Relationship Between Evolutionary Diversity and Aboveground Biomass During 150 Years of Natural Vegetation Regeneration in Temperate China

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 14; no. 10; pp. e70390 - n/a
• Main Authors: Tian, Qilong, Zhang, Xiaoping, Wang, Miaoqian, He, Jie, Xu, Xiaoming, He, Liang, Yi, Haijie, Wang, Haojia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.10.2024; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biodiversity; Biodiversity Ecology; Biomass; Carbon sequestration; carbon sink; Climate change; Climate prediction; Community Ecology; Complementarity; Coniferous forests; Conifers; Deciduous forests; Ecological function; ecosystem function; Ecosystems; Evolutionary Ecology; Forests; Grasslands; Mixed forests; Natural vegetation; phylogenetic diversity; phylogenetic structure; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Plant diversity; Plant species; Plants (botany); Recovery; Regeneration; Restoration Ecology; Species diversity; Vegetation; vegetation succession; Woody plants; China; Loess Plateau; ecosystem function; phylogenetic structure; carbon sink; phylogenetic diversity; vegetation succession
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70390

ABSTRACT While the link between plant species diversity and biomass has been well‐studied, the impact of evolutionary diversity on community biomass across long timescales or ongoing change remains a subject of debate. We elucidated the association between evolutionary diversity and community aboveground biomass (AGB) using an ideal experimental system with over 150‐year history of natural vegetation regeneration. Higher phylogenetic diversity facilitated the sampling effect under the influence of environmental filtering, and caused an increase in AGB. Phylogenetic structure varied from aggregation to dispersion during the later period of vegetation recovery (70–150 years), which was correlated with increases in niche complementarity and increasing AGB. Woody plant evolutionary diversity was used as a key to predict the relationship between vegetation recovery and AGB, with a total explanatory power of ~84.7%. Mixed forests composed of evergreen conifers and deciduous broadleaf forests had higher carbon sequestration potential than that of pure forests, which is advantageous for increasing top‐stage AGB. This research expands our knowledge of the causes and effects of biodiversity and ecosystem function dynamics over time and space, which is important for accurately predicting future climate change effects. The research revealed the association between evolutionary diversity and community AGB during long‐term vegetation restoration in the temperate zone using an ideal experimental system with over 150 years of natural vegetation restoration. This is essential for elucidating the link between biodiversity and ecological functions in the context of climate change.