2025-10-11 中国科学院（CAS）
Canopy overview of plots with different species richness of BEF-China experiment (Image by DENG Xianglu)
＜関連情報＞
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/life/202510/t20251009_1075522.shtml
- https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2506750122
森林の生物多様性は、樹冠構造の複雑さの増大による補完性を通じて生産性を高める Forest biodiversity increases productivity via complementarity from greater canopy structural complexity
Xianglu Deng, Bernhard Schmid, Helge Bruelheide, +9 , and Xiaojuan Liu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Published:October 1, 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2506750122
Significance
A more complex canopy structure enhances both light use and productivity in forests. Applying unmanned aerial vehicle-borne laser scanning across a large forest biodiversity experiment in southeast China (BEF-China), we found that tree diversity consistently promoted aboveground biomass through fostering complex canopy structures. With advancing forest age, the positive relationship between canopy structural complexity and forest biomass was increasingly associated with enhanced species complementarity. Our work underscores the importance of longer experimental durations to reveal mechanisms underpinning forest diversity–productivity relationships.
Abstract
The horizontal distribution and vertical stratification of tree crowns can affect light interception and tree growth, thus driving forest productivity and carbon storage. However, how canopy structure is affected by tree diversity and thus can mediate its effects on productivity remains unclear. Using 4-y consecutive unmanned aerial vehicle-borne light detection and ranging and ground-based growth measurements from 482 plots and 38,088 trees, 11 to 15 y after planting, within a large-scale forest biodiversity experiment in southeast China, we found that increased canopy structural complexity consistently explains the positive effects of tree diversity on productivity. Species complementarity was the main mediator of diversity-enhanced productivity, with the positive complementarity effects strengthening over time. Our study underscores the importance of establishing multispecies forest communities with complex canopy structure to maximize productivity and carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems.
