Exotic species are assumed to alter ecosystem functioning. However, little is known of the relationships within vertically structured plant communities such as forests, where tree saplings interact with herbaceous spe...Exotic species are assumed to alter ecosystem functioning. However, little is known of the relationships within vertically structured plant communities such as forests, where tree saplings interact with herbaceous species, especially in the early phases of succession. This relationship was tested in a common garden experiment which assessed the impacts on tree saplings and herbaceous species following nutrient addition and the introduction of exotic herb species. The experiment was established in South- East China using four broad-leaved tree species (Elaeocarpus decipiens, Schima superba, Castanea henryi and Quercus serrata) to study the relationships between tree sapling diversity, herb-layer productivity and invasibility. Tree saplings were planted in monoculture and in mixtures of two and four species. A full factorial design was applied, within which species composition was crossed with nutrient and exotic seed-addition treatments. The seed-addition treatment included mixtures of seeds from eight exotic herb species, and herb community attributes were assessed after a four month growing season. Results indicate that certain tree species negatively affect native as well as exotic herbs;however, the high productivity of native herbs had a stronger negative impact on exotic species than tree saplings. Nutrient addition increased the productivity of exotic herbs but had no effect on native herbs. Remarkably, exotic species introduction had a negative feedback effect on the growth of tree saplings, which highlights the potential of exotic herbs to diminish tree recruitment. Although tree saplings reduced invasive effects on the herb-layer during the earliest phase of forest succession, nutrient addition had a more profound and opposite effect on these invaders.展开更多
Aims The aim of our research was to understand small-scale effects of topography and soil fertility on tree growth in a forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning(BEF)experiment in subtropical SE China.Methods Geom...Aims The aim of our research was to understand small-scale effects of topography and soil fertility on tree growth in a forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning(BEF)experiment in subtropical SE China.Methods Geomorphometric terrain analyses were carried out at a spatial resolution of 5×5 m.Soil samples of different depth increments and data on tree height were collected from a total of 566 plots(667 m2 each).The soils were analyzed for carbon(soil organic carbon[SOC]),nitrogen,acidity,cation exchange capacity(CEC),exchangeable cations and base saturation as soil fertility attributes.All plots were classified into geomorphological units.Analyses of variance and linear regressions were applied to all terrain,soil fertility and tree growth attributes.Important Findings In general,young and shallow soils and relatively small differences in stable soil properties suggest that soil erosion has truncated the soils to a large extent over the whole area of the experiment.This explains the concurrently increasing CEC and SOC stocks downslope,in hollows and in valleys.However,colluvial,carbon-rich sediments are missing widely due to the convexity of the footslopes caused by uplift and removal of eroded sediments by adjacent waterways.The results showed that soil fertility is mainly influenced by topography.Monte-Carlo flow accumulation(MCCA),curvature,slope and aspect significantly affected soil fertility.Furthermore,soil fertility was affected by the different geomorphological positions on the experimental sites with ridge and spur positions showing lower exchangeable base cation contents,especially potassium(K),due to leaching.This geomorphological effect of soil fertility is most pronounced in the topsoil and decreases when considering the subsoil down to 50 cm depth.Few soil fertility attributes affect tree height after 1-2 years of growth,among which C stocks proved to be most important while pH_(KCl)and CEC only played minor roles.Nevertheless,soil acidity and a high proportion of Al on the exchange complex affected tree height even after only 1-2 years growth.Hence,our study showed that forest nutrition is coupled to a recycling of litter nutrients,and does not only depend on subsequent supply of nutrients from the mineral soil.Besides soil fertility,topography affected tree height.We found that especially MCCA as indicator of water availability affected tree growth at small-scale,as well as aspect.Overall,our synthesis on the interrelation between fertility,topography and tree growth in a subtropical forest ecosystem in SE China showed that topographic heterogeneity lead to ecological gradients across geomorphological positions.In this respect,small-scale soil-plant interactions in a young forest can serve as a driver for the future development of vegetation and biodiversity control on soil fertility.In addition,it shows that terrain attributes should be accounted for in ecological research.展开更多
Aims Growth rates of plants are driven by factors that influence the amount of resources captured and the efficiency of resource use.In trees,the amount of light captured and the efficiency of light use strongly depen...Aims Growth rates of plants are driven by factors that influence the amount of resources captured and the efficiency of resource use.In trees,the amount of light captured and the efficiency of light use strongly depends on crown characteristics and leaf traits.Although theory predicts that both crown and leaf traits affect tree growth,few studies have yet to integrate these two types of traits to explain species-specific growth rates.Using 37 broad-leaved tree species of subtropical forests in SE China,we investigated how interspecific differences in wood volume growth rates were affected by crown and leaf traits.We tested the hypotheses that(i)larger crown dimensions promote growth rates,(ii)species-specific growth rates are positively related to leaf stomatal conductance,leaf water potential and leaf chemical components,and negatively related to leaf C/N and leaf toughness and(iii)the two sets of traits better explain growth rates in combination than either alone.Methods Our study was conducted in a large-scale forest Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning experiment in China(BEF-China),located in a mountainous region in Jiangxi Province.We related 17 functional traits(two crown dimension and three crown structure traits;six physiological and six morphological leaf traits)to the mean annual growth rate of wood volume of young trees of the studied species.Interrelationships between crown and leaf traits were analyzed using principal component analysis.Simple linear regression analysis was used to test the effect of each trait separately.We used multiple regression analysis to establish the relationship of growth rate to each set of traits(crown traits,physiological and morphological leaf traits)and to the combination of all types of traits.The coefficients of determination(R^(2)_(adj))of the best multiple regression models were compared to determine the relative explanatory power of crown and leaf traits and a combination of both.Important Findings The species-specific growth rates were not related to any of the single crown traits,but were related positively to leaf stomatal conductance and leaf water potential individually,and negatively to leaf toughness,with approximately 13%variance explained by each of the traits.Combinations of different crown traits did not significantly explain the species-specific growth rates,whereas combinations of either physiological or morphological leaf traits explained 24%and 31%,respectively.A combination of both crown and leaf traits explained 42%of variance in species-specific growth rates.We concluded that sets of traits related to carbon assimilation at the leaf-level and to overall amount of leaves exposed at the crown-level jointly explained species-specific growth rates better than either set of traits alone.展开更多
