Evaluating alternative hypotheses behind biodiversity and multifunctionality relationships in the forests of Northeastern China

Background:The importance of biodiversity in maintaining multiple ecosystem functions has been widely accepted.However,the specific mechanisms affecting biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality(BEMF)relationships in forests are largely unknown.This is particularly evident for the macroscale of a large forested landscape.Methods:Based on 412 one-tenth hectare field plots distributed over forested areas across northeastern China,we evaluated three alternative hypotheses explaining the relationships between BEMF,namely:niche complementarity,mass ratio,and vegetation quantity effect.We used Rao's quadratic entropy and community weighted mean trait values to quantify forest“biodiversity”.These two variables represent two complementary aspects of functional properties,which are in line with niche complementary and mass ratio effects,respectively.Results:Ecosystem multifunctionality was negatively associated with the community weighted mean values of acquisitive traits(a proxy of mass ratio effect).Rao's quadratic entropy(a proxy of niche complementarity)had no relationship with ecosystem multifunctionality.Higher stand biomass greatly increased ecosystem multifunctionality,which is in line with the vegetation quantity effect.Our results confirm that in the temperate forests of northeastern China,the relationship of BEMF was primarily affected by vegetation quantity,followed by mass ratio effects.Conclusions:The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the main drivers of ecosystem multifunctionality in forest ecosystems.The results of this study provide additional evidence to support the vegetation quantity and mass ratio hypotheses in forest ecosystems.

Drivers of tree demographic trade-offs in a temperate forest

Background: The demographic trade-offs(i.e. growth and survival) play important roles in forest dynamics and they are driven by multiple factors, including species’ inherent life-history strategies(such as shade-tolerance and mycorrhizal type), neighborhood interactions(such as conspecific negative density dependence, CNDD), and abiotic environment pressures. Although studies found that CNDD occurred in tropical and temperate forest,attempts to identify how the variations in CNDD control their impacts on growth and survival remain debate. In the present study, we conducted an extensive field survey, and analyzed demographic rates from 24 co-occurring temperate tree species, in order to test the importance of CNDD in shaping the growth-survival trade-offs.Results: Our study found that density dependence and environmental filtering were strong predictors for individual growth-survival trade-offs, while they showed variations across shade-intolerant and ectomycorrhizal species, as well as saplings and juveniles with more negative CNDD. Species growth showed positive relationship with mortality. And our results also support the fact that CNDD drives species growth-survival trade-offs at the community level with environmental stress.Conclusions: Our study indicates that biotic interactions such as density dependence and environment filtering played an important role in growth-survival trade-offs, and confirmed that the Janzen-Connell hypothesis in temperate forest was associated with species life-history strategies. In addition, shade-tolerance, mycorrhizal type and life-stage of forest species responded differently to CNDD, thus providing insights regarding different community assembly mechanisms and their interactions. Therefore, it is important to take species survival with growth and species life-history strategies into account when focusing on forest dynamics.

Cross-classes domain inference with network sampling for natural resource inventory

There are two distinct types of domains,design-and cross-classes domains,with the former extensively studied under the topic of small-area estimation.In natural resource inventory,however,most classes listed in the condition tables of national inventory programs are characterized as cross-classes domains,such as vegetation type,productivity class,and age class.To date,challenges remain active for inventorying cross-classes domains because these domains are usually of unknown sampling frame and spatial distribution with the result that inference relies on population-level as opposed to domain-level sampling.Multiple challenges are noteworthy:(1)efficient sampling strategies are difficult to develop because of little priori information about the target domain;(2)domain inference relies on a sample designed for the population,so within-domain sample sizes could be too small to support a precise estimation;and(3)increasing sample size for the population does not ensure an increase to the domain,so actual sample size for a target domain remains highly uncertain,particularly for small domains.In this paper,we introduce a design-based generalized systematic adaptive cluster sampling(GSACS)for inventorying cross-classes domains.Design-unbiased Hansen-Hurwitz and Horvitz-Thompson estimators are derived for domain totals and compared within GSACS and with systematic sampling(SYS).Comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations show that(1)GSACS Hansen-Hurwitz and Horvitz-Thompson estimators are unbiased and equally efficient,whereas thelatter outperforms the former for supporting a sample of size one;(2)SYS is a special case of GSACS while the latter outperforms the former in terms of increased efficiency and reduced intensity;(3)GSACS Horvitz-Thompson variance estimator is design-unbiased for a single SYS sample;and(4)rules-ofthumb summarized with respect to sampling design and spatial effect improve precision.Because inventorying a mini domain is analogous to inventorying a rare variable,alternative network sampling procedures are also readily available for inventorying cross-classes domains.

