Tree species diversity drives above‐ground carbon sequestration through light‐related trait shifts

Abstract Functional traits can vary in response to tree species mixing, which in turn might influence biomass production and, consequently, carbon (C) sequestration in diverse forests. However, evidence for consistent broad‐scale patterns in tree trait responses, particularly regarding trait identity and their contribution to above‐ground biomass outcomes, remains limited. Using data from even‐aged forest stands in 11 tree diversity experiments in Europe and Brazil, encompassing 40 tree species, we estimated the influence of species mixing on above‐ground biomass components (woody, litterfall and understory biomass), as well as effects of mixing on plasticity‐driven changes in species‐ and community‐level functional traits. At the community level, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area index (LAI) were higher in mixtures than expected values based on monocultures, while leaf nitrogen per area decreased, and leaf nitrogen per mass remained stable. SLA increases were primarily due to the response of less dominant tree species. Woody and litterfall biomass increased in mixtures, whereas understory biomass remained unchanged. At the species level, diversity‐driven plastic changes were observed in multiple traits, but only SLA showed a consistent shift across species. Tree diversity effects on above‐ground biomass were influenced by both functional diversity and diversity‐driven trait shifts, where increased SLA and LAI enhanced woody biomass accumulation, while higher LAI in diverse stands reduced understory biomass. Together, these results show that tree species mixing alters canopy structure and light‐related traits, with shifts in SLA and LAI constituting key pathways through which mixed forests accumulate more woody biomass. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Publication Details

Journal
Functional Ecology
Published
2026-04-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70320
Primary Topic
Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Tree species diversity drives above‐ground carbon sequestration through light‐related trait shifts

Nicolas Fanin, Douglas L. Godbold, Nils‐Erik Nordh, Mark R. Bakker et al.
Functional Ecology
Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
article

Tree species diversity drives above‐ground carbon sequestration through light‐related trait shifts

Nicolas Fanin, Douglas L. Godbold, Nils‐Erik Nordh, Mark R. Bakker, Matthias Steinparzer, Céline Meredieu, Peter Hajek, A C Robin, Nico Eisenhauer, Ramona Werner, Joel Jensen, Haben Blondeel, Petra Fransson, Sylvia Haider, Boris Rewald, Christel Baum, Friderike Beyer, Laurent Augusto, Pablo Castro Sánchez‐Bermejo, Martin Weih, Joannès Guillemot, Carolyn Glynn, Iftekhar Uddin Ahmed, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Michael Scherer‐Lorenzen, Dai Saito, Hans Sandén, Lander Baeten, Chloe MacLaren, Hernán Serrano‐León, Elisabeth Bönisch, Peter Dietrich, Quentin Ponette, Huimin Yi, J. Bauhus, Bart Muys, Simone Mereu, Kris Verheyen, Adam Felton, Emmely Fritsch, Hervé Jactel, Olga Ferlian
article en

Abstract

Abstract Functional traits can vary in response to tree species mixing, which in turn might influence biomass production and, consequently, carbon (C) sequestration in diverse forests. However, evidence for consistent broad‐scale patterns in tree trait responses, particularly regarding trait identity and their contribution to above‐ground biomass outcomes, remains limited. Using data from even‐aged forest stands in 11 tree diversity experiments in Europe and Brazil, encompassing 40 tree species, we estimated the influence of species mixing on above‐ground biomass components (woody, litterfall and understory biomass), as well as effects of mixing on plasticity‐driven changes in species‐ and community‐level functional traits. At the community level, specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area index (LAI) were higher in mixtures than expected values based on monocultures, while leaf nitrogen per area decreased, and leaf nitrogen per mass remained stable. SLA increases were primarily due to the response of less dominant tree species. Woody and litterfall biomass increased in mixtures, whereas understory biomass remained unchanged. At the species level, diversity‐driven plastic changes were observed in multiple traits, but only SLA showed a consistent shift across species. Tree diversity effects on above‐ground biomass were influenced by both functional diversity and diversity‐driven trait shifts, where increased SLA and LAI enhanced woody biomass accumulation, while higher LAI in diverse stands reduced understory biomass. Together, these results show that tree species mixing alters canopy structure and light‐related traits, with shifts in SLA and LAI constituting key pathways through which mixed forests accumulate more woody biomass. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Functional Ecology
Leuphana University of Lüneburg (DE), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), University of Freiburg (DE), Tokyo University of Science (JP), Universidade Metodista de São Paulo (BR), Research Institute for Nature and Forest (BE), Cornell University (US), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), Ghent University (BE), Institute of Forest Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine (FR), Ecologie fonctionnelle & biogéochimie des sols & des agro-systèmes (FR), Environment Agency Austria (AT), Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology (IT), CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (IT), Institut Agro Montpelier (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), University of Rostock (DE), Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (US), Mendel University in Brno (CZ), Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE), Leipzig University (DE), BOKU University (AT), UCLouvain (BE)
Biodiversa+, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas, Austrian Science Fund, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, Honjo International Scholarship Foundation, Conseil Régional Aquitaine, Service Public de Wallonie, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, International Max Planck Research School for global Biogeochemical Cycles
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Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
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