Canopy structural diversity mediates the effect of climate on primary productivity in forests
Abstract
Abstract Canopy structural diversity varies systematically with climate and species diversity across boreal, temperate, and tropical biomes. Yet, how this latitudinal variation affects forest productivity—particularly the role of structural diversity in mediating effects of climate on productivity across biomes—remains unresolved. By synthesizing airborne laser scanning data and ground-based forest inventories spanning boreal to tropical forests, we show that beyond its direct effects on forest productivity, climate influences productivity indirectly by regulating canopy structural diversity—a significant, yet previously underappreciated mechanism whose precise magnitude is challenging to isolate. Notably, we observe a pronounced latitudinal congruence between hotspots of structural diversity and productivity. This positions structural diversity not only as a complementary indicator of productivity but also as a critical mediator of the influence of climate and species diversity, essential for improved forecasting.
Article Details
Authors (31)
Xiaoxia Yi
Grégoire Vincent
Tianyu Hu
Jianli Liu
James A. Lutz
Haibao Ren
Lei Chen
David F. R. P. Burslem
Joseph D. Birch
Min Cao
James W. Dalling
Department of Plant Biology
David A. Coomes
Géraldine Derroire
Hu Du
Shuai Fang
Stoddart Institute of Molecular Science, Department of Chemistry
Guangze Jin
Jinbo Li
Fei Lin
Hongwei Ni
Michael J. O’Brien
Guochun Shen
Xihua Wang
Xingyu Wang
Eastern Institute for Advanced Study, Ningbo Key Laboratory of All-Solid-State Battery, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of All-Solid-State Battery
Jie Yang
Fuping Zeng
Daoguang Zhu
Yan Zhu
Yanjun Su
Qinghua Guo
Institute of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University
Keping Ma
Xiangcheng Mi