Mismatch between species distribution and climatic niche optima in relation to functional traits

Background:Forecasts of climate change impacts on biodiversity often assume that the current geographical distributions of species match their niche optima.However,empirical evidence has challenged this assumption,suggesting a mismatch.We examine whether the mismatch is related to functional traits along temperature or precipitation gradients.Methods:The observed distributions of 32 tree species in northeast China were evaluated to test this mismatch.Bayesian models were used to estimate the climatic niche optima,i.e.the habitats where the highest species growth and density can be expected.The mismatch is defined as the difference between the actual species occurrence in an assumed niche optimum and the habitat with the highest probability of species occurrence.Species’functional traits were used to explore the mechanisms that may have caused the mismatches.Results:Contrasting these climatic niche optima with the observed species distributions,we found that the distribution-niche optima mismatch had high variability among species based on temperature and precipitation gradients.However,these mismatches depended on functional traits associated with competition and migration lags only in temperature gradients.Conclusions:We conclude that more relevant research is needed in the future to quantify the mismatch between species distribution and climatic niche optima,which may be crucial for future designs of forested landscapes,species conservation and dynamic forecasting of biodiversity under expected climate change.

Forest observational studies-an essential infrastructure for sustainable use of natural resources

This contribution complements Forest Ecosystems＇ Thematic Series on ＂Forest Observational Studies＂. We provide essential clarification regarding the definition and purpose of long-term field studies, review some of the extensive literature and discuss different approaches to collecting field data. We also describe two newly established forest observational networks that serve to illustrate the scope and diversity of forest field studies. The first is a large-scale network of forest observational studies in prominent natural forest ecosystems in China. The second example demonstrates observational studies in mixed and uneven-aged pine-oak forests which are selectively managed by local communities in Mexico. We summarize the potential for analysing and modeling forest ecosystems within interdisciplinary projects and provide argumentation in favour of long-term institutional commitment to maintaining forest observational field studies.

Seed dispersal and seedling recruitment of trees at different successional stages in a temperate forest in northeastern China

spatial distribution of adult trees in a forest community is determined by patterns of both seed dispersal and seedling recruitment.the objectives of our study were to understand the processes of seed dispersal and seedling recruitment of dominant tree species in a temperate forest of northeastern China and to identify the factors constraining seed dispersal and seedling establishment at different stages of forest succession.Methods During three summer and autumn sessions between 2006 and 2008,altogether 113080 seeds from 22 different tree species were collected in three large field plots representing different for-est types in the Changbai mountain region of northeastern China.the spatial distribution of seed abundance was analyzed using a syrjala test.regeneration success of nine major tree species was assessed using variables defining‘limitations’in‘seeds’and‘seed-ling establishment’.Important Findings We found that seed production fluctuated between years and varied greatly with forest types.Four tree species,Acer spp.,Fraxinus man-dshurica,Tilia amurensis and Betula spp.,had the greatest seed pro-duction and the widest range of seed dispersal,whereas Quercus mongolica showed the most sustained seed production pattern.the spatial patterns of seed abundance differed significantly among forest types and years.the tree species investigated in this study differed in the degree of seed limitation,as well as in limitation of seedling establishment.there were both negative and positive correlations between seed density and seedling density,depending on site and parental tree density.seeds of 16 tree species were found in the Populus davidiana-Betula platyphylla forest(PbF)plot,11 in the conifer and broad-leaved mixed forest(CbF)plot but only 8 in the broad-leaved-Korean pine mixed forest(bKF)plot.the number of seed-contributing species was not only greater in the secondary forests(CbF and PbF plots)than in the primary forest(bKF plot)but was also more variable during the 3 years of assessment.results from the correlations between seed density and seedling occurrence and that between parental tree density or seed weight and dispersal limitation confirm our intuitive expectations,i.e.heavy seeds had greater dispersal limitation but higher establishment success than light seeds.