Research Articles (Forest and Wood Science)
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Browsing Research Articles (Forest and Wood Science) by Subject "Biological diversification"
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- ItemFunctional and phylogenetic diversity determine woody productivity in a temperate forest(Wiley Open Access, 2018) Hao, MinHui; Zhang, Chunyu; Zhao, Xiuhai; Von Gadow, KlausENGLISH ABSTRACT: Understanding the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity has become a central issue in ecology and conservation biology studies, particularly when these relationships are connected with global climate change and species extinction. However, which facets of biodiversity (i.e. taxonomic, functional, and phylogeneticdiversity) account most for variations in productivity are still not understood very well. This is especially true with regard to temperate forest ecosystems. In this study, we used a dataset from a stem- mapped permanent forest plot in northeastern China ex-ploring the relationships between biodiversity and productivity at different spatial scales (20 × 20 m; 40 × 40 m; and 60 × 60 m). The influence of specific environmental conditions (topographic conditions) and stand maturity (expressed by initial stand vol-ume and biomass) were taken into account using the multivariate approach known as structural equation models. The variable “Biodiversity” includes taxonomic (Shannon), functional (FDis), and phylogenetic diversity (PD). Biodiversity–productivity relation-ships varied with the spatial scales. At the scale of 20 × 20 m, PD and FDis significantly affected forest biomass productivity, while Shannon had only indirect effects. At the 40 × 40 m and 60 × 60 m scales, biodiversity and productivity were weakly correlated. The initial stand volume and biomass were the most important drivers of forest pro-ductivity. The local environmental conditions significantly influenced the stand vol-ume, biomass, biodiversity, and productivity. The results highlight the scale dependency of the relationships between forest biodiversity and productivity. The positive role of biodiversity in facilitating forest productivity was confirmed at the smaller scales. Our findings emphasize the fundamental role of environmental conditions in determining forest ecosystem performances. The results of this study provide a better understand-ing of the underlying ecological processes that influence specific forest biodiversity and productivity relationships.
- ItemTree species diversity promotes aboveground carbon storage through functional diversity and functional dominance(Wiley Open Access, 2016) Mensah, Sylvanus; Veldtman, Ruan; Assogbadjo, Achille E.; Kakai, Romain Glele; Seifert, ThomasENGLISH ABSTRACT: The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function has increasingly been debated as the cornerstone of the processes behind ecosystem services delivery. Experimental and natural field-based studies have come up with nonconsistent patterns of biodiversity–ecosystem function, supporting either niche complementarity or selection effects hypothesis. Here, we used aboveground carbon (AGC) storage as proxy for ecosystem function in a South African mistbelt forest, and analyzed its relationship with species diversity, through functional diversity and functional dominance. We hypothesized that (1) diversity influences AGC through functional diversity and functional dominance effects; and (2) effects of diversity on AGC would be greater for functional dominance than for functional diversity. Community weight mean (CWM) of functional traits (wood density, specific leaf area, and maximum plant height) were calculated to assess functional dominance (selection effects). As for functional diversity (complementarity effects), multitrait functional diversity indices were computed. The first hypothesis was tested using structural equation modeling. For the second hypothesis, effects of environmental variables such as slope and altitude were tested first, and separate linear mixed-effects models were fitted afterward for functional diversity, functional dominance, and both. Results showed that AGC varied significantly along the slope gradient, with lower values at steeper sites. Species diversity (richness) had positive relationship with AGC, even when slope effects were considered. As predicted, diversity effects on AGC were mediated through functional diversity and functional dominance, suggesting that both the niche complementarity and the selection effects are not exclusively affecting carbon storage. However, the effects were greater for functional diversity than for functional dominance. Furthermore, functional dominance effects were strongly transmitted by CWM of maximum plant height, reflecting the importance of forest vertical stratification for diversity–carbon relationship. We therefore argue for stronger complementary effects that would be induced also by complementary light-use efficiency of tree and species growing in the understory layer.