Aims Although the net biodiversity effect(NE)can be statistically partitioned into complementarity and selection effects(CE and SE),there are different underlying mechanisms that can cause a certain partitioning.Our o...Aims Although the net biodiversity effect(NE)can be statistically partitioned into complementarity and selection effects(CE and SE),there are different underlying mechanisms that can cause a certain partitioning.Our objective was to assess the role of resource partitioning and species interactions as two important mechanisms that can bring about CEs by interspecific and intraspecific trait variation.Methods We measured tree height of 2493 living individuals in 57 plots and specific root length(SRL)on first-order roots of 368 of these individuals across different species richness levels(1,2,4,8 species)in a large-scale forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning experiment in subtropical China(BEF-China)established in 2009.We describe the effects of resource partitioning between species by a fixed component of interspecific functional diversity(RaoQ)and further effects of species interactions by variable components of interspecific and intraspecific functional diversity(community weighted trait similarity and trait dissimilarity,CWS and CWD).Finally,we examined the relationships between biodiversity effects on stand-level tree height and functional diversity(RaoQ,CWS and CWD)in SRL using linear regression and assessed the relative importance of these three components of functional diversity in explaining the diversity effects.Important Findings Our results show that species richness significantly affected SRL in five and tree height in ten out of 16 species.A positive NE was generally brought about by a positive CE on stand-level tree height and related to high values of RaoQ and CWS in SRL.A positive CE was related to high values of all three components of root functional diversity(RaoQ,CWS and CWD).Our study suggests that both resource partitioning and species interactions are the underlying mechanisms of biodiversity effects on stand-level tree growth in subtropical forest.展开更多
Aims Fine roots play an important role in the biogeochemical cycles of terrestrial ecosystems and are vital for understanding forest ecosystem functioning and services.Higher plant species diversity has been largely r...Aims Fine roots play an important role in the biogeochemical cycles of terrestrial ecosystems and are vital for understanding forest ecosystem functioning and services.Higher plant species diversity has been largely reported to increase aboveground community biomass,but how biodiversity affects fine-root production and the related mechanisms in forests remain unclear.In this study,we aim to answer two questions:(i)does fine-root production increase with tree species richness?(ii)Can this effect be explained by niche complementarity among species?Methods We analyzed data from a large forest biodiversity experiment(BEF-China)with 5-year-old trees.Fine-root growth was measured as standing biomass and annual fine-root regrowth was estimated using ingrowth cores.Moreover,relative yield was calculated to test whether over-or under-yielding occurred when mixtures were compared with the average monoculture of the species included in the mixtures.We calculated functional diversity for fine-root(≤2 mm in diameter)traits by Rao’s quadratic entropy index for each species mixture.The effects of manipulated tree species richness and identity on fine-root traits were analyzed with linear mixed-effects models.Mixed models were also used to test the relationships between tree species richness and fine-root standing biomass,annual regrowth and vertical heterogeneity.Important Findings Fine roots of more than one species were found in half of the soil cores in mixtures indicating that belowground interactions in these young forest stands occurred much earlier than canopy closure.We found significant differences among species in fine-root traits such as diameter and specific root length(SRL),which suggested different resource-use strategies and niche partitioning among species.Mean fine-root diameter of species ranged from 0.31 to 0.74 mm,mean SRL ranged from 12.43 m·g^(−1)to 70.22 m·g^(−1)and mean vertical distribution indexβranged from 0.68 to 0.93.There was a significant positive relationship between species richness and the evenness of the vertical distribution of fine-root standing biomass.Moreover,marginally significant positive relationships existed between species richness and standing biomass as well as annual regrowth of fine roots.Relative yields and Rao’s quadratic entropy index were both not significantly affected by species richness.However,the relative yield of fine-root standing biomass was marginally correlated with Rao’s quadratic entropy index,implying that belowground niche complementarity between species does contribute to diversity effects.In conclusion,our study showed positive effects of species richness on the filling of soil volume by fine roots in the studied experimental forest communities.This has positive effects on fine-root standing biomass and may also lead to increased aboveground biomass.展开更多
Aims We investigated the regulation of the water status in three predominant perennial C3 phreatophytes(Alhagi sparsifolia,Populus euphratica,Tamarix ramosissima)at typical sites of their occurrence at the southern fr...Aims We investigated the regulation of the water status in three predominant perennial C3 phreatophytes(Alhagi sparsifolia,Populus euphratica,Tamarix ramosissima)at typical sites of their occurrence at the southern fringe of the hyperarid Taklamakan Desert(north-west China).Methods In the foreland of the river oasis of Qira(Cele),we determined meteorological variables,plant biomass production,plant water potentials(WL)and the water flux through the plants.We calculated the hydraulic conductance on the flow path from the soil to the leaves(kSL)and tested the effects of kSL,WL and the leaf-to-air difference in the partial pressure of water vapour(Dw)on stomatal regulation using regression analyses.Important Findings Despite high values of plant water potential at the point of turgor loss,all plants sustained WL at levels that were high enough to maintain transpiration throughout the growing season.In A.sparsifolia,stomatal resistance(rs;related to leaf area or leaf mass)was most closely correlated with kSL;whereas in P.euphratica,~70%of the variation in rs was explained by Dw.In T.ramosissima,leaf area-related rs was significantly correlated with WL and kSL.The regulation mechanisms are in accordance with the growth patterns and the occurrence of the species in relation to their distance to the ground water.展开更多
Aims Positive plant diversity-ecosystem function relations are ultimately driven by variation in functional traits among individuals that form a community.To date,research has largely focused on the role of species di...Aims Positive plant diversity-ecosystem function relations are ultimately driven by variation in functional traits among individuals that form a community.To date,research has largely focused on the role of species diversity for ecosystem functioning.However,substantial intraspecific trait variation is common and a significant part of this variation caused by genetic differences among individuals.Here,we studied the relative importance of species diversity and seed family(SF)diversity within species for growth and herbivory in experimental subtropical tree assemblages.Methods In 2010,we set up a field experiment in subtropical China,using four species from the local species pool.Trees were raised from seeds,with seeds from the same mother tree forming an SF.We established 23 plots containing one or four species(species diversity treatment)and one or four SFs per species(SF diversity treatment).Tree growth(stem diameter,plant height and crown expansion)and herbivory(percentage leaf loss due to leaf chewers)were monitored annually from 2011 to 2013.Important findings Tree species richness promoted growth but had no effect on herbivory.In contrast,SF diversity reduced growth and increased herbivory but only so in species mixtures.Most of the observed effects were time dependent,with the largest effect found in 2013.Our results suggest that biodiversity can affect plant performance directly via tree species-species interactions,or context dependent,via potential effects on inter-trophic interactions.Two important conclusions should be drawn from our findings.Firstly,in future studies regarding biodiversity and ecosystem functioning(BEF)relationships,intraspecific genetic diversity should be given similar weight as species diversity as it has often been neglected and its effects are not well understood.Secondly,we demonstrate opposite effects of biodiversity among and within species,stressing the importance to consider the effects of multiple levels of biodiversity simultaneously.展开更多
