator of diversity-enhanced productivity.
- The positive effects of species complementarity on productivity were observed to strengthen over time.
Conclusions:
- Establishing multispecies forest communities with complex canopy structures is crucial.
- Complex canopy structure maximizes forest productivity and carbon sequestration.
- Species complementarity plays a vital, time-dependent role in driving forest ecosystem functions.
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