氮磷添加对树木生长和森林生产力影响的研究进展

人为活动所导致的氮、磷输入和大气氮、磷沉降使生态系统中的氮、磷可利用性大幅提高, 对陆地生态系统的碳循环过程产生了显著影响。树木生长和森林生产力在全球碳循环中发挥着重要作用, 它决定着陆地碳固存的大小和方向。目前, 在全球范围内开展了很多氮、磷添加调控树木生长和森林生产力的野外控制实验, 但是研究结果并不一致, 受到多种生物、环境和实验处理条件等因素的影响。该文从野外氮添加和磷添加实验的文献数量、实验数量及其全球空间分布三个方面概述了氮、磷添加对树木生长和森林生产力影响的研究现状, 并总结了氮、磷添加实验中树木生长和森林生产力的评估方法, 包括相对生长速率和绝对增长量。基于相关的研究结果, 阐述了氮、磷添加影响树木生长和森林生产力的调控因素及其潜在影响机制, 包括气候、树木径级与林龄、植物功能性状(共生菌根类型、树木固氮属性和保守性与获得性性状)、植物和微生物相互作用关系、区域养分沉降速率和实验处理条件等。最后, 基于当前的研究进行了系统总结, 并指出今后需要加强的几个方面的研究, 以期为后续研究提供参考: 树木生长响应氮、磷添加的生理学机制, 树木各部分生长对氮、磷添加响应的权衡与分配, 植物功能性状在调节与预测树木生长响应氮、磷添加中的作用, 树木之间的竞争关系如何调控氮、磷添加对树木生长的影响, 以及开展长期的和联网的氮、磷添加对树木生长和森林生产力影响的野外控制实验。     

A review on the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on tree growth and productivity in forest ecosystems

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs induced by anthropogenic activities and atmospheric N and P deposition have largely increased the availability of soil N and P in terrestrial ecosystems, which have considerably affected terrestrial carbon cycling processes. Tree growth and productivity in forest ecosystems play an important role in global carbon cycling, and determine the magnitude and direction of terrestrial carbon sequestration. Currently, a large number of field manipulation experiments have been conducted to investigate the effects of N and/or P addition on tree growth and forest productivity, but the results from these studies were inconsistent. Such inconsistent results might be affected by multiple factors, including biological, environmental and experimental variables. Here, we reviewed the present research status of the effects of N and P addition on tree growth and forest productivity in forest ecosystems based on three aspects, including the number of publications and experiments with field N and P addition, and the global distributions of these experiments. Then, we summarized the methods for assessing tree growth and forest productivity at ecosystem level in forest ecosystems, including relative growth rate and absolute increment. According to the related results, we reviewed the regulating factors that affect tree growth and productivity, and the potential mechanisms for such factors, including climate, tree size and stand age, plant functional traits (including type of tree-associated mycorrhizal fungi, N-fixation property of trees, and conservative and acquisitive functional traits), plant-microbe interaction, ambient nutrient (i.e., N and P) deposition rate, and experimental variables. Finally, we summarized the current studies, and pointed out five aspects that are urgently needed to provide further insights in future studies, including the physiological mechanism of how tree growth responds to N and P addition, the tradeoff and allocation among growth of various parts of tree under N and P addition, the role of plant functional traits in regulating and predicting the responses of tree growth to N and P addition, how the competition among trees regulates the responses of tree growth to N and P addition, and conducting long-term and coordinated distributed field experiments investigating the effects of N and P addition on tree growth and forest productivity at the global scale.     

Evidence of non‐stationary relationships between climate and forest responses: Increased sensitivity to climate change in Iberian forests

Climate and forest structure are considered major drivers of forest demography and productivity. However, recent evidence suggests that the relationships between climate and tree growth are generally non‐stationary (i.e. non‐time stable), and it remains uncertain whether the relationships between climate, forest structure, demography and productivity are stationary or are being altered by recent climatic and structural changes. Here we analysed three surveys from the Spanish Forest Inventory covering c. 30 years of information and we applied mixed and structural equation models to assess temporal trends in forest structure (stand density, basal area, tree size and tree size inequality), forest demography (ingrowth, growth and mortality) and above‐ground forest productivity. We also quantified whether the interactive effects of climate and forest structure on forest demography and above‐ground forest productivity were stationary over two consecutive time periods. Since the 1980s, density, basal area and tree size increased in Iberian forests, and tree size inequality decreased. In addition, we observed reductions in ingrowth and growth, and increases in mortality. Initial forest structure and water availability mainly modulated the temporal trends in forest structure and demography. The magnitude and direction of the interactive effects of climate and forest structure on forest demography changed over the two time periods analysed indicating non‐stationary relationships between climate, forest structure and demography. Above‐ground forest productivity increased due to a positive balance between ingrowth, growth and mortality. Despite increasing productivity over time, we observed an aggravation of the negative effects of climate change and increased competition on forest demography, reducing ingrowth and growth, and increasing mortality. Interestingly, our results suggest that the negative effects of climate change on forest demography could be ameliorated through forest management, which has profound implications for forest adaptation to climate change.     

