Aim Forest carbon storage is the result of a multitude of interactions among biotic and abiotic factors. Our aim was to use an integrative approach to elucidate mechanistic relationships of carbon storage with biotic and abiotic factors in the natural forests of temperate Australia, a region that has been overlooked in global analyses of carbon‐biodiversity relations. Location South‐eastern Australia. Time period 2010–2015. Major taxa studied Forest trees in 732 plots. Methods We used the most comprehensive forest inventory database available for south‐eastern Australia and structural equation models to assess carbon‐storage relationships with biotic factors (species or functional diversity, community‐weighted mean (CWM) trait values, structural diversity) and abiotic factors (climate, soil, fire history). To assess the consistency of relationships at different environmental scales, our analyses involved three levels of data aggregation: six forest types, two forest groups (representing different growth environments), and all forests combined. Results Structural diversity was consistently the strongest independent predictor of carbon storage at all levels of data aggregation, whereas relationships with species‐ and functional‐diversity indices were comparatively weak. CWMs of maximum height and wood density were also significant independent predictors of carbon storage in most cases. In comparison, climate, soil, and fire history had only minor and mainly indirect effects via biotic factors on carbon storage. Main conclusions Our results indicate that carbon storage in our temperate forests was underpinned by tree structural diversity (representing efficient utilisation of space) and by CWM trait values (representing selection effects) more so than by tree species richness or functional diversity. Abiotic effects were comparatively weak and mostly indirect via biotic factors irrespective of the environmental range. Our study highlights the importance of managing forests for functionally important species and to maintain and enhance their structural complexity in order to support carbon storage.
1. The secondary salinisation of wetlands is a global problem that poses a great threat to most freshwater biodiversity, including amphibians. We examined tadpole diversity in relation to wetland conductivity (our proxy for salinity) in wetlands in south-eastern Australia to better understand (i) how salinity and amphibian diversity interact and (ii) the threat posed by secondary salinisation. 2. Six tadpole species were trapped in 56 wetlands that reflected a typical salinity gradient for the study region. We developed Bayesian models to examine the relationships between conductivity and both the probability of species occupancy and expected number of species with the imperfect detection probability of species accounted for in the models. 3. The probability of occupancy for all species and expected species number was negatively associated with wetland conductivity. Our results predict that conductivity should not limit tadpole presence below about 3000 lS cm )1 at 25°C (approximately 6% seawater) in the region, but will largely exclude amphibian larvae beyond about 6000 lS cm )1 at 25°C (approximately 12% seawater). 4. We also detected subtle among-species differences in salinity tolerance. The results reported here show that tadpoles in the study region are likely to be negatively affected by projected future increases in salinisation.
We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of measurements of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 375 traits across 29230 taxa from field campaigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and individual taxa descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological parameters (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised individual-, species- and genus-level observations coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties. This data descriptor provides information on version 2.1.0 of AusTraits which contains data for 937243 trait-by-taxa combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data to increase our collective understanding of the Australian flora.
We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of values of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 448 traits across 28,640 taxa from field campaigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and individual taxon descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological attributes (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised individual- and species-level measurements coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties and experimental conditions. This article provides information on version 3.0.2 of AusTraits which contains data for 997,808 trait-by-taxon combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data, which also provides a template for other national or regional initiatives globally to fill persistent gaps in trait knowledge.
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