Aims Although shrubs are an important component of forests,their role has not yet been considered in forest biodiversity experiments.In the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning(BEF)experiment with subtropical tree speci...Aims Although shrubs are an important component of forests,their role has not yet been considered in forest biodiversity experiments.In the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning(BEF)experiment with subtropical tree species in south-east China(BEF-China),we factorially combined tree with shrub species-diversity treatments.Here,we tested the hypotheses that shrub survival differs between the 10 planted shrub species,with lower survival rates of late-than early-successional species and is affected by environmental conditions,such as topography and top soil characteristics,as well as by biotic factors,represented by tree,shrub and herb layer characteristics.Methods We analyzed the survival of 42000 shrub individuals in 105 plots varying in tree and shrub species richness of the BEF-China project four years after planting.Shrub survival was analyzed with generalized linear mixed effects models at the level of individuals and with variance partitioning at the plot level.Random intercept and random slope models of different explanatory variables were compared with respect to the Bayesian Information Criterion(BIC).Important Findings Survival rates differed largely between the 10 shrub species,ranging from 26%to 91%for Ardisia crenata and Distylium buxifolium,respectively.Irrespective of species identity,single abiotic factors explained up to 5%of species survival,with a negative effect of altitude and slope inclination and a positive effect of the topsoil carbon to nitrogen ratio,which pointed to drought as the major cause of shrub mortality.In contrast,neither tree nor shrub richness affected shrub survival at this early stage of the experiment.Among the biotic predictors,only herb layer species richness and cover of the dominant fern species(Dicranopteris pedata)affected shrub survival.Overall,our models that included all variables could explain about 65%in shrub survival,with environmental variables being most influential,followed by shrub species identity,while tree species diversity(species richness and identity)and herb layer characteristics contributed much less.Thus,in this early stage of the experiment the biotic interactions among shrubs and between shrubs and trees have not yet overruled the impact of abiotic environmental factors.展开更多
Aims tree species richness has been reported to have positive effects on aboveground biomass and productivity,but little is known about its effects on soil organic carbon(SOC)accumulation.Methods to close this gap,we ...Aims tree species richness has been reported to have positive effects on aboveground biomass and productivity,but little is known about its effects on soil organic carbon(SOC)accumulation.Methods to close this gap,we made use of a large biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiment in subtropical china(BEF-china)and tested whether tree species richness enhanced SOC accumulation.In 2010 and 2015,vertically layered soil samples were taken to a depth of 30 cm from 57 plots ranging in tree species richness from one to eight species.Least squares-based linear models and analysis of variance were used to investigate tree diversity effects.Structural equation modeling was used to explore hypothesized indirect relationships between tree species richness,leaf-litter biomass,leaf-litter carbon content,fine-root biomass and SOC accumulation.Important Findings Overall,SOC content decreased by 5.7 and 1.1 g C kg^(-1) in the top 0-5 and 5-10 cm soil depth,respectively,but increased by 1.0 and 1.5 g C kg^(-1) in the deeper 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil depth,respect-ively.converting SOC content to SOC stocks using measures of soil bulk density showed that tree species richness did enhance SOC accumulation in the different soil depths.these effects could only to some extent be explained by leaf-litter biomass and not by fine-root biomass.Our findings suggest that carbon storage in new forests in china could be increased by planting more diverse stands,with the potential to contribute to mitigation of climate warming.展开更多
Aims In forests,the herbaceous understory vegetation plays an important role for ecosystem functioning as it represents a significant component of total aboveground productivity.In addition,the herb layer contributes ...Aims In forests,the herbaceous understory vegetation plays an important role for ecosystem functioning as it represents a significant component of total aboveground productivity.In addition,the herb layer contributes to overall forest species richness and controls tree species regeneration.Vice versa,trees in the overstory control understory herb and shrub growth through competition for resources.Using an experimental forest plantation with manipulated tree richness,we asked to which degree tree species richness and identity affect herb layer composition,richness and productivity and how these relationships across strata change with abiotic environmental conditions and competition intensity.Methods In the context of the Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning project in subtropical China(BEF-China),we made use of the integrated BEFmod experiment arranged along a tree species richness gradient at two sites,with additional subplot treatments of phosphorus addition,herb layer weeding and no weeding.We recorded the understory vegetation and determined herb layer biomass production on a total of 201 subplots.Important Findings We found only minor effects of tree layer richness on herb layer species composition and no significant effect on herb layer richness or productivity yet.However,there were strong tree layer identity effects on all response variables,which were partly explained by differences in leaf area index and by a high share of woody species both in total herb layer species richness and biomass.There were strong treatment effects,which were largest in the‘no weeding’treatment but we did not find any treatment×tree layer richness interaction in herb layer responses.Thus,these effects are mainly explained by increased competition intensity within the herb layer in the absence of weeding.Despite the young age of the experiment,the interactions between tree species identity,tree richness and the herb layer did already emerge and can be expected to become stronger with ongoing runtime of the experiment.展开更多
Worldwide,forests provide habitat for a large diversity of plants,animals and microbes.At the same time,forest ecosystems are essential providers of multiple ecosystem services important for human well-being.However,t...Worldwide,forests provide habitat for a large diversity of plants,animals and microbes.At the same time,forest ecosystems are essential providers of multiple ecosystem services important for human well-being.However,the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has only been little researched in forests and therefore its role for the functioning of forest ecosystems and their services is not yet understood.If results from comparable studies in other ecosystems are considered(e.g.Balvanera et al.2006),it is conceivable that diverse forests would,for example,grow faster,produce more biomass,store more carbon and better maintain soil fertility and plant-insect interactions and functional stability than less diverse forests or monoculture tree plantations.The hypothesis that biodiversity increases and stabilizes interactions and functions is the common theme of the papers in the present issue of the Journal of Plant Ecology.展开更多
Aims There are different components of carbon(C)pools in a natural forest ecosystem:biomass,soil,litter and woody debris.We asked how these pools changed with elevation in one of China’s ecologically important forest...Aims There are different components of carbon(C)pools in a natural forest ecosystem:biomass,soil,litter and woody debris.We asked how these pools changed with elevation in one of China’s ecologically important forest ecosystem,i.e.beech(Fagus L.,Fagaceae)forests,and what were the underlying driving factors of such variation.Methods The four C pools in nine beech forests were investigated along an elevational gradient(1095–1930 m)on Mt.Fanjingshan in Guizhou Province,Southwest China.Variance partitioning was used to explore the relative effects of stand age,climate and other factors on C storage.In addition,we compared the four C pools to other beech forests in Guizhou Province and worldwide.Important Findings The total C pools of beech forest ecosystems ranged from 190.5 to 504.3 Mg C ha^(–1),mainly attributed to biomass C(accounting for 33.7–73.9%)and soil C(accounting for 23.9–65.5%).No more than 4%of ecosystem C pools were stored in woody debris(0.05–3.1%)and litter(0.2–0.7%).Ecosystem C storage increased significantly with elevation,where both the biomass and woody debris C pools increased with elevation,while those of litter and soil exhibited no such trend.For the Guizhou beech forests,climate and stand age were found to be key drivers of the elevational patterns of ecosystem and biomass C storage,while for beech forests globally,stand age was the most important predictor.Compared to beech forests worldwide,beech forests in Guizhou Province displayed a relatively higher biomass C accumulation rate,which may be explained by a much higher precipitation in this area.The present study provides basic data for understanding the C budgets of Chinese beech forests and their possible roles in regional C cycling and emphasizes the general importance of stand age and climate on C accumulation.展开更多
Foliar fungal pathogens affect forest ecosystem processes by exerting highly species-specific impacts on growth and survival of trees.As many ecosystem processes in forests depend on functional diversity of specific t...Foliar fungal pathogens affect forest ecosystem processes by exerting highly species-specific impacts on growth and survival of trees.As many ecosystem processes in forests depend on functional diversity of specific tree species,a close relationship is expected between this and foliar fungal pathogen infestation.Testing for such a relationship in the German tree diversity experiment BIOTREE(Bechstedt),we hypothesized that pathogen richness and pathogen load decline with increasing functional diversity of tree communities.Using macro-and microscopic analyses,we assessed pathogen richness and load on 16 tree species in plots that,although differing in functional diversity,had the same tree species richness.We found no effects of functional diversity on pathogen richness or load.However,we encountered strong species identity effects in plot species composition,as susceptible tree species contributed positively to each community’s pathogen richness and load.Furthermore,testing for effects of particular leaf traits and geographical range size of host species revealed a significant effect of total leaf phenolics,which was unexpected as pathogen richness increased with increasing content in polyphenolics.Our study showed that at the community level,host species’identity was more important for foliar fungal pathogen richness and load than the functional diversity of host trees.The positive relationship between pathogen richness and phenolics in leaves,along with the finding that pathogen richness is very much conserved in tree species,point to an evolutionary arms race between hosts and fungi resulting from fungi increasing their capacity to infect tree leaves and trees boosting their defences.展开更多
Aims Positive biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships have been widely reported,predominately from grassland ecosystems.However,this does not necessarily have to apply accordingly in more complex situations s...Aims Positive biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships have been widely reported,predominately from grassland ecosystems.However,this does not necessarily have to apply accordingly in more complex situations such as in forests across different vertical strata.For instance,overstorey tree species richness has been shown to be associated with a lower understorey productivity.Whether or not tree species richness effects add to understorey productivity by increasing(i.e.due to habitat heterogeneity)or reducing resource availability(i.e.through increasing competition)and whether understorey productivity is indeed being governed more strongly by tree species identity are likely to change over time.Moreover,studies also suggested that richness-productivity relationships change with the environmental context.Using an experimental forest plantation with manipulated tree species richness,this study examined these temporal and environmental dynamics across strata.Methods In the context of the Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning project in subtropical China(BEF-China),we made use of understorey biomass samples repeatedly collected over a time period of 3 years along a tree species richness gradient.The effects of tree species richness,tree species identities and time were studied across different environmental treatments for their impact on understorey biomass.Important Findings While we found significant and consistent tree layer identity effects on understorey biomass,no such effect was encountered for tree species richness.Our results also indicate that among structural layers in forests,there might not be a single,generalizable overstorey species richness-understorey productivity relationship,and that the extent as to which overstorey-related environmental factors such as light transmittance contribute to understorey productivity change with time.Overall,we demonstrate that temporal dynamics should be considered when studying relationship among structural layers in forests.展开更多
文摘Exotic species are assumed to alter ecosystem functioning. However, little is known of the relationships within vertically structured plant communities such as forests, where tree saplings interact with herbaceous species, especially in the early phases of succession. This relationship was tested in a common garden experiment which assessed the impacts on tree saplings and herbaceous species following nutrient addition and the introduction of exotic herb species. The experiment was established in South- East China using four broad-leaved tree species (Elaeocarpus decipiens, Schima superba, Castanea henryi and Quercus serrata) to study the relationships between tree sapling diversity, herb-layer productivity and invasibility. Tree saplings were planted in monoculture and in mixtures of two and four species. A full factorial design was applied, within which species composition was crossed with nutrient and exotic seed-addition treatments. The seed-addition treatment included mixtures of seeds from eight exotic herb species, and herb community attributes were assessed after a four month growing season. Results indicate that certain tree species negatively affect native as well as exotic herbs;however, the high productivity of native herbs had a stronger negative impact on exotic species than tree saplings. Nutrient addition increased the productivity of exotic herbs but had no effect on native herbs. Remarkably, exotic species introduction had a negative feedback effect on the growth of tree saplings, which highlights the potential of exotic herbs to diminish tree recruitment. Although tree saplings reduced invasive effects on the herb-layer during the earliest phase of forest succession, nutrient addition had a more profound and opposite effect on these invaders.
基金funded by the German Research Foundation(DFG FOR 891/1,2 and 3)funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC 30710103907,30930005,31170457 and 31210103910)+2 种基金the Swiss National Science Foundation(SNSF)financed by the Sino-German Centre for Research Promotion in Beijing(GZ 524,592,698,699 and 785)the University of Tübingen,Germany(PROMOS).
文摘Aims The aim of our research was to understand small-scale effects of topography and soil fertility on tree growth in a forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning(BEF)experiment in subtropical SE China.Methods Geomorphometric terrain analyses were carried out at a spatial resolution of 5×5 m.Soil samples of different depth increments and data on tree height were collected from a total of 566 plots(667 m2 each).The soils were analyzed for carbon(soil organic carbon[SOC]),nitrogen,acidity,cation exchange capacity(CEC),exchangeable cations and base saturation as soil fertility attributes.All plots were classified into geomorphological units.Analyses of variance and linear regressions were applied to all terrain,soil fertility and tree growth attributes.Important Findings In general,young and shallow soils and relatively small differences in stable soil properties suggest that soil erosion has truncated the soils to a large extent over the whole area of the experiment.This explains the concurrently increasing CEC and SOC stocks downslope,in hollows and in valleys.However,colluvial,carbon-rich sediments are missing widely due to the convexity of the footslopes caused by uplift and removal of eroded sediments by adjacent waterways.The results showed that soil fertility is mainly influenced by topography.Monte-Carlo flow accumulation(MCCA),curvature,slope and aspect significantly affected soil fertility.Furthermore,soil fertility was affected by the different geomorphological positions on the experimental sites with ridge and spur positions showing lower exchangeable base cation contents,especially potassium(K),due to leaching.This geomorphological effect of soil fertility is most pronounced in the topsoil and decreases when considering the subsoil down to 50 cm depth.Few soil fertility attributes affect tree height after 1-2 years of growth,among which C stocks proved to be most important while pH_(KCl)and CEC only played minor roles.Nevertheless,soil acidity and a high proportion of Al on the exchange complex affected tree height even after only 1-2 years growth.Hence,our study showed that forest nutrition is coupled to a recycling of litter nutrients,and does not only depend on subsequent supply of nutrients from the mineral soil.Besides soil fertility,topography affected tree height.We found that especially MCCA as indicator of water availability affected tree growth at small-scale,as well as aspect.Overall,our synthesis on the interrelation between fertility,topography and tree growth in a subtropical forest ecosystem in SE China showed that topographic heterogeneity lead to ecological gradients across geomorphological positions.In this respect,small-scale soil-plant interactions in a young forest can serve as a driver for the future development of vegetation and biodiversity control on soil fertility.In addition,it shows that terrain attributes should be accounted for in ecological research.
基金the entire BEF-China research group for their supportfunded by the German Research Foundation(DFG FOR 891/1,2 and 3)financed by the Sino-German Centre for Research Promotion in Beijing(GZ 524,592,698,699 and 785).
文摘Aims Growth rates of plants are driven by factors that influence the amount of resources captured and the efficiency of resource use.In trees,the amount of light captured and the efficiency of light use strongly depends on crown characteristics and leaf traits.Although theory predicts that both crown and leaf traits affect tree growth,few studies have yet to integrate these two types of traits to explain species-specific growth rates.Using 37 broad-leaved tree species of subtropical forests in SE China,we investigated how interspecific differences in wood volume growth rates were affected by crown and leaf traits.We tested the hypotheses that(i)larger crown dimensions promote growth rates,(ii)species-specific growth rates are positively related to leaf stomatal conductance,leaf water potential and leaf chemical components,and negatively related to leaf C/N and leaf toughness and(iii)the two sets of traits better explain growth rates in combination than either alone.Methods Our study was conducted in a large-scale forest Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning experiment in China(BEF-China),located in a mountainous region in Jiangxi Province.We related 17 functional traits(two crown dimension and three crown structure traits;six physiological and six morphological leaf traits)to the mean annual growth rate of wood volume of young trees of the studied species.Interrelationships between crown and leaf traits were analyzed using principal component analysis.Simple linear regression analysis was used to test the effect of each trait separately.We used multiple regression analysis to establish the relationship of growth rate to each set of traits(crown traits,physiological and morphological leaf traits)and to the combination of all types of traits.The coefficients of determination(R^(2)_(adj))of the best multiple regression models were compared to determine the relative explanatory power of crown and leaf traits and a combination of both.Important Findings The species-specific growth rates were not related to any of the single crown traits,but were related positively to leaf stomatal conductance and leaf water potential individually,and negatively to leaf toughness,with approximately 13%variance explained by each of the traits.Combinations of different crown traits did not significantly explain the species-specific growth rates,whereas combinations of either physiological or morphological leaf traits explained 24%and 31%,respectively.A combination of both crown and leaf traits explained 42%of variance in species-specific growth rates.We concluded that sets of traits related to carbon assimilation at the leaf-level and to overall amount of leaves exposed at the crown-level jointly explained species-specific growth rates better than either set of traits alone.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31300353)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2014M561089)+4 种基金Science and Technology Planning Project of Jiangxi Provincial Education Department(No.GJJ150384)the entire BEF-China research group for their supportfunded by the German Research Foundation(DFG FOR891)National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)the Swiss National Science Foundation(SNSF).
文摘Aims Although the net biodiversity effect(NE)can be statistically partitioned into complementarity and selection effects(CE and SE),there are different underlying mechanisms that can cause a certain partitioning.Our objective was to assess the role of resource partitioning and species interactions as two important mechanisms that can bring about CEs by interspecific and intraspecific trait variation.Methods We measured tree height of 2493 living individuals in 57 plots and specific root length(SRL)on first-order roots of 368 of these individuals across different species richness levels(1,2,4,8 species)in a large-scale forest biodiversity and ecosystem functioning experiment in subtropical China(BEF-China)established in 2009.We describe the effects of resource partitioning between species by a fixed component of interspecific functional diversity(RaoQ)and further effects of species interactions by variable components of interspecific and intraspecific functional diversity(community weighted trait similarity and trait dissimilarity,CWS and CWD).Finally,we examined the relationships between biodiversity effects on stand-level tree height and functional diversity(RaoQ,CWS and CWD)in SRL using linear regression and assessed the relative importance of these three components of functional diversity in explaining the diversity effects.Important Findings Our results show that species richness significantly affected SRL in five and tree height in ten out of 16 species.A positive NE was generally brought about by a positive CE on stand-level tree height and related to high values of RaoQ and CWS in SRL.A positive CE was related to high values of all three components of root functional diversity(RaoQ,CWS and CWD).Our study suggests that both resource partitioning and species interactions are the underlying mechanisms of biodiversity effects on stand-level tree growth in subtropical forest.
基金the general support of the whole BEF-China teamthe Sino-German Centre for Research Promotion in Beijing for travel grants and the participation in a summer school on scientific writing(GZ 785)funded by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31270496 and No.31300353).
文摘Aims Fine roots play an important role in the biogeochemical cycles of terrestrial ecosystems and are vital for understanding forest ecosystem functioning and services.Higher plant species diversity has been largely reported to increase aboveground community biomass,but how biodiversity affects fine-root production and the related mechanisms in forests remain unclear.In this study,we aim to answer two questions:(i)does fine-root production increase with tree species richness?(ii)Can this effect be explained by niche complementarity among species?Methods We analyzed data from a large forest biodiversity experiment(BEF-China)with 5-year-old trees.Fine-root growth was measured as standing biomass and annual fine-root regrowth was estimated using ingrowth cores.Moreover,relative yield was calculated to test whether over-or under-yielding occurred when mixtures were compared with the average monoculture of the species included in the mixtures.We calculated functional diversity for fine-root(≤2 mm in diameter)traits by Rao’s quadratic entropy index for each species mixture.The effects of manipulated tree species richness and identity on fine-root traits were analyzed with linear mixed-effects models.Mixed models were also used to test the relationships between tree species richness and fine-root standing biomass,annual regrowth and vertical heterogeneity.Important Findings Fine roots of more than one species were found in half of the soil cores in mixtures indicating that belowground interactions in these young forest stands occurred much earlier than canopy closure.We found significant differences among species in fine-root traits such as diameter and specific root length(SRL),which suggested different resource-use strategies and niche partitioning among species.Mean fine-root diameter of species ranged from 0.31 to 0.74 mm,mean SRL ranged from 12.43 m·g^(−1)to 70.22 m·g^(−1)and mean vertical distribution indexβranged from 0.68 to 0.93.There was a significant positive relationship between species richness and the evenness of the vertical distribution of fine-root standing biomass.Moreover,marginally significant positive relationships existed between species richness and standing biomass as well as annual regrowth of fine roots.Relative yields and Rao’s quadratic entropy index were both not significantly affected by species richness.However,the relative yield of fine-root standing biomass was marginally correlated with Rao’s quadratic entropy index,implying that belowground niche complementarity between species does contribute to diversity effects.In conclusion,our study showed positive effects of species richness on the filling of soil volume by fine roots in the studied experimental forest communities.This has positive effects on fine-root standing biomass and may also lead to increased aboveground biomass.
基金European Union INCO-DC(Project No.ERBIC18CT980275).
文摘Aims We investigated the regulation of the water status in three predominant perennial C3 phreatophytes(Alhagi sparsifolia,Populus euphratica,Tamarix ramosissima)at typical sites of their occurrence at the southern fringe of the hyperarid Taklamakan Desert(north-west China).Methods In the foreland of the river oasis of Qira(Cele),we determined meteorological variables,plant biomass production,plant water potentials(WL)and the water flux through the plants.We calculated the hydraulic conductance on the flow path from the soil to the leaves(kSL)and tested the effects of kSL,WL and the leaf-to-air difference in the partial pressure of water vapour(Dw)on stomatal regulation using regression analyses.Important Findings Despite high values of plant water potential at the point of turgor loss,all plants sustained WL at levels that were high enough to maintain transpiration throughout the growing season.In A.sparsifolia,stomatal resistance(rs;related to leaf area or leaf mass)was most closely correlated with kSL;whereas in P.euphratica,~70%of the variation in rs was explained by Dw.In T.ramosissima,leaf area-related rs was significantly correlated with WL and kSL.The regulation mechanisms are in accordance with the growth patterns and the occurrence of the species in relation to their distance to the ground water.
基金German Science Foundation(DFG FOR 891/2,Du 404/3-2 to W.D.)is highly acknowledged.
