Data from: Development stage-dependent effects of biodiversity on aboveground biomass of temperate forests
Data files
Dec 12, 2024 version files 595.36 KB
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Data_Dryad.xlsx
594.42 KB
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README.md
944 B
Abstract
Increasing evidence shows that biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships (BEFs) become stronger as forests develop, but much of the evidence is drawn from experiments (less than 30 years). How the diversity effects vary with the stand development stages remain largely unexplored. Using a large temperate forest datasets with 2,392 permanent plots in northeastern China, we examined the relationships between biodiversity (i.e., tree species richness, functional diversity, and functional composition) and aboveground biomass (AGB) across the different development stages of temperate forests (covering all stages from young to overmature forests). Specifically, the complementarity and mass-ratio effects across the different forest development stages were evaluated to elucidate emerging patterns that explain ecosystem functioning. We observed positive BEFs using both species richness and functional diversity, but these positive effects decreased with forest development. However, the effects of community-weighted mean (CWM) on AGB showed two peaks in young and mature stands. Interestingly, the effects of CWM on AGB became larger than effects of functional diversity after the forests developed to near-mature/mature stands, indicating that BEFs are driven by mass-ratio effects (i.e., dominant species) rather than niche complementarity in old stands. The high AGB in young stands was charactered by tree species with high resource acquisition ability, however, in old stands, it was associated with tree species with both high resource acquisition ability and conservative traits. Our findings indicate how the developmental stage influences the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning in natural forests. The findings tentatively advocate for a mechanistic framework of BEFs covering all developmental stages of temperate forests, which could facilitate formulation of effective strategies for enhancing ecosystem functioning at different development stages.
README: Data from: Development stage-dependent effects of biodiversity on aboveground biomass of temperate forests
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cfxpnvxh2
Description of the data and file structure
Forest data on the stands were derived from permanent sampling plots of the 9th National Forest Inventory (NFI) in 2014. Systematic sampling was performed using a 4 × 8 km grid across Jilin Province. Each plot was rectangular with an area of 600 m2 (24.5m × 24.5m) and 2,392 plots with natural secondary forest and without major human disturbances since 1994 were selected for the study. According to the protocols of the NFI issued by the State Forestry Administration of China, tree species name, all individual trees with ≥5 cm stem diameter at breast height (DBH, 1.3 m aboveground) and stand age (i.e., the average age of dominant tree species in the main forest layer) were recorded.