2014 Research Highlights
Understanding the Importance of Forest Biodiversity
Measurements of forest tree biodiversity – including those that account for the evolutionary relationships between species – may be good indicators of the goods and services that forest communities provide. To test whether and when this is the case, an Eastern Threat Center cooperating scientist from North Carolina State University is working with Forest Service scientists to understand how tree biodiversity influences the ecological functions of forests across the United States. Using measurements from nearly 80,000 Forest Inventory and Analysis plots, results published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management show that biodiversity was, in fact, associated with greater live aboveground tree biomass in forests with poor growing conditions. It was not the situation in forests with better growing conditions, however.
These results suggest that the coexistence of functionally different species increases forest productivity in less productive and more stressful environments, while dominant and highly productive species are able to competitively dominate in more favorable habitats. This shows that measurements of biodiversity are important for maximizing biomass/carbon for future carbon sequestration or bioenergy needs and should serve as indicators of forest function in forest resource assessments, especially in forests where biomass accumulation or climate change adaptations are priorities.
Forest Service Partners/Collaborators: Northern Research Station; Forest Health Monitoring Program
External Partners/Collaborators: North Carolina State University
Contact: Kevin Potter, (919) 549-4071, kevin.potter@usda.gov
Right: A diverse forest in eastern North Carolina. Photo by Kevin Potter.
