Biomaterial Database

Tree species richness increases ecosystem carbon storage in subtropical forests. 2018

Xiaojuan Liu, and Stefan Trogisch, and Jin-Sheng He, and Pascal A Niklaus, and Helge Bruelheide, and Zhiyao Tang, and Alexandra Erfmeier, and Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, and Katherina A Pietsch, and Bo Yang, and Peter Kühn, and Thomas Scholten, and Yuanyuan Huang, and Chao Wang, and Michael Staab, and Katrin N Leppert, and Christian Wirth, and Bernhard Schmid, and Keping Ma

State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100093 Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Forest ecosystems are an integral component of the global carbon cycle as they take up and release large amounts of C over short time periods (C flux) or accumulate it over longer time periods (C stock). However, there remains uncertainty about whether and in which direction C fluxes and in particular C stocks may differ between forests of high versus low species richness. Based on a comprehensive dataset derived from field-based measurements, we tested the effect of species richness (3-20 tree species) and stand age (22-116 years) on six compartments of above- and below-ground C stocks and four components of C fluxes in subtropical forests in southeast China. Across forest stands, total C stock was 149 ± 12 Mg ha-1 with richness explaining 28.5% and age explaining 29.4% of variation in this measure. Species-rich stands had higher C stocks and fluxes than stands with low richness; and, in addition, old stands had higher C stocks than young ones. Overall, for each additional tree species, the total C stock increased by 6.4%. Our results provide comprehensive evidence for diversity-mediated above- and below-ground C sequestration in species-rich subtropical forests in southeast China. Therefore, afforestation policies in this region and elsewhere should consider a change from the current focus on monocultures to multi-species plantations to increase C fixation and thus slow increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations and global warming.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D002681	China	A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.	Inner Mongolia,Manchuria,People's Republic of China,Sinkiang,Mainland China
D013997	Time Factors	Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.	Time Series,Factor, Time,Time Factor
D014197	Trees	Woody, usually tall, perennial higher plants (Angiosperms, Gymnosperms, and some Pterophyta) having usually a main stem and numerous branches.	Tree
D044822	Biodiversity	The variety of all native living organisms and their various forms and interrelationships.	Biological Diversity,Diversity, Biological
D057965	Carbon Sequestration	Any of several processes for the permanent or long-term artificial or natural capture or removal and storage of carbon dioxide and other forms of carbon, through biological, chemical or physical processes, in a manner that prevents it from being released into the atmosphere.	Carbon Sequestration Techniques,Carbon Sink,Carbon Sequestration Technique,Carbon Sequestrations,Carbon Sinks,Sequestration Technique, Carbon,Sequestration Techniques, Carbon,Sequestration, Carbon,Sequestrations, Carbon,Sink, Carbon,Sinks, Carbon,Technique, Carbon Sequestration,Techniques, Carbon Sequestration
D065928	Forests	An ecosystem dominated by trees and other woody vegetation.	Forested Areas,Forestlands,Woodland,Area, Forested,Areas, Forested,Forest,Forested Area,Forestland,Woodlands