NDLI: Woody species diversity influences productivity and soil nutrient availability in tropical plantations

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Firn, Jennifer Erskine, Peter D. Lamb, David
Copyright Year	2007
Abstract	We investigated the relationship between plant diversity and ecological function (production and nutrient cycling) in tropical tree plantations. Old plantations (65–72 years) of four different species, namely Araucaria cunninghamii, Agathis robusta, Toona ciliata and Flindersia brayleyana, as well as natural secondary forest were examined at Wongabel State Forest, in the wet tropics region of Queensland, Australia. Two young plantations (23 years) of Araucaria cunninghamii and Pinus caribaea were also examined. The close proximity of the older plantations and natural forests meant they had similar edaphic and climatic conditions. All plantations had been established as monocultures, but had been colonised by a range of native woody plants from the nearby rainforest. The extent to which this had occurred varied with the identity of the plantation species (from 2 to 17 species in 0.1 ha blocks). In many cases these additional species had grown up and joined the forest canopy. This study is one of the few to find a negative relationship between overstorey plant diversity and productivity. The conversion of natural forest with highly productive, low-diversity gymnosperm-dominated plantations (young and old Araucaria cunninghamii and Pinus caribaea) was found to be associated with lower soil nutrient availability (approximately five times less phosphorus and 2.5 times less nitrogen) and lower soil pH (mean = 6.28) compared to the other, less productive plantations. The dominant effects of two species, Araucaria cunninghamii and Hodgkinsonia frutescens, indicate that ecosystem functions such as production and nutrient availability are not determined solely by the number of species, but are more likely to be determined by the characteristics of the species present. This suggests that monoculture plantations can be used to successfully restore some functions (e.g. nutrient cycling and production), but that the level to which such functions can be restored will depend upon the species chosen and site conditions.
Starting Page	521
Ending Page	533
Page Count	13
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00298549
Journal	Oecologia
Volume Number	154
Issue Number	3
e-ISSN	14321939
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2007-09-27
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Biodiversity Forest restoration Species richness Ecosystem function Plant Sciences Ecology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Plant species richness regulates soil respiration through changes in productivity

Does species richness affect fine root biomass and production in young forest plantations?

Woody plant phylogenetic diversity mediates bottom–up control of arthropod biomass in species-rich forests

Testing heterogeneity–diversity relationships in tropical forest restoration

Ecosystem and Restoration Consequences of Invasive Woody Species Removal in Hawaiian Lowland Wet Forest

Inhibitory effects of soil biota are ameliorated by high plant diversity

Non-woody life-form contribution to vascular plant species richness in a tropical American forest

How biological diversity influences ecosystem function: a test with a tropical stream detritivore guild

Exploring relationships between abundance of non-timber forest product species and tropical forest plant diversity

Woody species diversity influences productivity and soil nutrient availability in tropical plantations

Similar Documents

Plant species richness regulates soil respiration through changes in productivity

Does species richness affect fine root biomass and production in young forest plantations?

Woody plant phylogenetic diversity mediates bottom–up control of arthropod biomass in species-rich forests

Testing heterogeneity–diversity relationships in tropical forest restoration

Ecosystem and Restoration Consequences of Invasive Woody Species Removal in Hawaiian Lowland Wet Forest

Inhibitory effects of soil biota are ameliorated by high plant diversity

Non-woody life-form contribution to vascular plant species richness in a tropical American forest

How biological diversity influences ecosystem function: a test with a tropical stream detritivore guild

Exploring relationships between abundance of non-timber forest product species and tropical forest plant diversity

Woody species diversity influences productivity and soil nutrient availability in tropical plantations