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Tree functional types simplify forest carbon stock estimates induced by carbon concentration variations among species in a subtropical area.

ABSTRACT: Forests contain one of the world's largest carbon (C) pools and represent opportunities for cost-effective climate change mitigation through programmes such as the United Nations-led "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation" Programme (REDD). Generic estimates for the conversion of forest biomass into C stock are not sufficiently accurate for assessing the utility of harvesting forest to offset carbon dioxide emissions, currently under consideration by the REDD Programme. We examined the variation in C concentration among tree species and tree functional types (classified based on leaf morphological and phenological traits) in a subtropical forest and evaluated the effects of these variations on stand-level estimations of C stock. This study was conducted in the Paiyashan Forest State Farm and the Dashanchong Forest Park, Hunan Province, China. C concentrations differed significantly among tree species (P < 0.0001) and were significantly higher in gymnosperm than angiosperm species. Estimations of stand C stocks were similar using either functional types or species- and tissue-specific C concentrations. The use of functional type classification to estimate stand C stock is an effective tool for implementing C sequestration trade and C credit programmes and the UN-REDD Programme in subtropical forests.

SUBMITTER: Wu H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5504068 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tree functional types simplify forest carbon stock estimates induced by carbon concentration variations among species in a subtropical area.

Wu Huili H Xiang Wenhua W Fang Xi X Lei Pifeng P Ouyang Shuai S Deng Xiangwen X

Scientific reports 20170710 1

Forests contain one of the world's largest carbon (C) pools and represent opportunities for cost-effective climate change mitigation through programmes such as the United Nations-led "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation" Programme (REDD). Generic estimates for the conversion of forest biomass into C stock are not sufficiently accurate for assessing the utility of harvesting forest to offset carbon dioxide emissions, currently under consideration by the REDD Programme. We ...[more]

PMID: 28694496

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Project description:Research about biodiversity-productivity relationships has focused on herbaceous ecosystems, with results from tree field studies only recently beginning to emerge. Also, the latter are concentrated largely in the temperate zone. Tree species diversity generally is much higher in subtropical and tropical than in temperate or boreal forests, with reasons not fully understood. Niche overlap and thus complementarity in the use of resources that support productivity may be lower in forests than in herbaceous ecosystems, suggesting weaker productivity responses to diversity change in forests. We studied stand basal area, vertical structure, leaf area, and their relationship with tree species richness in a subtropical forest in south-east China. Permanent forest plots of 30 x 30 m were selected to span largely independent gradients in tree species richness and secondary successional age. Plots with higher tree species richness had a higher stand basal area. Also, stand basal area increases over a 4-year census interval were larger at high than at low diversity. These effects translated into increased carbon stocks in aboveground phytomass (estimated using allometric equations). A higher variability in tree height in more diverse plots suggested that these effects were facilitated by denser canopy packing due to architectural complementarity between species. In contrast, leaf area was not or even negatively affected by tree diversity, indicating a decoupling of carbon accumulation from leaf area. Alternatively, the same community leaf area might have assimilated more C per time interval in more than in less diverse plots because of differences in leaf turnover and productivity or because of differences in the display of leaves in vertical and horizontal space. Overall, our study suggests that in species-rich forests niche-based processes support a positive diversity-productivity relationship and that this translates into increased carbon storage in long-lived woody structures. Given the high growth rates of these forests during secondary succession, our results further indicate that a forest management promoting tree diversity after disturbance may accelerate CO2 sequestration from the atmosphere and thus be relevant in a climate-change context.

Project description:Deciphering the relationships between microbes and their host plants is critical for a better understanding of microbial diversity maintenance and community stability. Here, we investigated fungal diversity and community assembly in the phyllosphere and rhizosphere of 13 tree species in a subtropical common-garden experiment. The results showed that fungal community structures significantly differed across compartments (leaf, root, and soil) and different tree species. Higher α-diversity was observed in the phyllosphere than in the roots and rhizospheric soil. Fungal community composition (β-diversity) was significantly affected by both compartment and species identity. The fungal community compositions were significantly correlated with soil pH in the roots and the soils as well as with soil nitrate and leaf total phosphorus in the leaves. We found that fungal community assemblies were mainly driven by deterministic processes, regardless of compartments. Moreover, host preference analyses indicated that stronger plant/fungus preferences occurred in leaves than in roots and soils. Our results highlight the differences in tree mycobiome between aboveground and belowground compartments and have important implications for the promotion of biodiversity conservation and management sustainability for the subtropical forest. IMPORTANCE Subtropical mountain forests are widely distributed in Southern China and are characterized by high biodiversity. The interactions between plants and fungi play pivotal roles in biodiversity maintenance and community stability. Nevertheless, knowledge of fungal diversity and of the community assembly patterns of woody plants is scarce. Here, we investigated fungal diversity and community assembly in the phyllosphere and rhizosphere of 13 tree species in a common-garden experiment. We found that both compartment and plant identity influenced fungal diversity, community, and guild compositions, while deterministic processes mainly governed the fungal community assembly, especially in the rhizospheric fungal communities. Our results demonstrate that tree leaves represent stronger host/fungi preferences than do roots and soils. Together, our findings enhance the understanding of the roles of compartment and plant identity in structuring fungal communities as well as promote fungal diversity maintenance in subtropical mountain forest ecosystems.

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Tree functional types simplify forest carbon stock estimates induced by carbon concentration variations among species in a subtropical area.

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Tree functional types simplify forest carbon stock estimates induced by carbon concentration variations among species in a subtropical area.

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