Tree diversity increases productivity through enhancing structural complexity across mycorrhizal types.

ABSTRACT: Tree species diversity and mycorrhizal associations play a central role for forest productivity, but factors driving positive biodiversity-productivity relationships remain poorly understood. In a biodiversity experiment manipulating tree diversity and mycorrhizal associations, we examined the roles of above- and belowground processes in modulating wood productivity in young temperate tree communities and potential underlying mechanisms. We found that tree species richness, but not mycorrhizal associations, increased forest productivity by enhancing aboveground structural complexity within communities. Structurally complex communities were almost twice as productive as structurally simple stands, particularly when light interception was high. We further demonstrate that overyielding was la

SUBMITTER: Ray T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10558120 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature