Neighbourhood interactions drive overyielding in mixed-species tree communities

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Theory suggests that plant interactions at the neighbourhood scale play a fundamental role in regulating biodiversity-productivity relationships (BPRs) in tree communities. However, empirical evidence of this prediction is rare, as little is known about how neighbourhood interactions scale up to influence community BPRs. Here, using a biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiment, we provide insights into processes underlying BPRs by demonstrating that diversity-mediated interactions among local neighbours are a strong regulator of productivity in species mixtures. Our results show that local neighbourhood interactions explain over half of the variation in observed community productivity along a diversity gradient. Overall, individual tree growth increased with neighbourhood species richness, leading to a positive BPR at the community scale. The importance of local-scale neighbourhood effects for regulating community productivity, however, distinctly increased with increasing community species richness. Preserving tree species diversity at the local neighbourhood scale, thus seems to be a promising way for promoting forest productivity.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1144
JournalNature Communications
Volume9
Issue number1
Number of pages8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.12.2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Author(s).

Documents

DOI

Recently viewed

Researchers

  1. Dirk Stegmann

Projects

  1. UNIBRAL 2013

Publications

  1. Gamification and sustainable behaviour
  2. Performance Saga: Interview 07
  3. The Bumpy Road from Investigation to Knowledge
  4. No time for smokescreen skepticism
  5. Mecanum wheel slip detection model implemented on velocity-controlled drives
  6. Notting Hill Gate 6 - Basic
  7. Identity without Membership?
  8. Comment on "Recent origin and cultural reversion of a hunter-gatherer group
  9. Soziale Farbe (II)
  10. Outsourcing
  11. Empowering women in STEM: An innovative study orientation program with a focus on new technologies to strengthen the creative potential and self-efficacy of women
  12. Dangerous settings and risky international assignments
  13. A flexible semi-empirical model for estimating ammonia volatilization from field-applied slurry
  14. Drivers of above-ground understorey biomass and nutrient stocks in temperate deciduous forests
  15. Collaborative mapping of ecosystem services
  16. Commentary: Towards a Reconciliation of the Theory-Pluralism in Strategic Management
  17. One-third Codetermination at Company Supervisory Boards and Firm Performance in German Manufacturing Industries
  18. Prerequisites and the Success of Transformative Entrepreneurship Education
  19. Einleitung
  20. Interaktion unter Fluglärm
  21. The relationship between intragenerational and intergenerational ecological justice
  22. One for all, all for one
  23. Climate imprints on tree-ring δ15N signatures of sessile oak (Quercus petraea Liebl.) on soils with contrasting water availability
  24. Non-native tree species (Pseudotsuga menziesii) strongly decreases predator biomass and abundance in mixed-species plantations of a tree diversity experiment