Selective logging enhances ecosystem multifunctionality via increase of functional diversity in a Pinus yunnanensis forest in Southwest China

Xiaobo Huang,Jianrong Su,Shuaifeng Li

doi:10.1186/s40663-020-00267-8

Xiaobo Huang, Jianrong Su + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-020-00267-8

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Abstract

BackgroundThe impacts of selective logging on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) remain largely unexplored. In this study, we analyzed the response of nine variables related to four ecosystem functions (i.e. nutrient cycling, soil carbon stocks, decomposition, and wood production) to five selective logging intensities in a Pinus yunnanensis-dominated forest. We included a control group with no harvest to evaluate the potential shifts in EMF of the P. yunnanensis forests. We also assessed the relationship between above- and belowground biodiversity and EMF under these different selective logging intensities. Additionally, we evaluated the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on EMF using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach.ResultsIndividual ecosystem functions (EFs) all had a significant positive correlation with selective logging intensity. Different EFs showed different patterns with the increase of selective logging intensity. We found that EMF tended to increase with logging intensity, and that EMF significantly improved when the stand was harvested at least twice. Both functional diversity and soil moisture had a significant positive correlation with EMF, but soil fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) had a significant negative correlation with EMF. Based on SEM, we found that selective logging improved EMF mainly by increasing functional diversity.ConclusionOur study demonstrates that selective logging is a good management technique from an EMF perspective, and thus provide us with potential guidelines to improve forest management in P. yunnanensis forests in this region. The functional diversity is maximized through reasonable selective logging measures, so as to enhance EMF.

Highlights

The impacts of selective logging on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) remain largely unexplored
The values of the Selective logging three times (SL3) of nutrient cycling and soil carbon stocks were significantly greater than other selective logging intensities and Control group (CG) (P < 0.05), except the Selective logging five times (SL5)
The value of the Selective logging one time (SL1) was significantly lower than Selective logging two times (SL2), SL3 and Selective logging four times (SL4) (P < 0.05), except the CG and SL5

Summary

Introduction

The impacts of selective logging on ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) remain largely unexplored. We analyzed the response of nine variables related to four ecosystem functions (i.e. nutrient cycling, soil carbon stocks, decomposition, and wood production) to five selective logging intensities in a Pinus yunnanensisdominated forest. The simultaneous occurrence of these different ecosystem functions (EFs) is defined as ecosystem multifunctionality (‘EMF’) (Hector and Bagchi 2007) This concept was first proposed in the study of seagrass (Duffy et al 2003) and has been widely used in grasslands (Soliveres et al 2016; Meyer et al 2018), aquatic (Lefcheck et al 2015; Perkins et al 2015) and forest ecosystems (van der Plas et al 2016; Huang et al 2019; Luo et al 2019)

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