Species identity and neighbor size surpass the impact of tree species diversity on productivity in experimental broad-leaved tree sapling assemblages under dry and moist conditions.

ABSTRACT: Species diversity may increase the productivity of tree communities through complementarity (CE) and/or selection effects (SE), but it is not well known how this relationship changes under water limitation. We tested the stress-gradient hypothesis, which predicts that resource use complementarity and facilitation are more important under water-limited conditions. We conducted a growth experiment with saplings of five temperate broad-leaved tree species that were grown in assemblages of variable diversity (1, 3, or 5 species) and species composition under ample and limited water supply to examine effects of species richness and species identity on stand- and tree-level productivity. Special attention was paid to effects of neighbor identity on the growth of target trees in mixture as compar

SUBMITTER: Lubbe T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4620412 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature