Structural complexity and large‐sized trees explain shifting species richness and carbon relationship across vegetation types

• Published in: Functional ecology Vol. 34; no. 8; pp. 1731 - 1745
• Main Authors: Mensah, Sylvanus, Salako, Valère K., Seifert, Thomas, Ostertag, Rebecca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.08.2020
• Subjects: Carbon; climate; Complexity; data collection; ecosystems; Environmental conditions; environmental factors; Forests; information; inventories; larger trees; Mediation; natural resources conservation; Natural vegetation; Nature conservation; niche complementarity; Plantations; Savannahs; savannas; shrubs; species diversity; Species richness; stand structures; stocking rate; structural equation model; Structural equation modeling; Terrestrial environments; Trees; Vegetation; Western Africa; Woodlands; Western Africa

It is prominently claimed that enhancing forest diversity would play a dual role of nature conservation and climate regulation. While the idea is intuitively appealing, studies show that species richness effects on above‐ground carbon (AGC) are not always positive, but instead unpredictable especial...