Competition and facilitation between tree species change with stand development

Processes governing tree interspecific interactions, such as facilitation and competition, may vary in strength over time. This study tried to unveil them by performing dendrometrical analyses on black spruce Picea mariana, trembling aspen Populus tremuloides and jack pine Pinus banksiana trees from pure and mixed mature boreal forest stands in the Clay Belt of northwestern Quebec and on the tills of northwestern Ontario. We cored 1430 trees and cut 120 for stem analysis across all stand composition types, tree species and study regions. Aspen annual growth rate was initially higher when mixed with conifers, but then progressively decreased over time compared to pure aspen stands, while jack pine growth rate did not differ with black spruce presence throughout all stages of stand development. When mixed with aspen, black spruce showed a contrary response to aspen, i.e. an initial loss in growth but a positive gain later. On the richer clay soil of the Quebec Clay Belt region, however, both aspen and spruce responses in mixed stands reversed between 37 and 54 years. Overall, our results demonstrate that interspecific interactions were present and tended to change with stand development and among species. Our results also suggest that the nature of interspecific interactions may differ with soil nutrient availability.     

Tree Size Inequality Reduces Forest Productivity: An Analysis Combining Inventory Data for Ten European Species and a Light Competition Model

Plant structural diversity is usually considered as beneficial for ecosystem functioning. For instance, numerous studies have reported positive species diversity-productivity relationships in plant communities. However, other aspects of structural diversity such as individual size inequality have been far less investigated. In forests, tree size inequality impacts directly tree growth and asymmetric competition, but consequences on forest productivity are still indeterminate. In addition, the effect of tree size inequality on productivity is likely to vary with species shade-tolerance, a key ecological characteristic controlling asymmetric competition and light resource acquisition. Using plot data from the French National Geographic Agency, we studied the response of stand productivity to size inequality for ten forest species differing in shade tolerance. We fitted a basal area stand production model that included abiotic factors, stand density, stand development stage and a tree size inequality index. Then, using a forest dynamics model we explored whether mechanisms of light interception and light use efficiency could explain the tree size inequality effect observed for three of the ten species studied. Size inequality negatively affected basal area increment for seven out of the ten species investigated. However, this effect was not related to the shade tolerance of these species. According to the model simulations, the negative tree size inequality effect could result both from reduced total stand light interception and reduced light use efficiency. Our results demonstrate that negative relationships between size inequality and productivity may be the rule in tree populations. The lack of effect of shade tolerance indicates compensatory mechanisms between effect on light availability and response to light availability. Such a pattern deserves further investigations for mixed forests where complementarity effects between species are involved. When studying the effect of structural diversity on ecosystem productivity, tree size inequality is a major facet that should be taken into account.     

Cadmium-induced ammonium ion accumulation of rice seedlings at high temperature is mediated through abscisic acid

Significant increases in aboveground biomass production have been observed in mixed plantations of Eucalyptus globulus and Acacia mearnsii when compared to monocultures. However, this positive growth response may be enhanced or lost with changes in resource availability. Therefore this study examined the effect of the commonly limiting resources soil N, P and moisture on the growth of E. globulus and A. mearnsii mixtures in a pot trial. Pots containing two E. globulus plants, two A. mearnsii plants or one of each species were treated with high and low levels of N and P fertiliser. After 50 weeks, E. globulus plants grew more aboveground biomass in mixtures than monocultures. A. mearnsii were larger in mixtures only at low N, where both species were similar in size and the combined aboveground biomass of both species in mixture was greater than that of monocultures. At high N and both high and low levels of P fertiliser E. globulus appeared to dominate and suppress A. mearnsii. In these treatments, the faster growth of E. globulus in mixture did not compensate the reduced growth of A. mearnsii, so mixtures were less productive than (or not significantly different from) E. globulus monocultures. The greater competitiveness of E. globulus in these situations may have resulted from its higher N and P use efficiency and greater growth response to N and P fertilisers compared to A. mearnsii. This trial indicates that the complex interactions between species in mixtures, and thus the success of mixed plantations, can be strongly influenced by site factors such as the availability of N and P.     

Stabilizing effects of diversity on aboveground wood production in forest ecosystems: linking patterns and processes

Both theory and evidence suggest that diversity stabilises productivity in herbaceous plant communities through a combination of overyielding, species asynchrony and favourable species interactions. However, whether these same processes also promote stability in forest ecosystems has never been tested. Using tree ring data from permanent forest plots across Europe, we show that aboveground wood production is inherently more stable through time in mixed‐species forests. Faster rates of wood production (i.e. overyielding), decreased year‐to‐year variation in productivity through asynchronous responses of species to climate, and greater temporal stability in the growth rates of individual tree species all contributed strongly to stabilising productivity in mixed stands. Together, these findings reveal the central role of diversity in stabilising productivity in forests, and bring us closer to understanding the processes which enable diverse forests to remain productive under a wide range of environmental conditions.     

阔叶红松林林木与林分生长对采伐干扰的响应

提升森林质量、修复生态功能是东北阔叶红松林生态修复的核心,而阐明林木与林分生长对采伐干扰的响应机理是其中的关键。森林对采伐干扰的响应会受到空间尺度、时间尺度以及干扰程度等因素的综合影响。以往的研究侧重于比较不同采伐处理下林木生长的相对大小,而忽视了不同恢复时间下,林木和林分生长随干扰程度的变化。以吉林蛟河阔叶红松林采伐样地为对象,基于连续四次样地调查数据(2011、2013、2015、2018年),分别探讨了林木和林分生长在不同恢复阶段对不同程度采伐干扰的响应,并通过构建分段模型确定采伐干扰阈值。结果显示:林木和林分生长对采伐干扰的响应并不一致,采伐促进了林木生长,并且林木生长量随采伐强度的升高而升高;采伐降低了林分生产力,林分生产力随采伐强度的升高而降低。林木和林分生长对采伐干扰的响应存在时滞效应:林木和林分生长在采伐后两年内并无显著变化,而在采伐三年后才发生明显变化。此外,分段模型的结果显示:当保留木断面积为21.6 m²/hm²时,林分生产力最高,表明通过密度调整使阔叶红松林胸高断面积维持在21.6 m²/hm²附近,可使林分处于较高的生产力水平、促进森林恢复。研究结果能够为制定科学的阔叶红松林生态修复策略提供技术支撑。     

Density-dependent shift from facilitation to competition in a dwarf <Emphasis Type="Italic">Avicennia germinans</Emphasis> forest

The global effort to rehabilitate and restore destroyed mangrove forests is unable to keep up with the high mangrove deforestation rates, which exceed the average pace of global deforestation. Although facilitation theory presents new possibilities for the restoration of heavily degraded mangrove sites, knowledge of tree–tree interactions in stressed mangrove forest ecosystems is too limited to utilize facilitation appropriately. The aim was to determine the mode of local interaction among stressed mangrove trees by investigating the effect of clustering on tree size and crown morphology under contrasting stand densities. The study was conducted in a dwarf Avicennia germinans forest in Northern Brazil, in which tree growth is limited by infrequent inundation and high pore-water salinity. Autoregressive regression, Voronoi tessellation and spatial point pattern statistics were used to address the spatial processes underlying tree interaction. Under low stand density (1.2 trees m^?2) dwarf trees which grew in clustered cohorts of A. germinans had a less stunted crown morphology revealing the dominance of a positive neighborhood influence among plants. In contrast, dwarf trees in the denser forest stand (2.7 trees m^?2) were interacting competitively as indicated by the more negative effect of neighbors on crown morphology and size. The shift from facilitative to competitive interactions is an important feature of mangrove forest regeneration under harsh environmental conditions. If mangrove trees are unable to regenerate naturally on severely degraded sites, intraspecific facilitation could be used to assist regeneration by planting seedlings in clusters and not evenly spaced.     

The need for a canopy perspective to understand the importance of phenotypic plasticity for promoting species coexistence and light-use complementarity in forest ecosystems

Because of their overwhelming size over other organisms, trees define the structural and energetic properties of forest ecosystems. From grasslands to forests, leaf area index, which determines the amount of light energy intercepted for photosynthesis, increases with increasing canopy height across the various terrestrial ecosystems of the world. In vertically well-developed forests, niche differentiation along the vertical gradient of light availability may promote species coexistence. In addition, spatial and temporal differentiation of photosynthetic traits among the coexisting tree species (functional diversity) may promote complementary use of light energy, resulting in higher biomass and productivity in multi-species forests. Trees have evolved retaining high phenotypic plasticity because the spatial/temporal distribution of resources in forest ecosystems is highly heterogeneous and trees modify their own environment as they increase nearly 1,000 times in size through ontogeny. High phenotypic plasticity may enable coexistence of tree species through divergence in resource-rich environments, as well as through convergence in resource-limited environments. We propose that the breadth of individual-level phenotypic plasticity, expressed at the metamer level (leaves and shoots), is an important factor that promotes species coexistence and resource-use complementarity in forest ecosystems. A cross-biome comparison of the link between plasticity of photosynthesis-related traits and stand productivity will provide a functional explanation for the relationship between species assemblages and productivity of forest ecosystems.     

Using coloured roots to study root interaction and competition in intercropped legumes and non-legumes

Aims Root interactions between neighbour plants represent a fundamental aspect of the competitive dynamics in pure stand and mixed cropping systems. The comprehension of such phenomena places big methodological challenges, and still needs clarification. The objectives of this work were (i) to test if a species with coloured roots can be used to examine the interaction in a legume-non-legume intercropping system; (ii) to verify the importance of initial root growth on the successive root development of mixture component plants; (iii) to test if the root interaction in the shallow layers has consequences for deep root growth and (iv) to compare the effect of intraspecific and interspecific competition on root development and biomass growth.Methods A detailed study on root growth and interaction was carried out using rhizotron tubes where two legume species were grown in pure stands or were intercropped with red beet, a variety of Beta vulgaris L. with clear red roots. Within the rhizotrons, the three species were grown either without competitors, with two plants of the same species to measure intraspecific competition or with one legume and one red beet plant to study interspecific competition. The use of mixtures where one component has clearly coloured roots, together with several scalar measurements of root depth and proliferation, allowed the measurement of the root system of each species when grown in the mixtures.Important findings The use of rhizotron tubes coupled with species with coloured roots represented a valuable method to study the belowground interaction in mixed cropping systems. The initial root growth was a very important feature for the subsequent dominance of a species and it was not related to seed dimension. Initial root growth was also important because the root interactions in the shallower soil layers were found to influence the root growth in deeper soil. The root system of the red beet showed much faster and deeper growth than that of the legumes, and made red beet the dominant component in the mixtures while the legume root system was confined to the shallower soil layer. Intraspecific competition was well tolerated by the legumes, but it was limiting for the highly competitive red beet. The outcome of root interaction between neighbour plants was confirmed to be species-specific as it changed according to the intensity of the competitive effect/response of each species of the mixture: both legumes were slightly affected by the intraspecific and highly affected by interspecific competition while red beet was more affected by intraspecific competition but strongly dominant when intercropped with legumes.     

紫茎泽兰与黑麦草苗期相对竞争力和生长特征的研究

为探究替代物种黑麦草（Lolium perenne）抑制外来人侵杂草紫茎泽兰（Eupatorium adenophorum）的潜力,采用de Wit取代系列设计,在野外小区内设置3水平多年生黑麦草栽植时间、4水平种植密度以及3水平混种比例等不同种植处理,于12周后收获,分别测量黑麦草与紫茎泽兰的地上生物量和地下生物量,用单株相对产量分析其竞争力。结果表明,种植密度、混种比例和黑麦草栽植时间显著影响紫茎泽兰的地上生物量,紫茎泽兰的竞争力在低种植比例情况下,随黑麦草栽植时间的推迟而明显增强,随种植密度的降低而增强。种植密度、混种比例、黑麦草栽植时间以及这些因素的互作等对黑麦草的地上生物量与地下生物量均具有显著影响;栽植时间越晚、密度越大,黑麦草的竞争力就越弱（尽管不存在直线关系）。在大多数种植处理条件下,紫茎泽兰经历的种间竞争明显大于种内竞争,表现出较弱的竞争力;而黑麦草在与紫茎泽兰同时栽植的情况下,经历的种内竞争大于种间竞争,表现出较强的竞争力。     

中国南方3种主要人工林生物量和生产力的动态变化

基于中国南方杉木、马尾松、桉树3种主要人工林的幼龄林、中龄林、近熟林、成熟林、过熟林5个不同年龄各3块1000 m2样地(共计45块)的建立和调查,采用样木回归分析法(乔木层)和样方收获法(灌木层、草本层、地上凋落物)获取不同林型不同林龄径级样木和其它基本数据,探讨了3种人工林各组分各层次林分生物量和生产力的分配特征及随林龄的变化规律,结果表明,林分生物量和生产力与林龄密切相关,增长模型的拟合度均较高,相关显著;杉木、马尾松、桉树人工林的生物量随林龄的增长呈增加趋势,成熟林的生物量分别为192.30、191.53、105.77 Mg/hm2,其中活体植物分别占95.76%—98.39%、75.01%—99.14%、85.60%—97.61%;生物量的层次分配乔木层占绝对优势,并随年龄而增加,其它层次所占比例较小,总体趋势为凋落物草本层灌木层;乔木层的器官分配以干所占比例最高,杉木、马尾松、桉树分别占54.89%—75.97%、49.93%—83.10%、51.07%—98.48%,随年龄的增加而增加,根的比例次之,枝叶所占比例较小,随林龄而下降;灌木层器官分配以枝的相对生物量较大,草本层的地上和地下分配规律不明显;与其它森林类型相比,杉木和马尾松的生物量处于中上游水平,桉树的生物量较低,但3种人工林的生产力均很高,分别为12.37、8.98、21.10 Mg hm-2a-1,均是光合效率高、固碳潜力大的中国南方速生丰产优良造林树种。     

Mixture enhances productivity in a two-species forest: evidence from a modeling approach

The effect of mixture on productivity has been widely studied for applications related to agriculture but results in forestry are scarce due to the difficulty of conducting experiments. Using a modeling approach, we analyzed the effect of mixture on the productivity of forest stands composed of sessile oak and Scots pine. To determine whether mixture had a positive effect on productivity and if there was an optimum mixing proportion, we used an aggregation technique involving a mean-field approximation to analyze a distance-dependent individual-based model. We conducted a local sensitivity analysis to identify the factors that influenced the results the most. Our model made it possible to predict the species proportion where productivity peaks. This indicates that transgressive over-yielding can occur in these stands and suggests that the two species are complementary. For the studied growth period, mixture does have a positive effect on the productivity of oak-pine stands. Depending on the plot, the optimum species proportion ranges from 38 to 74% of oak and the gain in productivity compared to the current mixture is 2.2% on average. The optimum mixing proportion mainly depends on parameters concerning intra-specific oak competition and yet, intra-specific competition higher than inter-specific competition was not sufficient to ensure over-yielding in these stands. Our work also shows how results obtained for individual tree growth may provide information on the productivity of the whole stand. This approach could help us to better understand the link between productivity, stand characteristics, and species growth parameters in mixed forests.     

Changing growth response to wildfire in old‐growth ponderosa pine trees in montane forests of north central Idaho

North American fire‐adapted forests are experiencing changes in fire frequency and climate. These novel conditions may alter postwildfire responses of fire‐adapted trees that survive fires, a topic that has received little attention. Historical, frequent, low‐intensity wildfire in many fire‐adapted forests is generally thought to have a positive effect on the growth and vigor of trees that survive fires. Whether such positive effects can persist under current and future climate conditions is not known. Here, we evaluate long‐term responses to recurrent 20th‐century fires in ponderosa pine, a fire‐adapted tree species, in unlogged forests in north central Idaho. We also examine short‐term responses to individual 20th‐century fires and evaluate whether these responses have changed over time and whether potential variability relates to climate variables and time since last fire. Growth responses were assessed by comparing tree‐ring measurements from trees in stands burned repeatedly during the 20th century at roughly the historical fire frequency with trees in paired control stands that had not burned for at least 70 years. Contrary to expectations, only one site showed significant increases in long‐term growth responses in burned stands compared with control stands. Short‐term responses showed a trend of increasing negative effects of wildfire (reduced diameter growth in the burned stand compared with the control stand) in recent years that had drier winters and springs. There was no effect of time since the previous fire on growth responses to fire. The possible relationships of novel climate conditions with negative tree growth responses in trees that survive fire are discussed. A trend of negative growth responses to wildfire in old‐growth forests could have important ramifications for forest productivity and carbon balance under future climate scenarios.     

Photosynthetic Productivity of Oak Stand under Variable Environmental Conditions and Water Availability

An especial method was applied for calculating the photosynthetic productivity of oak (Quercus robur L.) stand. The methodological basis is that the efficiency of photosynthetic utilization of intercepted PAR over the daylight period depends on environmental conditions and distribution of PAR within the canopy. This method was also used to determine the photosynthetic productivity of individual trees within the stand and to estimate the contribution of trees with various extents of growth retardment to the total photosynthetic productivity. For the oak stand in the forest-steppe region, the photosynthetic efficiency was expressed as a function of climatic variables such as solar irradiance day sum, day average temperature, air humidity, and water availability (quantified as the predawn leaf water potential, PLWP). This functional dependence differed for sun-exposed and shade leaves. Under optimum water availability (PLWP = −0.5 MPa), the photosynthetic productivity of a 60-year-old oak stand amounted 44.5 t C/(ha year) but it declined with the decrease in water availability. Under severe water deficit, when PLWP dropped to −2.1 MPa, the photosynthetic productivity decreased 17-fold and equaled 2.6 t C/(ha year). The strongest decline in photosynthetic productivity occurred on sunny days under moisture deficit in dominant and codominant trees belonging to growth classes I and II.__________Translated from Fiziologiya Rastenii, Vol. 52, No. 4, 2005, pp. 522–531.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Molchanov.     

The variable effects of soil nitrogen availability and insect herbivory on aboveground and belowground plant biomass in an old-field ecosystem

Nutrient availability and herbivory can regulate primary production in ecosystems, but little is known about how, or whether, they may interact with one another. Here, we investigate how nitrogen availability and insect herbivory interact to alter aboveground and belowground plant community biomass in an old-field ecosystem. In 2004, we established 36 experimental plots in which we manipulated soil nitrogen (N) availability and insect abundance in a completely randomized plot design. In 2009, after 6 years of treatments, we measured aboveground biomass and assessed root production at peak growth. Overall, we found a significant effect of reduced soil N availability on aboveground biomass and belowground plant biomass production. Specifically, responses of aboveground and belowground community biomass to nutrients were driven by reductions in soil N, but not additions, indicating that soil N may not be limiting primary production in this ecosystem. Insects reduced the aboveground biomass of subdominant plant species and decreased coarse root production. We found no statistical interactions between N availability and insect herbivory for any response variable. Overall, the results of 6 years of nutrient manipulations and insect removals suggest strong bottom-up influences on total plant community productivity but more subtle effects of insect herbivores on aspects of aboveground and belowground production.     

Functional traits determine tree growth and ecosystem productivity of a tropical montane forest: Insights from a long‐term nutrient manipulation experiment

Trait‐response effects are critical to forecast community structure and biomass production in highly diverse tropical forests. Ecological theory and few observation studies indicate that trees with acquisitive functional traits would respond more strongly to higher resource availability than those with conservative traits. We assessed how long‐term tree growth in experimental nutrient addition plots (N, P, and N + P) varied as a function of morphological traits, tree size, and species identity. We also evaluated how trait‐based responses affected stand scale biomass production considering the community structure. We found that tree growth depended on interactions between functional traits and the type or combination of nutrients added. Common species with acquisitive functional traits responded more strongly to nutrient addition, mainly to N + P. Phosphorous enhanced the growth rates of species with acquisitive and conservative traits, had mostly positive effects on common species and neutral or negative effects in rare species. Moreover, trees receiving N + P grew faster irrespective of their initial size relative to trees in control or to trees in other treatment plots. Finally, species responses were highly idiosyncratic suggesting that community processes including competition and niche dimensionality may be altered under increased resource availability. We found no statistically significant effects of nutrient additions on aboveground biomass productivity because acquisitive species had a limited potential to increase their biomass, possibly due to their generally lower wood density. In contrast, P addition increased the growth rates of species characterized by more conservative resource strategies (with higher wood density) that were poorly represented in the plant community. We provide the first long‐term experimental evidence that trait‐based responses, community structure, and community processes modulate the effects of increased nutrient availability on biomass productivity in a tropical forest.