Does functional trait diversity predict above‐ground biomass and productivity of tropical forests? Testing three alternative hypotheses

作者：Bryan Finegan, Marielos Peña‐Claros, Alexandre A. Oliveira, Nataly Ascarrunz, M. Syndonia Bret‐Harte, Geovana Carreño‐Rocabado, Fernando Casanoves, Sandra Dı́az, Paúl Eguiguren, Fernando Fernández‐Méndez, Juan Carlos Licona, Leda Lorenzo Montero, Beatriz Salgado‐Negret, Marcel C. Vaz, Lourens Poorter · 发表于：Journal of Ecology · 年份：2014 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2745.12346 · 被引用次数：418 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Forest ecology and management、Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems

Summary Tropical forests are globally important, but it is not clear whether biodiversity enhances carbon storage and sequestration in them. We tested this relationship focusing on components of functional trait biodiversity as predictors. Data are presented for three rain forests in Bolivia, Brazil and Costa Rica. Initial above‐ground biomass and biomass increments of survivors, recruits and survivors + recruits (total) were estimated for trees ≥10 cm d.b.h. in 62 and 21 1.0‐ha plots, respectively. We determined relationships of biomass increments to initial standing biomass ( AGB i ), biomass‐weighted community mean values ( CWM ) of eight functional traits and four functional trait variety indices (functional richness, functional evenness, functional diversity and functional dispersion). The forest continuum sampled ranged from ‘slow’ stands dominated by trees with tough tissues and high AGB i , to ‘fast’ stands dominated by trees with soft, nutrient‐rich leaves, lighter woods and lower AGB i . We tested whether AGB i and biomass increments were related to the CWM trait values of the dominant species in the system (the biomass ratio hypothesis), to the variety of functional trait values (the niche complementarity hypothesis), or in the case of biomass increments, simply to initial standing biomass (the green soup hypothesis). CWM s were reasonable bivariate predictors of AGB i and biomass increments, with CWM specific leaf area SLA , CWM leaf nitrogen content, CWM force to...