Positive effects of species mixing on biodiversity of understory plant communities and soil health in forest plantations.

ABSTRACT: Mixed-species plantations are increasingly recognized for their potential to maintain forest biodiversity and soil health; however, a comprehensive assessment of their global effectiveness is lacking. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a meta-analysis of 7,045 paired observations between mixed-species and monoculture plantations, derived from 311 studies across diverse forest ecosystems worldwide. Our results show that mixed-species plantations significantly increased understory plant biomass, cover, and species richness by 32.6%, 55.4%, and 32.2%, respectively, compared to monocultures. Furthermore, the Shannon and Pielou diversity indices increased by 28.2% and 8.6%, respectively, and the Simpson index increased by 9.6%. When understory shrub and herbaceous species were considered

SUBMITTER: Guo J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11929463 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature