Functional traits influence biomass and productivity through multiple mechanisms in a temperate secondary forest
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Functional traits influence biomass and productivity through multiple mechanisms in a temperate secondary forest Minhui Hao1 · Christian Messier2,3 · Yan Geng1 · Chunyu Zhang1 · Xiuhai Zhao1 · Klaus von Gadow4,5 Received: 2 December 2019 / Revised: 27 May 2020 / Accepted: 2 June 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Niche complementarity, mass-ratio, and vegetation quantity effects have been identified as major drivers of the biodiversityecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships. However, their relative contribution to biomass and productivity is not yet clear in temperate secondary forests. Based on the observations from a 21.12-ha temperate secondary forest plot in northeastern China, we assessed how these mechanisms regulate forest biomass and productivity. The niche complementarity effect was quantified using a functional diversity metric that was calculated from six locally collected functional traits. The mass-ratio effect was described as functional trait composition using community-weighted mean trait values. Vegetation quantity effect was evaluated using vegetation biomass. We performed structural equation modeling to test the alternative mechanisms. Our results provide evidence for all three mechanisms. Functional diversity increased forest productivity, in line with the niche complementarity hypothesis. Acquisitive traits (e.g., greater specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen concentration) enhance productivity, while conservative traits (e.g., greater wood density) enhance the long-term accumulation of biomass, demonstrating the mass-ratio hypothesis. Furthermore, we observed a significant positive relationship between biomass and productivity, confirming the vegetation quantity hypothesis. We conclude that functional traits drive biomass and productivity through multiple mechanisms. Both niche complementarity and the mass-ratio effects play roles in this temperate secondary forest. In addition, we emphasize the importance of preserving sufficient biomass stock to ensure maximum productivity in secondary forests. Our study contributes to the identification of the mechanisms underlying BEF relationships and has practical significance for guiding temperate secondary forest management and conservation. Keywords Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning · Functional traits · Mass-ratio · Niche complementarity · Temperate secondary forest · Productivity
Communicated by Christian Ammer. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-020-01298-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
1
Research Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, No. 35 Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
Minhui Hao [email protected]
2
Center for Forest Research, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada
Christian Messier [email protected]
3
Yan Geng g
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