Effects of diversity of tree species and size on forest basal area growth, recruitment, and mortality

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship, or lack thereof, between growth and diversity of tree species and size in conifer stands of western North America. Growth was measured by net basal area growth and its components: survivor growth, recruitment, and mortality. The analysis used inventory data from permanent plots in the Douglas-fir/western hemlock forest type in Oregon and Washington, and in the mixed-conifer forest type in California. The methods consisted of generalized least square regression with spatial autocorrelation, controlling for the effect of other stand characteristics. Other things being equal, in the two forest types under study there was a strong positive relationship between net basal area growth and tree-species diversity. This effect was associated with higher recruitment in stands of higher tree-species diversity. Neither mortality nor growth of survivors was related to tree-species diversity. The relationship between growth and tree-size diversity was less clear. For Douglas-fir/western hemlock, net basal area growth was negatively correlated with tree-size diversity, essentially because recruitment was lower on plots of high tree-size diversity. For mixed conifers, net basal area growth tended also to be lower in plots of high tree-size diversity, but this was mostly because mortality was higher in plots of higher tree-size diversity.