Tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in China’s forest ecosystems
There is mounting evidence that biodiversity promotes ecological stability in changing environments. However, understanding diversity–stability relationships and their underlying mechanisms across large-scale tree diversity and natural environmental gradients are still controversial and largely lack...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22004927 |
| _version_ | 1811242683775057920 |
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| author | Anchi Wu Guoyi Zhou Honglin He Yann Hautier Xuli Tang Juxiu Liu Qianmei Zhang Silong Wang Anzhi Wang Luxiang Lin Yiping Zhang Zongqiang Xie Ruiying Chang |
| author_facet | Anchi Wu Guoyi Zhou Honglin He Yann Hautier Xuli Tang Juxiu Liu Qianmei Zhang Silong Wang Anzhi Wang Luxiang Lin Yiping Zhang Zongqiang Xie Ruiying Chang |
| author_sort | Anchi Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is mounting evidence that biodiversity promotes ecological stability in changing environments. However, understanding diversity–stability relationships and their underlying mechanisms across large-scale tree diversity and natural environmental gradients are still controversial and largely lacking. We used thirty-nine 0.12 ha long-term permanent forest plots spanning China’s various forest types to test the effects of multiple abiotic (climate, soil, age and topography) and biotic factors (taxonomic and structural diversity, functional diversity and community-mean traits, and species asynchrony) on biomass stability and its components (mean biomass and biomass variability) over time. We used multiple analytical methods to identify the best explanatory variables and complicated causal relationships for community biomass stability. Our results showed that species richness increased biomass stability by promoting species asynchrony. Structural and functional diversity had a weaker effect on biomass stability. Forest age and structural diversity increased mean biomass and biomass variability significantly and simultaneously. Communities dominated by tree species with high wood density had high biomass stability. Soil nitrogen enhanced biomass stability directly and indirectly through its effects on mean biomass. Soil nitrogen to phosphorus ratio increased biomass stability via increasing species asynchrony. Precipitation indirectly increased biomass stability by affecting tree diversity. Moreover, the direct and indirect effects of soil nutrients on biomass stability were greater than that of climate variables. Our results suggest that species asynchrony is the main mechanism proposed to explain the stabilizing effect of diversity on community biomass, supporting two mechanisms, namely, the biodiversity insurance hypothesis and complementary dynamics. Soil and climate factors also play an important role in shaping diversity–stability relationships. Our results provide a new insight into how tree diversity affects ecosystem stability across diverse community types and large-scale environmental gradients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:55:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1ddf52d2ca1142e2b40293007770e46d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T13:55:30Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-1ddf52d2ca1142e2b40293007770e46d2022-12-22T03:30:23ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-07-01140109021Tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in China’s forest ecosystemsAnchi Wu0Guoyi Zhou1Honglin He2Yann Hautier3Xuli Tang4Juxiu Liu5Qianmei Zhang6Silong Wang7Anzhi Wang8Luxiang Lin9Yiping Zhang10Zongqiang Xie11Ruiying Chang12Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaInstitute of Ecology, School of Applied Meteorology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China; Corresponding authors at: Institute of Ecology, School of Applied Meteorology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China (G. Zhou); Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institution of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China (H. He).College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institution of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China; National Ecological Science Data Center, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Corresponding authors at: Institute of Ecology, School of Applied Meteorology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China (G. Zhou); Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institution of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China (H. He).Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 83584 CH Utrecht, The NetherlandsKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaKey Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, ChinaInstitute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, ChinaInstitute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110164, ChinaKey Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, ChinaKey Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, ChinaInstitute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, ChinaInstitute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041 ChinaThere is mounting evidence that biodiversity promotes ecological stability in changing environments. However, understanding diversity–stability relationships and their underlying mechanisms across large-scale tree diversity and natural environmental gradients are still controversial and largely lacking. We used thirty-nine 0.12 ha long-term permanent forest plots spanning China’s various forest types to test the effects of multiple abiotic (climate, soil, age and topography) and biotic factors (taxonomic and structural diversity, functional diversity and community-mean traits, and species asynchrony) on biomass stability and its components (mean biomass and biomass variability) over time. We used multiple analytical methods to identify the best explanatory variables and complicated causal relationships for community biomass stability. Our results showed that species richness increased biomass stability by promoting species asynchrony. Structural and functional diversity had a weaker effect on biomass stability. Forest age and structural diversity increased mean biomass and biomass variability significantly and simultaneously. Communities dominated by tree species with high wood density had high biomass stability. Soil nitrogen enhanced biomass stability directly and indirectly through its effects on mean biomass. Soil nitrogen to phosphorus ratio increased biomass stability via increasing species asynchrony. Precipitation indirectly increased biomass stability by affecting tree diversity. Moreover, the direct and indirect effects of soil nutrients on biomass stability were greater than that of climate variables. Our results suggest that species asynchrony is the main mechanism proposed to explain the stabilizing effect of diversity on community biomass, supporting two mechanisms, namely, the biodiversity insurance hypothesis and complementary dynamics. Soil and climate factors also play an important role in shaping diversity–stability relationships. Our results provide a new insight into how tree diversity affects ecosystem stability across diverse community types and large-scale environmental gradients.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22004927BiodiversityClimateForest ageInsuranceeffectSoil nitrogenSpecies asynchrony |
| spellingShingle | Anchi Wu Guoyi Zhou Honglin He Yann Hautier Xuli Tang Juxiu Liu Qianmei Zhang Silong Wang Anzhi Wang Luxiang Lin Yiping Zhang Zongqiang Xie Ruiying Chang Tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in China’s forest ecosystems Ecological Indicators Biodiversity Climate Forest age Insuranceeffect Soil nitrogen Species asynchrony |
| title | Tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in China’s forest ecosystems |
| title_full | Tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in China’s forest ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in China’s forest ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in China’s forest ecosystems |
| title_short | Tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in China’s forest ecosystems |
| title_sort | tree diversity depending on environmental gradients promotes biomass stability via species asynchrony in china s forest ecosystems |
| topic | Biodiversity Climate Forest age Insuranceeffect Soil nitrogen Species asynchrony |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22004927 |
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