Impact of species richness and composition on productivity and its changes with forest succession in Changbai Mountains, China

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2024.0060

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Biodiversity is an important driver in the formation and maintenance of ecosystem functions, but the underlying ecological mechanisms behind it are still highly controversial. The niche complementarity and mass-ratio effects are two main hypotheses that explain the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function. However, it is still unclear whether the relative contributions of niche complementarity and mass-ratio effects to ecosystem function in temperate forests change with succession.

Methods Based on the observations from three forest plots in Changbai Mountains, including a secondary Populus davidiana- Betula platyphylla forest (early successional stage), a secondary needleleaf-broadleaf mixed forest (middle successional stage), and a primary Tilia amurensis- Pinus koraiensisforest (late successional stage), this study estimated how biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships change with forest succession. Aboveground biomass and productivity were used as two indicators reflecting ecosystem function. Species richness and species composition were used to represent the niche complementarity and mass-ratio effects, respectively. The relative contributions of niche complementarity and mass-ratio effects to ecosystem function were tested using structural equation modeling.

Important findings The results showed that the relationships between species richness and ecosystem functions change with forest succession. The complementary effect of species richness was not significant in the early stages of succession, but gradually increased in the middle and late stages. Compared with species richness, species composition significantly affected ecosystem functions at all stages of forest succession, indicating that the mass-ratio effect plays an important role during the whole forest succession process. In addition, the results showed that aboveground biomass is also an important factor affecting forest productivity. This study elucidates how the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functions change with succession in temperate forests, which provide a scientific support for the ecological restoration and biodiversity protection of secondary forests in northeast China.

Key words: species richness, species composition, aboveground biomass, forest productivity, forest succession

YUAN He-Yang, HAO Min-Hui, HE Huai-Jiang, ZHANG Chun-Yu, ZHAO Xiu-Hai. Impact of species richness and composition on productivity and its changes with forest succession in Changbai Mountains, China[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2024, 48(12): 1602-1611.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2024.0060

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2024/V48/I12/1602

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Principal component analysis of environmental factors of forests at different succession stages in Changbai Mountains. ENV1, the first principal component of the environment; ENV2, the second principal component of the environment. PTPF, primary Tilia amurensis - Pinus koraiensis forest; SCBF, secondary needleleaf-broadleaf mixed forest; SPBF, secondary Populus davidiana - Betula platyphylla forest. ASP, aspect; ELE, elevation; N, soil nitrogen content; OM, soil organic matter content; P, soil phosphorus content; SD, soil depth; SW, soil water content.

Fig. 2 Principal coordinate analysis of species composition of forests at different succession stages in Changbai Mountains. SComp1, the first principal coordinate of species composition; SComp2, the second principal coordinate of species composition. PTPF, primary Tilia amurensis - Pinus koraiensis forest; SCBF, secondary needleleaf-broadleaf mixed forest; SPBF, secondary Populus davidiana - Betula platyphylla forest. AcPs, Acer pseudosieboldianum; AlSi, Alnus sibirica; BeCo, Betula costata; BePl, Betula platyphylla; FrMa, Fraxinus mandshurica; PiJe, Picea jezoensis; PiKo, Pinus koraiensis; PoDa, Populus davidiana; QuMo, Quercus mongolica; TiAm, Tilia amurensis.

Fig. 3 Changes in species diversity and composition during forest succession in Changbai Mountains. SComp1, the first principal coordinate of species composition; SComp2, the second principal coordinate of species composition; SR, species richness. PTPF, primary Tilia amurensis - Pinus koraiensis forest; SCBF, secondary needleleaf-broadleaf mixed forest; SPBF, secondary Populus davidiana - Betula platyphylla forest. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences between different succession stages (p < 0.05).

Fig. 4 Impact of species richness and composition on ecosystem functions of forests at different succession stages in Changbai Mountains. A, Secondary Populus davidiana - Betula platyphylla forest. B, Secondary needleleaf -broadleaf mixed forest. C, Primary Tilia amurensis - Pinus koraiensis forest. AGB, aboveground biomass; ENV1, the first principal component of the environment; ENV2, the second principal component of the environment; FP, forest productivity; SComp1, the first principal coordinate of species composition; SComp2, the second principal coordinate of species composition; SR, species richness. Red solid lines represent significantly positively correlated paths, black solid lines represent significantly negatively correlated paths, and gray dashed lines represent insignificant paths, the values next to the lines represent the standardized path coefficients, and the line thickness is proportional to the standardized path coefficient.

Supplement I Basic information of the three forest plots in Changbai Mountains

样地 Plot	样地位置 Location	海拔 Altitude (m)	主要树种 Main species
次生山杨-白桦林 Secondary Populus davidiana - Betula platyphylla forest	42.32° N, 128.13° E	899	白桦、山杨、水曲柳、紫椴 Betula platyphylla, Populus davidiana, Fraxinus mandschurica, Tilia amurensis
次生针阔混交林 Secondary needleleaf-broadleaf mixed forest	42.35° N, 128.13° E	748	白桦、蒙古栎、紫椴、臭冷杉 Betula platyphylla, Quercus mongolica, Tilia amurensis, Abies nephrolepis
原始紫椴-红松林 Primary Tilia amurensis - Pinus koraiensis	42.23° N, 128.08° E	784	紫椴、红松、臭冷杉、大青杨 Tilia amurensis, Pinus koraiensis, Tilia amurensis, Populus ussuriensis

Supplement II Allometric equations of aboveground biomass of main tree species in northeast China

编号 No.	物种 Species	异速生长方程 Allometric equation
1	红松 Pinus koraiensis	Biomass = exp (-3.394 + 2.582 × ln (DBH))
2	臭冷杉 Abies nephrolepis	Biomass = exp (-2.989 + 2.613 × ln (DBH))
3	蒙古栎 Quercus mongolica	Biomass = exp (-2.797 + 2.571 × ln (DBH))
4	胡桃楸 Juglans mandshurica	Biomass = exp (-2.466 + 2.381 × ln (DBH))
5	五角槭 Acer pictum subsp. mono	Biomass = exp (-2.164 + 2.336 × ln (DBH))
6	东北槭 Acer mandshuricum	Biomass = exp (-2.111 + 2.310 × ln (DBH))
7	白桦 Betula platyphylla	Biomass = exp (-1.941 + 2.286 × ln (DBH))
8	水曲柳 Fraxinus mandschurica	Biomass = exp (-2.301 + 2.443 × ln (DBH))
9	山杨 Populus davidiana	Biomass = exp (-2.507 + 2.358 × ln (DBH))
10	紫椴 Tilia amurensis	Biomass = exp (-2.364 + 2.323 × ln (DBH))
11	水榆花楸 Sorbus alnifolia	Biomass = exp (-2.001 + 2.198 × ln (DBH))
12	春榆 Ulmus japonica	Biomass = exp (-2.058 + 2.271 × ln (DBH))

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