TY - JOUR

T1 - Tree species richness promotes an early increase of stand structural complexity in young subtropical plantations

AU - Perles-Garcia, Maria D.

AU - Kunz, Matthias

AU - Fichtner, Andreas

AU - Härdtle, Werner

AU - von Oheimb, Goddert

N1 - Funding Information: We are grateful to the local workers and to M. Hildebrand and G. H?hn who assisted to conduct the scans in the field, to A. Koller and I. Frehse who contribute processing the data, and to the BEF-China coordination team for continuous logistical support. This study was supported by the International Research Training Group TreeD? jointly funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)?319936945/GRK2324 and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS). We are grateful to Alex Fajardo and three anonymous referees for their constructive comments on an earlier version of this article. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

PY - 2021/10

Y1 - 2021/10

N2 - Forest structural complexity has been identified as an important driver for promoting simultaneously biodiversity across trophic levels and multiple ecosystem services. However, we still have a limited understanding of the processes that lead to structural complex stands and how they evolve over time. Using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), we quantified a three-dimensional (3D) stand structural complexity index (SSCI) in an experimental plantation with a long gradient of tree species richness (1–24 species). The plantation was established in 2009, and we made use of a multi-temporal TLS dataset recorded during 2012–2019. We found a positive relationship between tree species richness and structural complexity. This relationship became stronger over time. Ten years after planting, SSCI was on average two-fold higher in 16- and 24-species mixtures than in monocultures. Furthermore, we demonstrate that tree species richness promotes 3D stand structural complexity indirectly by fostering a high vertical heterogeneity and thus greater spatial complementarity in canopy space. Synthesis and applications. Our findings indicate that tree species richness plays a crucial role in promoting stand structural complexity in young plantations, and this role becomes more important already during early stand development. Thus, afforestation measures would benefit from planting multiple native tree species to initiate structurally complex stands.

AB - Forest structural complexity has been identified as an important driver for promoting simultaneously biodiversity across trophic levels and multiple ecosystem services. However, we still have a limited understanding of the processes that lead to structural complex stands and how they evolve over time. Using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), we quantified a three-dimensional (3D) stand structural complexity index (SSCI) in an experimental plantation with a long gradient of tree species richness (1–24 species). The plantation was established in 2009, and we made use of a multi-temporal TLS dataset recorded during 2012–2019. We found a positive relationship between tree species richness and structural complexity. This relationship became stronger over time. Ten years after planting, SSCI was on average two-fold higher in 16- and 24-species mixtures than in monocultures. Furthermore, we demonstrate that tree species richness promotes 3D stand structural complexity indirectly by fostering a high vertical heterogeneity and thus greater spatial complementarity in canopy space. Synthesis and applications. Our findings indicate that tree species richness plays a crucial role in promoting stand structural complexity in young plantations, and this role becomes more important already during early stand development. Thus, afforestation measures would benefit from planting multiple native tree species to initiate structurally complex stands.

KW - Ecosystems Research

KW - BEF-China

KW - biodiversity-ecosystem functioning

KW - restoration

KW - stand structural complexity

KW - terrestrial laser scanning

KW - tree diversity

KW - tree species mixtures

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111638802&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/1365-2664.13973

DO - 10.1111/1365-2664.13973

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 58

SP - 2305

EP - 2314

JO - Journal of Applied Ecology

JF - Journal of Applied Ecology

SN - 0021-8901

IS - 10

ER -