文摘Aims Positive plant diversity-ecosystem function relations are ultimately driven by variation in functional traits among individuals that form a community.To date,research has largely focused on the role of species diversity for ecosystem functioning.However,substantial intraspecific trait variation is common and a significant part of this variation caused by genetic differences among individuals.Here,we studied the relative importance of species diversity and seed family(SF)diversity within species for growth and herbivory in experimental subtropical tree assemblages.Methods In 2010,we set up a field experiment in subtropical China,using four species from the local species pool.Trees were raised from seeds,with seeds from the same mother tree forming an SF.We established 23 plots containing one or four species(species diversity treatment)and one or four SFs per species(SF diversity treatment).Tree growth(stem diameter,plant height and crown expansion)and herbivory(percentage leaf loss due to leaf chewers)were monitored annually from 2011 to 2013.Important findings Tree species richness promoted growth but had no effect on herbivory.In contrast,SF diversity reduced growth and increased herbivory but only so in species mixtures.Most of the observed effects were time dependent,with the largest effect found in 2013.Our results suggest that biodiversity can affect plant performance directly via tree species-species interactions,or context dependent,via potential effects on inter-trophic interactions.Two important conclusions should be drawn from our findings.Firstly,in future studies regarding biodiversity and ecosystem functioning(BEF)relationships,intraspecific genetic diversity should be given similar weight as species diversity as it has often been neglected and its effects are not well understood.Secondly,we demonstrate opposite effects of biodiversity among and within species,stressing the importance to consider the effects of multiple levels of biodiversity simultaneously.
基金financed by the German Research Foundation(DFG FOR 891/1,2,3)in a grant to H.B.(Br1698/10-3)the Sino-German Centre for Research Promotion in Beijing for travel grants and the participation in a summer school on scientific writing(GZ 785)support through the cooperation group“Linkages between plant diversity,microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning in subtropical forest”(GZ 986).
文摘Aims Although shrubs are an important component of forests,their role has not yet been considered in forest biodiversity experiments.In the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning(BEF)experiment with subtropical tree species in south-east China(BEF-China),we factorially combined tree with shrub species-diversity treatments.Here,we tested the hypotheses that shrub survival differs between the 10 planted shrub species,with lower survival rates of late-than early-successional species and is affected by environmental conditions,such as topography and top soil characteristics,as well as by biotic factors,represented by tree,shrub and herb layer characteristics.Methods We analyzed the survival of 42000 shrub individuals in 105 plots varying in tree and shrub species richness of the BEF-China project four years after planting.Shrub survival was analyzed with generalized linear mixed effects models at the level of individuals and with variance partitioning at the plot level.Random intercept and random slope models of different explanatory variables were compared with respect to the Bayesian Information Criterion(BIC).Important Findings Survival rates differed largely between the 10 shrub species,ranging from 26%to 91%for Ardisia crenata and Distylium buxifolium,respectively.Irrespective of species identity,single abiotic factors explained up to 5%of species survival,with a negative effect of altitude and slope inclination and a positive effect of the topsoil carbon to nitrogen ratio,which pointed to drought as the major cause of shrub mortality.In contrast,neither tree nor shrub richness affected shrub survival at this early stage of the experiment.Among the biotic predictors,only herb layer species richness and cover of the dominant fern species(Dicranopteris pedata)affected shrub survival.Overall,our models that included all variables could explain about 65%in shrub survival,with environmental variables being most influential,followed by shrub species identity,while tree species diversity(species richness and identity)and herb layer characteristics contributed much less.Thus,in this early stage of the experiment the biotic interactions among shrubs and between shrubs and trees have not yet overruled the impact of abiotic environmental factors.
基金This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31270496 and 31300353)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA 05050204).
文摘Aims tree species richness has been reported to have positive effects on aboveground biomass and productivity,but little is known about its effects on soil organic carbon(SOC)accumulation.Methods to close this gap,we made use of a large biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiment in subtropical china(BEF-china)and tested whether tree species richness enhanced SOC accumulation.In 2010 and 2015,vertically layered soil samples were taken to a depth of 30 cm from 57 plots ranging in tree species richness from one to eight species.Least squares-based linear models and analysis of variance were used to investigate tree diversity effects.Structural equation modeling was used to explore hypothesized indirect relationships between tree species richness,leaf-litter biomass,leaf-litter carbon content,fine-root biomass and SOC accumulation.Important Findings Overall,SOC content decreased by 5.7 and 1.1 g C kg^(-1) in the top 0-5 and 5-10 cm soil depth,respectively,but increased by 1.0 and 1.5 g C kg^(-1) in the deeper 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil depth,respect-ively.converting SOC content to SOC stocks using measures of soil bulk density showed that tree species richness did enhance SOC accumulation in the different soil depths.these effects could only to some extent be explained by leaf-litter biomass and not by fine-root biomass.Our findings suggest that carbon storage in new forests in china could be increased by planting more diverse stands,with the potential to contribute to mitigation of climate warming.
基金the coordination team of the BEF-China project for their supportthe support of M.S.G.from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research(iDiv)Halle-Jena-Leipzig funded by the German Research Foundation(FZT 118)+1 种基金the Sino-German Centre for Research Promotion for the participation of M.S.G.in a Summer School in Jingdezhen(GZ 1146)funded by the German Research Foundation(DFG FOR 891/3)with a grant to A.E.(ER 573/1-3).
文摘Aims In forests,the herbaceous understory vegetation plays an important role for ecosystem functioning as it represents a significant component of total aboveground productivity.In addition,the herb layer contributes to overall forest species richness and controls tree species regeneration.Vice versa,trees in the overstory control understory herb and shrub growth through competition for resources.Using an experimental forest plantation with manipulated tree richness,we asked to which degree tree species richness and identity affect herb layer composition,richness and productivity and how these relationships across strata change with abiotic environmental conditions and competition intensity.Methods In the context of the Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning project in subtropical China(BEF-China),we made use of the integrated BEFmod experiment arranged along a tree species richness gradient at two sites,with additional subplot treatments of phosphorus addition,herb layer weeding and no weeding.We recorded the understory vegetation and determined herb layer biomass production on a total of 201 subplots.Important Findings We found only minor effects of tree layer richness on herb layer species composition and no significant effect on herb layer richness or productivity yet.However,there were strong tree layer identity effects on all response variables,which were partly explained by differences in leaf area index and by a high share of woody species both in total herb layer species richness and biomass.There were strong treatment effects,which were largest in the‘no weeding’treatment but we did not find any treatment×tree layer richness interaction in herb layer responses.Thus,these effects are mainly explained by increased competition intensity within the herb layer in the absence of weeding.Despite the young age of the experiment,the interactions between tree species identity,tree richness and the herb layer did already emerge and can be expected to become stronger with ongoing runtime of the experiment.
