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Jorge O. López-Martínez
Cátedras, CONACYT – Colegio de la Frontera Sur Unidad Chetumal
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7903-8498
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Background: Studies on the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity have suggested that species richness and functional diversity are the main drivers of ecosystem processes. There is no general pattern regarding the relationship found in various studies, and positive, unimodal, negative, and neutral relationships keep the issue controversial. In this study, taxonomic diversity vs functional diversity as drivers of above-ground biomass were compared, and the mechanisms that influence biomass production were investigated by testing the complementarity and the mass-ratio hypoteses.
Methods: Using data from 414 permanent sampling plots, covering 23% of temperate forests in the Sierra Madre Occiental (Mexico), we estimated the above-ground biomass (AGB) for trees ≥7.5 cm d.b.h. in managed and unmanaged stands. We evaluated AGB-diversity relationships (species richness, Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indices), AGB-weighted mean community values (CWM) of tree species functional traits (maximum height, leaf size, and wood density) and five measures of functional diversity (functional dispersion, functional richness, functional uniformity, functional diversity, and RaoQ index).
Results: We reveal a consistent hump-shaped relationship between aboveground biomass and species richness in managen and unmanaged forest. CWM_Hmax was the most important predictor of AGB in both managed and unmanaged stands, which suggests that the mechanism that explains the above-ground biomass in these ecosystems is dominated by certain highly productive species in accordance of the mass-ratio hypothesis. There were no significant relationships between taxonomic diversity metrics (Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indices) or measures of functional diversity with AGB. The results support the mass-ratio hypothesis to explain the AGB variations.
Conclusions: We concluded that diversity does not influence biomass production in the temperate mixed-species and uneven-aged forests of northern Mexico. These forests showed the classic hump-shaped productivity-species richness relationship, with biomass accumulation increasing at low to intermediate levels of species plant diversity and decreasing at high species richness. Functional diversity explains better forest productivity than classical diversity metrics.
Keywords
Taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, complementary hypothesis, mass-ratio hypothesis
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View the published article at Forest Ecosystems.
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Editorial decision: Accept
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On 11 Nov, 2020
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Invitations sent on 29 Oct, 2020
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On 28 Oct, 2020
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On 28 Oct, 2020
Version 1
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On 28 Sep, 2020
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Received 21 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
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Received 27 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 07 Aug, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 06 Aug, 2020
Editor assigned
On 29 Jul, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 28 Jul, 2020
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Subject Areas
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See the published version of this preprint at Forest Ecosystems.
This is a preprint, a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research
Jorge O. López-Martínez
Cátedras, CONACYT – Colegio de la Frontera Sur Unidad Chetumal
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7903-8498
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
View the published article at Forest Ecosystems.
No community comments so far
Editorial decision: Accept
On 12 Dec, 2020
Editor assigned
On 09 Dec, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 09 Dec, 2020
Editor invited
On 09 Dec, 2020
No comments provided
Review #1 received
Received 28 Nov, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 28 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 24 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 11 Nov, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 29 Oct, 2020
Editor assigned
On 28 Oct, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 28 Oct, 2020
Editor invited
On 28 Oct, 2020
Version 1
Posted 04 Aug, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major Revision
On 28 Sep, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 21 Sep, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 02 Sep, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 27 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 07 Aug, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 06 Aug, 2020
Editor assigned
On 29 Jul, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 28 Jul, 2020
Editor invited
On 28 Jul, 2020
First submitted
On 22 Jul, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Forestry
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published article at Forest Ecosystems.
Background: Studies on the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem productivity have suggested that species richness and functional diversity are the main drivers of ecosystem processes. There is no general pattern regarding the relationship found in various studies, and positive, unimodal, negative, and neutral relationships keep the issue controversial. In this study, taxonomic diversity vs functional diversity as drivers of above-ground biomass were compared, and the mechanisms that influence biomass production were investigated by testing the complementarity and the mass-ratio hypoteses.
Methods: Using data from 414 permanent sampling plots, covering 23% of temperate forests in the Sierra Madre Occiental (Mexico), we estimated the above-ground biomass (AGB) for trees ≥7.5 cm d.b.h. in managed and unmanaged stands. We evaluated AGB-diversity relationships (species richness, Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indices), AGB-weighted mean community values (CWM) of tree species functional traits (maximum height, leaf size, and wood density) and five measures of functional diversity (functional dispersion, functional richness, functional uniformity, functional diversity, and RaoQ index).
Results: We reveal a consistent hump-shaped relationship between aboveground biomass and species richness in managen and unmanaged forest. CWM_Hmax was the most important predictor of AGB in both managed and unmanaged stands, which suggests that the mechanism that explains the above-ground biomass in these ecosystems is dominated by certain highly productive species in accordance of the mass-ratio hypothesis. There were no significant relationships between taxonomic diversity metrics (Shannon-Wiener and Simpson indices) or measures of functional diversity with AGB. The results support the mass-ratio hypothesis to explain the AGB variations.
Conclusions: We concluded that diversity does not influence biomass production in the temperate mixed-species and uneven-aged forests of northern Mexico. These forests showed the classic hump-shaped productivity-species richness relationship, with biomass accumulation increasing at low to intermediate levels of species plant diversity and decreasing at high species richness. Functional diversity explains better forest productivity than classical diversity metrics.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
The full text of this article is available to read as a PDF.
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