Effects of Species and Structural Diversity on Carbon Storage in Subtropical Forests

Global CO₂ concentrations are gradually increasing, and forests, as the main terrestrial carbon pool, are attracting growing attention in mitigating climate change. However, the impacts of forest types, species diversity, structural diversity, and environmental factors on the carbon sequestration mechanisms of subtropical forests remain unclear. This study established 45 forest plots (20 m × 20 m) in Lishui City, aiming to investigate the relationships between forest diversity, environmental factors, and carbon storage of subtropical forests among different forest types. Results showed that coniferous forests had the lowest species diversity (0.86), which exhibited extremely significant differences from broad-leaved forests (1.47, <i>p</i> < 0.01) and coniferous broad-leaved mixed forests (1.58, <i>p</i> < 0.01). The carbon storage of broad-leaved forests was 97.50 t·ha^-1, which was higher than that of coniferous broad-leaved mixed forests (77.08 t·ha^-1) and coniferous forests (75.57 t·ha^-1). The carbon storage of coniferous forests was significantly positively affected by species diversity (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Tree height was the most significant structural diversity factor affecting forest carbon storage (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The results of the structural equation model (SEM) showed that the proportion of broad-leaved trees in forests and structural diversity had a significant positive effect on carbon storage (<i>p</i> < 0.01). Species diversity had a non-linear relationship with carbon storage. The ecological niche complementarity effect and selection effect interacted with changes in species diversity. When the species diversity was lower than 1.12 (Shannon-Wiener index), the ecological niche complementarity effect dominated and promoted carbon sequestration; when it was above this threshold, the selection effect dominated and weakened carbon sequestration. This study recommends prioritizing the planting of broad-leaved tree species during afforestation and paying attention to the current status of forest diversity.