文摘Worldwide,forests provide habitat for a large diversity of plants,animals and microbes.At the same time,forest ecosystems are essential providers of multiple ecosystem services important for human well-being.However,the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has only been little researched in forests and therefore its role for the functioning of forest ecosystems and their services is not yet understood.If results from comparable studies in other ecosystems are considered(e.g.Balvanera et al.2006),it is conceivable that diverse forests would,for example,grow faster,produce more biomass,store more carbon and better maintain soil fertility and plant-insect interactions and functional stability than less diverse forests or monoculture tree plantations.The hypothesis that biodiversity increases and stabilizes interactions and functions is the common theme of the papers in the present issue of the Journal of Plant Ecology.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(grant no.2017YFA0605101)Ministry of Science and Technology of China(grant no.2015FY210200)National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant nos.31700374,31621091).
文摘Aims There are different components of carbon(C)pools in a natural forest ecosystem:biomass,soil,litter and woody debris.We asked how these pools changed with elevation in one of China’s ecologically important forest ecosystem,i.e.beech(Fagus L.,Fagaceae)forests,and what were the underlying driving factors of such variation.Methods The four C pools in nine beech forests were investigated along an elevational gradient(1095–1930 m)on Mt.Fanjingshan in Guizhou Province,Southwest China.Variance partitioning was used to explore the relative effects of stand age,climate and other factors on C storage.In addition,we compared the four C pools to other beech forests in Guizhou Province and worldwide.Important Findings The total C pools of beech forest ecosystems ranged from 190.5 to 504.3 Mg C ha^(–1),mainly attributed to biomass C(accounting for 33.7–73.9%)and soil C(accounting for 23.9–65.5%).No more than 4%of ecosystem C pools were stored in woody debris(0.05–3.1%)and litter(0.2–0.7%).Ecosystem C storage increased significantly with elevation,where both the biomass and woody debris C pools increased with elevation,while those of litter and soil exhibited no such trend.For the Guizhou beech forests,climate and stand age were found to be key drivers of the elevational patterns of ecosystem and biomass C storage,while for beech forests globally,stand age was the most important predictor.Compared to beech forests worldwide,beech forests in Guizhou Province displayed a relatively higher biomass C accumulation rate,which may be explained by a much higher precipitation in this area.The present study provides basic data for understanding the C budgets of Chinese beech forests and their possible roles in regional C cycling and emphasizes the general importance of stand age and climate on C accumulation.
基金The research leading to these results also attracted funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme(FP7/2007-2013)under grant agreement no265171,project FunDivEUROPE as well as of the BACCARA project,which received funding from the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme(FP7/2007-2013),under grant agreement no226299.O.P.and H.B.also acknowledge the support of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research(iDiv)HalleJena-Leipzig,funded by the German Science Foundation(FZT 118).
文摘Foliar fungal pathogens affect forest ecosystem processes by exerting highly species-specific impacts on growth and survival of trees.As many ecosystem processes in forests depend on functional diversity of specific tree species,a close relationship is expected between this and foliar fungal pathogen infestation.Testing for such a relationship in the German tree diversity experiment BIOTREE(Bechstedt),we hypothesized that pathogen richness and pathogen load decline with increasing functional diversity of tree communities.Using macro-and microscopic analyses,we assessed pathogen richness and load on 16 tree species in plots that,although differing in functional diversity,had the same tree species richness.We found no effects of functional diversity on pathogen richness or load.However,we encountered strong species identity effects in plot species composition,as susceptible tree species contributed positively to each community’s pathogen richness and load.Furthermore,testing for effects of particular leaf traits and geographical range size of host species revealed a significant effect of total leaf phenolics,which was unexpected as pathogen richness increased with increasing content in polyphenolics.Our study showed that at the community level,host species’identity was more important for foliar fungal pathogen richness and load than the functional diversity of host trees.The positive relationship between pathogen richness and phenolics in leaves,along with the finding that pathogen richness is very much conserved in tree species,point to an evolutionary arms race between hosts and fungi resulting from fungi increasing their capacity to infect tree leaves and trees boosting their defences.
基金This work was supported by the German Research Foundation(DFG FOR 891/3)with a grant to A.E.(ER 573/1-3).
文摘Aims Positive biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships have been widely reported,predominately from grassland ecosystems.However,this does not necessarily have to apply accordingly in more complex situations such as in forests across different vertical strata.For instance,overstorey tree species richness has been shown to be associated with a lower understorey productivity.Whether or not tree species richness effects add to understorey productivity by increasing(i.e.due to habitat heterogeneity)or reducing resource availability(i.e.through increasing competition)and whether understorey productivity is indeed being governed more strongly by tree species identity are likely to change over time.Moreover,studies also suggested that richness-productivity relationships change with the environmental context.Using an experimental forest plantation with manipulated tree species richness,this study examined these temporal and environmental dynamics across strata.Methods In the context of the Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning project in subtropical China(BEF-China),we made use of understorey biomass samples repeatedly collected over a time period of 3 years along a tree species richness gradient.The effects of tree species richness,tree species identities and time were studied across different environmental treatments for their impact on understorey biomass.Important Findings While we found significant and consistent tree layer identity effects on understorey biomass,no such effect was encountered for tree species richness.Our results also indicate that among structural layers in forests,there might not be a single,generalizable overstorey species richness-understorey productivity relationship,and that the extent as to which overstorey-related environmental factors such as light transmittance contribute to understorey productivity change with time.Overall,we demonstrate that temporal dynamics should be considered when studying relationship among structural layers in forests.
