Demographic composition, not demographic diversity, predicts biomass and turnover across temperate and tropical forests

Needham, Jessica F.; Johnson, Daniel J.; Anderson‐Teixeira, Kristina J.; Bourg, Norman; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Butt, Nathalie; Cao, Min; Cárdenas, Dairon; Chang‐Yang, Chia‐Hao; Chen, Yu‐Yun; Chuyong, George; Dattaraja, Handanakere S.; Davies, Stuart J.; Duque, Alvaro; Ewango, Corneille E.N.; Fernando, Edwino S.; Fisher, Rosie; Fletcher, Christine D.; Foster, Robin; Hao, Zhanqing; Hart, Terese; Hsieh, Chang‐Fu; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Itoh, Akira; Kenfack, David; Koven, Charles D.; Larson, Andrew J.; Lutz, James A.; McShea, William; Makana, Jean‐Remy; Malhi, Yadvinder; Marthews, Toby ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3727-6468; Bt. Mohamad, Mohizah; Morecroft, Michael D.; Norden, Natalia; Parker, Geoffrey; Shringi, Ankur; Sukumar, Raman; Suresh, Hebbalalu S.; Sun, I‐Fang; Tan, Sylvester; Thomas, Duncan W.; Thompson, Jill ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4370-2593; Uriarte, Maria; Valencia, Renato; Yao, Tze Leong; Yap, Sandra L.; Yuan, Zuoqiang; Yuehua, Hu; Zimmerman, Jess K.; Zuleta, Daniel; McMahon, Sean M.. 2022 Demographic composition, not demographic diversity, predicts biomass and turnover across temperate and tropical forests. Global Change Biology, 28 (9). 2895-2909. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16100

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16100

Abstract/Summary

The growth and survival of individual trees determine the physical structure of a forest with important consequences for forest function. However, given the diversity of tree species and forest biomes, quantifying the multitude of demographic strategies within and across forests and the way that they translate into forest structure and function remains a significant challenge. Here, we quantify the demographic rates of 1961 tree species from temperate and tropical forests and evaluate how demographic diversity (DD) and demographic composition (DC) differ across forests, and how these differences in demography relate to species richness, aboveground biomass (AGB), and carbon residence time. We find wide variation in DD and DC across forest plots, patterns that are not explained by species richness or climate variables alone. There is no evidence that DD has an effect on either AGB or carbon residence time. Rather, the DC of forests, specifically the relative abundance of large statured species, predicted both biomass and carbon residence time. Our results demonstrate the distinct DCs of globally distributed forests, reflecting biogeography, recent history, and current plot conditions. Linking the DC of forests to resilience or vulnerability to climate change, will improve the precision and accuracy of predictions of future forest composition, structure, and function.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16100
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-) Hydro-climate Risks (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	1354-1013
Additional Keywords:	aboveground biomass, carbon residence time, forest dynamics, ForestGEO, size-dependent survival, species richness, tree demography
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	04 Apr 2022 11:09 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/532389

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16100

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)
Hydro-climate Risks (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

1354-1013

Additional Keywords:

aboveground biomass, carbon residence time, forest dynamics, ForestGEO, size-dependent survival, species richness, tree demography

NORA Subject Terms:

Ecology and Environment