Multispecies forest plantations outyield monocultures across a broad range of conditions

Feng, Yuhao; Schmid, Bernhard; Loreau, Michel; Forrester, David I.; Fei, Songlin; Zhu, Jun; Tang, Zhiyao; Zhu, Jieshun; Hong, Pubin; Ji, Chengjun; Shi, Yue; Su, Haojie; Xiong, Xinyu; Xiao, Jian; Wang, Shaopeng; Fang, Jingyun

doi:10.1126/science.abm6363

Cited by 134 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Our data indicate that many species are unable to colonise monocultural plantations, reinforcing their artificially low diversity, and secondarily making them more vulnerable to pests and diseases, thereby retarding succession (Siemann and Rogers, 2006;Liu et al, 2018;Wu et al, 2021). Conversely, multispecies forest plantations are likely to offer preferable outcomes in terms of ecosystem services (Feng et al, 2022).…”

Section: Management and Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Monoculture plantations impede forest recovery: Evidence from the regeneration of lowland subtropical forest in Hong Kong

Zhu¹,

Zhang²,

Cheuk³

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Anthropogenic disturbance has led to widespread clearance and degradation of tropical forests, and tree planting has been promoted as an effective solution for recovery. However, trees have been overwhelmingly planted in monocultures or low-diversity mixes and this is expected to have profound, lasting impacts on forest structure, diversity, and functioning. In this study, we tested the extent to which historical vegetation transition types (VTTs) constrain forest recovery in a secondary tropical landscape in Hong Kong, South China. To do so, we overlaid vegetation types (forest, shrubland, pine plantation, grassland) identified in aerial photographs taken in 1956 and 1963 of a 20-ha plot situated in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, allowing us to define six historic VTTs, namely: FF (forest to forest), GP (grassland to plantation), GS (grassland to shrubland), SS (shrubland to shrubland), SF (shrubland to forest), and SP (shrubland to plantation). We compared present-day forest structure and species diversity among these VTTs, as determined from a census conducted in 2015, using incidence- and abundance-based rarefaction and extrapolation, and we assessed species’ association within VTTs using a torus translation test. Our results reveal that stem density and species diversity in naturally regenerated forests were more similar to those of old-growth forest, whereas species diversity in areas occupied by pine plantations was significantly lower as compared with naturally regenerated areas. Despite 60 years of recovery, pine plantations were characterised by a significantly greater proportion of negatively associated species, and late-seral species were still predominantly confined to old-growth patches. Present-day species distribution is chiefly explained by the combined effects of topography and VTT (17.1%), with VTT alone explaining 4.4%. Our study demonstrates that VTT has a significant long-term impact on forest regeneration and community assembly and, importantly, that monocultural plantations (forest plantation) can greatly impede forest recovery. Remnant old-growth forest patches merit priority protection, and active restoration, including thinning and enhancement planting, is necessary to facilitate forest succession.

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Section: Management and Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Monoculture plantations impede forest recovery: Evidence from the regeneration of lowland subtropical forest in Hong Kong

Zhu¹,

Zhang²,

Cheuk³

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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“…The same study also shows that planting success varied with prior land use, which may alter species suitability. Forest plantations with multiple species are likely more successful than monocultures [ 131 ] and have greater natural resistance to pests and disease [ 132 ]. Exotic species are also still often used, e.g.…”

Section: Essential Science Advancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fifteen essential science advances needed for effective restoration of the world's forest landscapes

Marshall

Waite

Pfeifer

et al. 2022

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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There has never been a more pressing and opportune time for science and practice to collaborate towards restoration of the world's forests. Multiple uncertainties remain for achieving successful, long-term forest landscape restoration (FLR). In this article, we use expert knowledge and literature review to identify knowledge gaps that need closing to advance restoration practice, as an introduction to a landmark theme issue on FLR and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Aligned with an Adaptive Management Cycle for FLR, we identify 15 essential science advances required to facilitate FLR success for nature and people. They highlight that the greatest science challenges lie in the conceptualization, planning and assessment stages of restoration, which require an evidence base for why, where and how to restore, at realistic scales. FLR and underlying sciences are complex, requiring spatially explicit approaches across disciplines and sectors, considering multiple objectives, drivers and trade-offs critical for decision-making and financing. The developing tropics are a priority region, where scientists must work with stakeholders across the Adaptive Management Cycle. Clearly communicated scientific evidence for action at the outset of restoration planning will enable donors, decision makers and implementers to develop informed objectives, realistic targets and processes for accountability. This article paves the way for 19 further articles in this theme issue, with author contributions from across the world. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Understanding forest landscape restoration: reinforcing scientific foundations for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’.

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“…However, for practical reasons the first generation of biodiversity manipulation experiments were conducted with systems that are relatively quick to respond, particularly communities of grassland plants (5)(6)(7)(8). More recent biodiversity experiments suggest that similar diversity function relationships are present in many plantations and some forests (9), although there has been little research in tropical systems, particularly outside of the new world (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). It is also not clear to what degree the results of biodiversity experiments will extend to more natural settings, nor whether they can be harnessed as a nature-based solution to forest restoration and carbon capture.…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive effects of tree diversity on tropical forest restoration in a field-scale experiment

Veryard

O’Brien

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Experiments under controlled conditions have established that ecosystem functioning is generally positively related to levels of biodiversity, but it is unclear how widespread these effects are in real-world settings and whether they can be harnessed for ecosystem restoration. We used a long-term, field-scale tropical restoration experiment to test how the diversity of planted trees affected recovery measured across a 500 ha area of selectively logged forest using multiple sources of satellite data. Replanting with species rich mixtures of tree seedlings that had higher phylogenetic and functional diversity accelerated restoration rates. Our results are consistent with a positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the lowland dipterocarp rainforests of SE Asia and demonstrate that using diverse mixtures of species can enhance initial recovery after logging.

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Multispecies forest plantations outyield monocultures across a broad range of conditions

Cited by 134 publications

References 45 publications

Monoculture plantations impede forest recovery: Evidence from the regeneration of lowland subtropical forest in Hong Kong

Monoculture plantations impede forest recovery: Evidence from the regeneration of lowland subtropical forest in Hong Kong

Fifteen essential science advances needed for effective restoration of the world's forest landscapes

Positive effects of tree diversity on tropical forest restoration in a field-scale experiment

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