Establishment success in a forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning experiment in subtropical China (BEF-China)

Abstract

Experimental forest plantations to study biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships have recently been established in different regions of the world, but subtropical biomes have not been covered so far. Here, we report about the initial survivorship of 26 tree species in the first such experiment in subtropical China. In the context of the joint Sino-German-Swiss Research Unit "BEFChina," 271 experimental forest plots were established using 24 naturally occurring tree species and two native commercial conifers. Based on the survival inventories carried out in November 2009 and June 2010, the overall survival rate was 87 % after the first 14 months. Generalized mixed-effects models showed that survival rates of seedlings were significantly affected by species richness, the species' leaf habit (deciduous or evergreen), species identity, planting date, and altitude. In the first survey, seedling establishment success decreased with increasing richness levels, a tendency that disappeared in the second survey after replanting. Though evergreen species performed less well than deciduous species with establishment rates of 84 versus 93 % in the second survey, their planting success exceeded the general expectation for subtropical broad-leaved evergreen species. These results have important implications for establishing mixed-species plantations for diversity conservation and improvement of ecosystem functioning in the Chinese subtropics and elsewhere. Additional costs associated with mixed-species plantations as compared to conventional plantations also demonstrate the potential of upscaling BEF experiments to large-scale afforestation projects. June 2010, the overall survival rate was 87% after the first 14 months. Generalized mixed-effects 22 models showed that survival rates of seedlings were significantly affected by species richness, the 23 species' leaf habit (deciduous or evergreen), species identity, planting date and altitude. In the first 24 survey, seedling establishment success decreased with increasing richness levels, a tendency that 25 disappeared in the second survey after replanting. Deciduous species had a significantly higher survival 26 than evergreen species (93% vs. 84% in the second survey). These results have implications for 27 establishing Though evergreen species performed less well than deciduous species with establishment 28 rates of 84% vs. 93% in the second survey, their planting success exceeded the general expectation for 29 subtropical broad-leave evergreen species. These results have important implications for establishing 30 mixed species plantations for diversity conservation and improvement of ecosystem functioning in the 31Chinese subtropics and elsewhere. Additional costs associated with mixed -species as compared to 32 conventional plantations also demonstrates the potential of upscaling BEF experiments to large-scale 33 afforestation projects. 34 35

Throughfall kinetic energy in young subtropical forests: Investigation on tree species richness effects and spatial variability

“…The study site is located at Xingangshan, Jiangxi Province, PR China (29 • 08-011, E117 • 90-93) and is part of the "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (BEF-) China" project (Bruelheide et al, 2014) with a total size of 26.7 ha (Yang et al, 2013). Elevation of the study site ranges from 108 m to 250 m with a mean of 190 m a.s.l.…”

“…positions within the plots, and treatments (i.e., species richness) were randomly assigned to the plots. Further details on the general design, establishment and species of the BEF-China experiment are provided by Yang et al (2013) and Bruelheide et al (2014).…”

Local neighborhood competition following an extraordinary snow break event: implications for tree-individual growth

“…Since this is an observational study we could not strictly control the different factors. Future research in a newly established large-scale forest BEF experiment of the BEF-China project is designed to systematically analyze species interactions under controlled conditions (Yang et al 2013). Secondly, the disturbance caused by the snow break event had a strong effect on local neighborhood interactions.…”

Propagation of Native Tree Species to Restore Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forests in SW China

“…Many methods for species selection are available that include spatial distribution of species to ground survey and nursery techniques [21,26,27]. However, existing research on seed germination and seedling growth is limited, and most studies only address certain economic species or some endangered species [28][29][30][31]. Integrated knowledge of the seed collection, storage, germination requirements and seedling growth performance of native tree species is vital for region-specific biodiversity conservation and restoration plans [32,33].…”