From competition to facilitation: how tree species respond to neighbourhood diversity |
| |
Authors: | Andreas Fichtner Werner Härdtle Ying Li Helge Bruelheide Matthias Kunz Goddert von Oheimb |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Institute of Ecology, Lüneburg, Germany;2. Martin Luther University Halle‐Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany 3. and Botanical Garden, Halle (Saale), Germany;4. German Centre of Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany;5. Technische Universit?t Dresden, Institute of General Ecology and Environmental Protection, Tharandt, Germany |
| |
Abstract: | Studies on tree communities have demonstrated that species diversity can enhance forest productivity, but the driving mechanisms at the local neighbourhood level remain poorly understood. Here, we use data from a large‐scale biodiversity experiment with 24 subtropical tree species to show that neighbourhood tree species richness generally promotes individual tree productivity. We found that the underlying mechanisms depend on a focal tree's functional traits: For species with a conservative resource‐use strategy diversity effects were brought about by facilitation, and for species with acquisitive traits by competitive reduction. Moreover, positive diversity effects were strongest under low competition intensity (quantified as the total basal area of neighbours) for acquisitive species, and under high competition intensity for conservative species. Our findings demonstrate that net biodiversity effects in tree communities can vary over small spatial scales, emphasising the need to consider variation in local neighbourhood interactions to better understand effects at the community level. |
| |
Keywords: | BEF‐China biodiversity complementarity ecosystem functioning forests functional traits productivity species interactions |
|
|