Functional role of forest diversity: Pros and cons of synthetic stands and across-site comparisons in established forests

Leuschner, Christoph; Jungkunst, Hermann F.; Fleck, Stefan

doi:10.1016/j.baae.2008.06.001

Cited by 121 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In the stands dominated by Fagus, the base saturation was lower than in the mixed stands, which is thought to be a consequence of the higher acidification potential of beech leaves. Detailed information on study plot selection and stand characteristics are given in Leuschner et al (2009), Mölder et al (2006, and Meinen et al (2009).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

No evidence of spatial root system segregation and elevated fine root biomass in multi-species temperate broad-leaved forests

Meinen

Leuschner

Ryan

et al. 2009

Trees

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Differences in spatial rooting patterns among coexisting species have been recognized as an important mechanism for generating biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning. However, it is not yet clear whether complementarity in root space exploration is a universal characteristic of multi-species woody communities. In a temperate broad-leaved forest with a mosaic of speciespoor and species-rich stands, we tested two hypotheses related to putative below-ground 'overyielding' in more diverse forests, (1) that species mixture results in a partial spatial segregation of the fine root systems of different species, and (2) that stand fine root biomass increases with tree species diversity. We investigated 12 stands either with one, three, or five dominant tree species (4 replicate stands each) under similar soil and climate conditions for stand fine root biomass and spatial root segregation in vertical and horizontal direction in the soil. Fine roots of different tree species were identified using a morphological key based on differences in colour, periderm surface structure, and branching patterns. In species-poor and species-rich stands, and in all tree species present, fine root density (biomass per soil volume) decreased exponentially with soil depth at very similar rates. Stand fine root biomass in the densely rooted upper soil (0-40 cm depth) was not significantly different between stands with 1, 3 or 5 dominant tree species. We conclude that 'below-ground overyielding' in terms of higher fine root biomasses in species-rich stands as compared to monospecific ones does not occur in these broad-leaved forests which most likely results from a missing complementarity in vertical rooting patterns of the present tree species.

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Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

No evidence of spatial root system segregation and elevated fine root biomass in multi-species temperate broad-leaved forests

Meinen

Leuschner

Ryan

et al. 2009

Trees

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“…Recent meta-analyses have shown that there is no single relationship between plant species richness and productivity, and that a combination of ecological and evolutionary factors may be influencing patterns (Gillman andWright 2006, Pa¨rtel et al 2010). Little is known, particularly, about effects of forest management on the relationship between productivity and plant species richness (Leuschner et al 2009, Reich et al 2012. Experiments investigating the relationships between plant diversity and productivity (Hooper et al 2005, Grace et al 2007) and diversity and stability (Tilman and Downing 1994) have typically been restricted to a single vegetation layer, often herbaceous vegetation in grassland plant communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management trade‐off between aboveground carbon storage and understory plant species richness in temperate forests

Burton

Ares

Olson

et al. 2013

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Because forest ecosystems have the capacity to store large quantities of carbon (C), there is interest in managing forests to mitigate elevated CO 2 concentrations and associated effects on the global climate. However, some mitigation techniques may contrast with management strategies for other goals, such as maintaining and restoring biodiversity. Forest thinning reduces C storage in the overstory and recruitment of detrital C. These C stores can affect environmental conditions and resource availability in the understory, driving patterns in the distribution of early and late-seral species. We examined the effects of replicated (N ¼ 7) thinning experiments on aboveground C and understory vascular plant species richness, and we contrasted relationships between aboveground C and early-vs. lateseral species richness. Finally, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine relationships among early-and late-seral species richness and live and detrital aboveground C stores.Six years following thinning, aboveground C was greater in the high-density treatment and untreated control than in moderate-(MD) and variable-density (VD) treatments as a result of reductions in live overstory C. In contrast, all thinning treatments increased species richness relative to controls. Between the growing seasons of years 6 and 11 following treatments, the live overstory C increment tended to increase with residual density, while richness decreased in MD and VD treatments. The richness of early-seral species was negatively related to aboveground C in MD and VD, while late-seral species richness was positively (albeit weakly) related to aboveground C. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed strong negative effects of live overstory C on early-seral species richness balanced against weaker positive effects on late-seral species richness, as well as positive effects of detrital C stocks. A trade-off between carbon and plant species richness thus emerges as a net result of these relationships among species traits, thinning treatments, and live and detrital C storage. Integrating C storage with traditional conservation objectives may require managing this trade-off within stands and landscapes (e.g., maintain early-seral habitat and species within dense, C-rich forests and, conversely, live and detrital C stores in early-seral habitats) or separating these goals across scales and species groupings.

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“…Sin embargo, los bosques templados apenas se han mencionado en el debate sobre la importancia funcional de la diversidad biológica, debido a la dificultad de llevar a cabo experimentos en estos ecosistemas con dinámica lenta (Caspersen & Pacala 2001, Scherer-Lorenzen et al 2007. Se ha discutido que la importancia funcional de las comunidades forestales es difícil de evaluar debido a que presentan una estructura espacial compleja y alta longevidad de los organismos dominantes (Leuschner et al 2009). …”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Relación entre riqueza de especies y diversidad funcional de atributos foliares en dos ensambles de especies siempreverdes de un bosque templado lluvioso

Saldaña

2013

Gayana Bot.

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Functional role of forest diversity: Pros and cons of synthetic stands and across-site comparisons in established forests

Cited by 121 publications

References 17 publications

No evidence of spatial root system segregation and elevated fine root biomass in multi-species temperate broad-leaved forests

No evidence of spatial root system segregation and elevated fine root biomass in multi-species temperate broad-leaved forests

Management trade‐off between aboveground carbon storage and understory plant species richness in temperate forests

Relación entre riqueza de especies y diversidad funcional de atributos foliares en dos ensambles de especies siempreverdes de un bosque templado lluvioso

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