Identifying the tree species compositions that maximize ecosystem functioning in European forests - INRAE - Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement
Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Applied Ecology Année : 2019

Identifying the tree species compositions that maximize ecosystem functioning in European forests

1 Department of Environment [CIEMAT Madrid]
2 Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg
3 Leipzig University / Universität Leipzig
4 Department of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity
5 CAM - University of Cambridge [UK]
6 Institute of Plant Sciences
7 DYNAFOR - Dynamiques Forestières dans l'Espace Rural
8 MNCN - Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales [Madrid]
9 Chair of Silviculture, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources
10 SILVA - SILVA
11 USU - University Stefan cel Mare of Suceava
12 UniFI - Università degli Studi di Firenze = University of Florence = Université de Florence
13 Université de Liège
14 BioGeCo - Biodiversité, Gènes & Communautés
15 Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux
16 University of Warmia and Mazury [Olsztyn]
17 UAS - University of Agricultural Sciences
18 Wollo University
19 Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
20 LUKE - Natural Resources Institute Finland
21 Forest Research Institute of Thessaloniki
22 Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
23 LANL - Los Alamos National Laboratory
24 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
25 UW - University of Warsaw
26 University of London
27 Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg = University of Freiburg
28 SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences = Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
29 Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources
30 UCPH - University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet
31 UAH - Universidad de Alcalá - University of Alcalá
Luc Barbaro
Damien Bonal
Olivier Bouriaud
Charlotte Grossiord
Herve Jactel
Bogdan Jaroszewicz
Kris Verheyen

Résumé

1. Forest ecosystem functioning generally benefits from higher tree species richness, but variation within richness levels is typically large. This is mostly due to the contrasting performances of communities with different compositions. Evidencebased understanding of composition effects on forest productivity, as well as on multiple other functions will enable forest managers to focus on the selection of species that maximize functioning, rather than on diversity per se. 2. We used a dataset of 30 ecosystem functions measured in stands with different species richness and composition in six European forest types. First, we quantified whether the compositions that maximize annual above-ground wood production (productivity) generally also fulfil the multiple other ecosystem functions (multifunctionality). Then, we quantified the species identity effects and strength of interspecific interactions to identify the “best” and “worst” species composition for multifunctionality. Finally, we evaluated the real-world frequency of occurrence of best and worst mixtures, using harmonized data from multiple national forest inventories. 3. The most productive tree species combinations also tended to express relatively high multifunctionality, although we found a relatively wide range of compositions with high- or low-average multifunctionality for the same level of productivity. Monocultures were distributed among the highest as well as the lowest performing compositions. The variation in functioning between compositions was generally driven by differences in the performance of the component species and, to a lesser extent, by particular interspecific interactions. Finally, we found that the most frequent species compositions in inventory data were monospecific stands and that the most common compositions showed below-average multifunctionality and productivity. 4. Synthesis and applications. Species identity and composition effects are essential to the development of high-performing production systems, for instance in forestry and agriculture. They therefore deserve great attention in the analysis and design of functional biodiversity studies if the aim is to inform ecosystem management. A management focus on tree productivity does not necessarily trade-off against other ecosystem functions; high productivity and multifunctionality can be combined with an informed selection of tree species and species combinations.

Dates et versions

hal-02629130 , version 1 (27-05-2020)

Identifiants

Citer

Lander Baeten, Helge Bruelheide, Fons van Der Plas, Stephan Kambach, Sophia Ratcliffe, et al.. Identifying the tree species compositions that maximize ecosystem functioning in European forests. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2019, 56 (3), pp.733-744. ⟨10.1111/1365-2664.13308⟩. ⟨hal-02629130⟩
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