Tree Diversity Increases Carbon Stocks and Fluxes Above—But Not Belowground in a Tropical Forest Experiment

International commitments advocate large-scale forest restoration as a nature-based solution to climate change mitigation through carbon (C) sequestration. Mounting evidence suggests that mixed compared to monospecific planted forests may sequester more C, exhibit lower susceptibility to climate extremes and offer a broader range of ecosystem services. However, experimental studies comprehensively examining the control of tree diversity on multiple C stocks and fluxes above- and belowground are lacking. To address this gap, we leverage data from the Sardinilla experiment in Panama, the oldest tropical tree diversity experiment, which features a gradient of one-, two-, three- and five-species mixtures of native tree species. Over 16 years, we measured multiple above- and belowground C stocks and fluxes, ranging from tree aboveground C, over leaf litter C production, to soil organic carbon (SOC). We show that tree diversity significantly increased aboveground C stocks and fluxes, with a 57% higher gain in aboveground tree C in five-species mixtures compared to monocultures (35.7 ± 1.8 vs. 22.8 ± 3.4 Mg C ha<sup>-1</sup>) 16 years after planting. In contrast, we observed a net reduction in SOC (on average -11.2 ± 1.1 Mg C ha<sup>-1</sup> across diversity levels) and no significant difference in SOC<sub>3</sub> stocks (the predominantly tree-derived, i.e., C<sub>3</sub> plant-derived SOC fraction) between five-species mixtures and monocultures (13.0 ± 0.9 vs. 15.1 ± 1.3 Mg C ha<sup>-1</sup>). Positive tree diversity effects persisted despite repeated climate extremes and strengthened over time for aboveground tree growth. Structural equation models showed that higher tree growth in mixtures enhanced leaf litter and coarse woody debris C fluxes to the soil, resulting in a tightly linked C cycle aboveground. However, we did not observe significant links between above- and belowground C stocks and fluxes. Our study elucidates the mechanisms through which higher tree diversity bolsters the climate mitigation potential of tropical forest restoration. Restoration schemes should prioritize mixed over monospecific planted forests.

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Journal
Global Change Biology
Published
2025-02-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70089
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Forest ecology and management
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
20.82

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article

Tree Diversity Increases Carbon Stocks and Fluxes Above—But Not Belowground in a Tropical Forest Experiment

Simone Cesarz, Lady Mancilla, Yvonne Oelmann, Melanie Brunn et al.
9 citations
Global Change Biology
Forest ecology and management
20.82
article

Tree Diversity Increases Carbon Stocks and Fluxes Above—But Not Belowground in a Tropical Forest Experiment

Simone Cesarz, Lady Mancilla, Yvonne Oelmann, Melanie Brunn, Chris Madsen, Nico Eisenhauer, Christian Wirth, Nathaly R. Guerrero‐Ramírez, Kathryn E. Barry, Tobias Gebauer, José Monteza, Joannès Guillemot, Luitgard Schwendenmann, Michael Scherer‐Lorenzen, Tim R. Moore, Florian Schnabel, I. Tanya Handa, Audrey Wagner, Catherine Potvin
article en
9 citations

Abstract

International commitments advocate large-scale forest restoration as a nature-based solution to climate change mitigation through carbon (C) sequestration. Mounting evidence suggests that mixed compared to monospecific planted forests may sequester more C, exhibit lower susceptibility to climate extremes and offer a broader range of ecosystem services. However, experimental studies comprehensively examining the control of tree diversity on multiple C stocks and fluxes above- and belowground are lacking. To address this gap, we leverage data from the Sardinilla experiment in Panama, the oldest tropical tree diversity experiment, which features a gradient of one-, two-, three- and five-species mixtures of native tree species. Over 16 years, we measured multiple above- and belowground C stocks and fluxes, ranging from tree aboveground C, over leaf litter C production, to soil organic carbon (SOC). We show that tree diversity significantly increased aboveground C stocks and fluxes, with a 57% higher gain in aboveground tree C in five-species mixtures compared to monocultures (35.7 ± 1.8 vs. 22.8 ± 3.4 Mg C ha<sup>-1</sup>) 16 years after planting. In contrast, we observed a net reduction in SOC (on average -11.2 ± 1.1 Mg C ha<sup>-1</sup> across diversity levels) and no significant difference in SOC<sub>3</sub> stocks (the predominantly tree-derived, i.e., C<sub>3</sub> plant-derived SOC fraction) between five-species mixtures and monocultures (13.0 ± 0.9 vs. 15.1 ± 1.3 Mg C ha<sup>-1</sup>). Positive tree diversity effects persisted despite repeated climate extremes and strengthened over time for aboveground tree growth. Structural equation models showed that higher tree growth in mixtures enhanced leaf litter and coarse woody debris C fluxes to the soil, resulting in a tightly linked C cycle aboveground. However, we did not observe significant links between above- and belowground C stocks and fluxes. Our study elucidates the mechanisms through which higher tree diversity bolsters the climate mitigation potential of tropical forest restoration. Restoration schemes should prioritize mixed over monospecific planted forests.

Global Change BiologyVol. 31(2)
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (PA), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Springer Nature (Germany) (DE), University of Kaiserslautern (DE), University of Auckland (NZ), Université du Québec à Montréal (CA), University of Freiburg (DE), Koblenz University of Applied Sciences (DE), Universidade Metodista de São Paulo (BR), Utrecht University (NL), Université de Montpellier (FR), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE), University of Koblenz and Landau (DE), University of Oxford (GB), Institute of Forest Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK), Ecologie fonctionnelle & biogéochimie des sols & des agro-systèmes (FR), Institut Agro Montpelier (FR), Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Universität Koblenz (DE), McGill University (CA), University of Göttingen (DE), University of Tübingen (DE), Leipzig University (DE)
Smithsonian Institution, McGill University, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Forest ecology and management
20.82
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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