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- Title
How do trees respond to species mixing in experimental compared to observational studies?
- Authors
Kambach, Stephan; Allan, Eric; Bilodeau‐Gauthier, Simon; Coomes, David A.; Haase, Josephine; Jucker, Tommaso; Kunstler, Georges; Müller, Sandra; Nock, Charles; Paquette, Alain; Plas, Fons; Ratcliffe, Sophia; Roger, Fabian; Ruiz‐Benito, Paloma; Scherer‐Lorenzen, Michael; Auge, Harald; Bouriaud, Olivier; Castagneyrol, Bastien; Dahlgren, Jonas; Gamfeldt, Lars
- Abstract
For decades, ecologists have investigated the effects of tree species diversity on tree productivity at different scales and with different approaches ranging from observational to experimental study designs. Using data from five European national forest inventories (16,773 plots), six tree species diversity experiments (584 plots), and six networks of comparative plots (169 plots), we tested whether tree species growth responses to species mixing are consistent and therefore transferrable between those different research approaches. Our results confirm the general positive effect of tree species mixing on species growth (16% on average) but we found no consistency in species‐specific responses to mixing between any of the three approaches, even after restricting comparisons to only those plots that shared similar mixtures compositions and forest types. These findings highlight the necessity to consider results from different research approaches when selecting species mixtures that should maximize positive forest biodiversity and functioning relationships.
- Subjects
FOREST surveys; SCIENTIFIC observation; TREE growth; SPECIES diversity; SPECIES; FOREST reserves; DEAD trees
- Publication
Ecology & Evolution (20457758), 2019, Vol 9, Issue 19, p11254
- ISSN
2045-7758
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/ece3.5627