The importance of forest structure to biodiversity-productivity relationships.

ABSTRACT: While various relationships between productivity and biodiversity are found in forests, the processes underlying these relationships remain unclear and theory struggles to coherently explain them. In this work, we analyse diversity-productivity relationships through an examination of forest structure (described by basal area and tree height heterogeneity). We use a new modelling approach, called 'forest factory', which generates various forest stands and calculates their annual productivity (above-ground wood increment). Analysing approximately 300 000 forest stands, we find that mean forest productivity does not increase with species diversity. Instead forest structure emerges as the key variable. Similar patterns can be observed by analysing 5054 forest plots of the German National Fores

SUBMITTER: Bohn FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5319316 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature